Make sure you do not unexpectedly incur costs by monitoring closely when the maximum number of Open Access publications is reached.
A limit on free open publishing Authors affiliated with Dutch universities and university medical centers have been able to publish Open Access for free in a large number of journals since 2015. At the moment of acceptance, authors will receive a discount up to 100% on their APC (Article Processing Charges). The following publishers impose a maximum number of discounts:
- AIP Publishing
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Emerald
- Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW)
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Springer Nature
- Taylor & Francis (T&F)
Prediction of maximums for 2025
The maximum number of articles is not reached annually at all publishers. It is expected that the maximum for publisher LWW will be reached at the end of August. This October the discounts are expected to run out for T&F, OUP and ACS. The maximum for Springer Nature is expected to be reached at the beginning of November. Once a maximum is reached, you can no longer publish under the terms of the Open Access deal.
What can you do now?
Researchers who wish to be informed about the status of the discount can register for a ‘notify-me service’. This service provides updates on when the maximum number of Open Access publications from a publisher is (expected to be) reached.
Alternatives and options
If your manuscript is accepted for publication between the time when a maximum is reached and January 1, 2026, publishers still offer the option to publish it Open Access, but the costs will no longer be covered by the consortium agreement. Opting for Open Access with payment means you will receive the invoice yourself. This may not be an issue as many research grants account for this, but be prepared.
Another option is to publish (for free) in closed access with the publisher and make your article Open Access after an embargo period through the VU Research Portal (Pure) or the Amsterdam UMC Research Portal. For more information about this option, pleasecontact the Open Access-team at the University Library.
