VU Amsterdam has agreements with various publishers that provide access to scientific journals and Open Access publishing. Some publishers set a maximum number of articles that can be published Open Access for free. Due to increasing publication numbers, these maximum limits are being reached more frequently and quickly.
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
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Emerald
- Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW)
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Springer Nature
- Taylor & Francis (T&F)
The maximum number of articles is not reached annually at all publishers. Last year the maximum was reached for publishers LWW, Springer Nature, T&F, OUP en ACS. 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, 2027, 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. Please contact the Open Access team if you have any questions regarding this topic.
More information about the Open Access deals can be found here.
