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Open Access Publishing

What is Open Access Publishing?

Open Access (OA) is the practice of making peer-reviewed academic research and scholarly literature freely available to all online. The principles of the OA model were initially presented in the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities (2003).

In library catalogs and databases, OA resources are often marked with a logo of an orange opened padlock. 

A good overview of the pros and cons of publishing Open Access can be found here: https://www.openaccess.nl/en/what-is-open-access/pros-and-cons.

Open Access (OA) Article Publishing Options with No APC Fees

Through OWU's membership in the OhioLINK library consortium, OWU authors can publish their work at no additional cost to themselves or OWU as a result of deals with the following major publishers that eliminate the Article Processing Charge (APC) for authors:

  1. Cambridge Journals OA for Authors: APC-free open access publishing in over 400 hybrid and fully open access journals in a wide variety of subjects, including social sciences and humanities, from Cambridge University Press.
  2. Elsevier Hybrid OA for Authors: APC-free open access publishing in over 1,800 hybrid journals across a wide variety of subjects, especially STEM, published by Elsevier.
  3. Institute of Physics (IOP) Journals OA for Authors: APC-free open access publishing in over 100 hybrid and fully open access journals in physics and STEM from Institute of Physics Publishing.
  4. Springer Hybrid OA for Authors: APC-free open access publishing in over 2,000 hybrid journals across a wide variety of subjects, especially STEM, published by Springer Nature.
  5. Wiley OA for Authors: APC-free open access publishing in over 1,800 hybrid and fully open access journals across a wide variety of subjects, especially STEM, published by Wiley.

Only Open Access publishing under these arrangements will have their APC fees covered by OhioLink. Additionally, most publications also have a statewide annual cap on the number of APC fees OhioLink will cover. Prospective authors should consult the information in the links above for details on each deal, including which journals are included and how to submit in order to have your APC fee covered. You can also contact an OWU librarian with questions and to see if funding is still available for the journal to which you wish to submit.

Faculty seeking support for OA publishing outside the current OhioLINK deals should contact the Office of the Provost for additional information.