U of G Authors Saved 500K on Article Processing Fees in 2023

2023 data shows U of G authors saved nearly 500K when publishing in Cambridge University Press, Sage Journals, and Wiley – three of the publishers for which the McLaughlin Library covers article processing charges (APCs) in full. APCs are fees charged to authors by some open access journals to make the articles immediately available to readers and to defray the costs of editing and publishing.  

Here’s the data from three of our Read and Publish agreements in 2023: 

Cambridge University Press 

• 22 open access articles published by U of G researchers 
• $65,432 savings to U of G researchers through payment of APCs 

Sage Journals 

• 32 open access articles published by U of G researchers 
• $80,530 savings to U of G researchers through payment of APCs 

Wiley 

• 87 open access articles published by U of G researchers 
• $314,320 savings to U of G researchers through payment of APCs 

That’s a whopping $460K in savings for U of G researchers in a single year. So, what are Article Processing Charges (APCs) and why do these Read and Publish agreements matter? 

Read and publish agreements, also known as transformative agreements, are agreements with publishers that cover both reader and publisher access to research articles. In traditional academic publishing, the reader could be anyone with access to research through a public institution – a university library, for instance. For someone without access by affiliation, the content would live behind a paywall. What’s important to note is that in our Read and Publish agreements, we’ve purposely negotiated for open access publishing which means anyone with access to the internet can access the research. 

Choosing open access publishing is important on multiple fronts – open access publishing provides free access to education and resources, helping to democratize knowledge. It also offers an opportunity to share U of G research more broadly and get cited more in the research community – drawing increased attention to the work of U of G researchers. “Libraries have always sought to collect, preserve, and share knowledge. Open access agreements like these ensure the work of our researchers is available to all,” said Christopher Popovich, Research & Scholarship Librarian, and member of the library’s Open Investment Strategy Committee. 

APCs typically cost more than $3K USD per article. Through these Read and Publish agreements, we’re working to provide U of G researchers with the opportunity to reallocate those funds back into their research. 

Learn more about open access publishing and how we can support U of G researchers. 

Questions? Contact us.