Publishing Discounts

Article Processing Charges (APCs) are fees charged to authors by some open access journals to defray the costs of editing and publishing.

While some libraries help researchers with an APC fund we have chosen to focus on supporting a sustainable scholarly communication system. Our approach ensures the widest possible readership for publicly funded research while being economically sustainable. Continuing to pay at the article level is neither sustainable for a university with our research output, nor sound financial governance. For more information about our open investment strategy, please refer to Our Commitment to Open Access.

As an alternative to paying APCs, in most cases authors who publish in a traditional paywalled journal may deposit an open access version in the form of an accepted manuscript or preprint in a repository (such as the Atrium). Please contact us if you would like assistance with this.

APC discounts for U of G authors

While the library does not have an APC fund, some of our negotiated publisher agreements provide discounts to University of Guelph (U of G) authors.

Publisher discounts on APCs

American Chemical Society Journals

• $250 USD flat discount

Annual Reviews

• No APCs charged

Cambridge University Press Journals

• 100 per cent discount
• For 2022-2024, U of G corresponding authors can publish open access at no charge in Cambridge hybrid and gold journals. The APC waiver is automatically applied when authors indicate their U of G affiliation during the submission process.

Canadian Science Publishing (CSP)

• 100 per cent discount on some journals, 25 per cent for most hybrid journals
• The 100 per cent discount applies to:
  • Biochemistry and Cell Biology
  • Canadian Journal of Physics
  • Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
  • Genome
  • Transactions of the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering
• For CSP’s other hybrid titles, U of G authors are entitled to a 25 per cent APC discount. The discount does not apply to CSP’s Open Access (OA) journals, only their hybrid journals.

Cogitatio journals

• 100 per cent discount
•  For 2022-2024, U of G corresponding authors can publish open access at no charge in Cogitatio journals

Company of Biologists

• 100 per cent discount
• For 2022-2024, U of G corresponding authors can publish open access at no charge in Company of Biologists journals.

Elsevier

• 100 per cent discount on Hybrid journals, 20 per cent discount on most Gold journals
•  As per the CRKN agreement, from 2024 - 2026, U of G corresponding authors are eligible for a 100 per cent APC discount in more than 1,800 Elsevier Hybrid journals, and a 20 per cent discount on most Elsevier Gold Open Access journals (Cell Press, Lancet, and some other society-owned journals are excluded). Authors must specify their U of G affiliation in the publisher’s journal workflow. Please use the journal publishing discounts button on this page to see the included journals.

Erudit

• No APCs charged

Institute of Physics

• 100 per cent discount
•  For 2022-2024, U of G corresponding authors can publish open access at no charge in IOP gold and hybrid journals (see journal list and author guide).

International Water Association

• No APCs charged

MDPI Journals

• 10 per cent discount

MDPI Open Access Books

• 10 per cent discount on Book Publishing Charges (BPCs)

Microbiology Society Journals

• 100 per cent discount
• U of G corresponding authors can publish open access at no charge in Microbiology Society Journals. To be eligible, authors must use their U of G email address during the submission process.

Open Library of Humanities

• No APC charged

Oxford University Press

• 100 per cent discount on Hybrid journals, 20 per cent discount on most Gold journals
• From 2024 - 2026, U of G corresponding authors are eligible for a 100 per cent APC discount in Oxford University Press' (OUP) Hybrid journals, and a 10 per cent discount OUP's Gold Open Access journals. Please visit the CRKN Open Access webpage under the OUP tab to download the step-by-step instructions to access these discounts.

Royal Society

• 100 per cent discount on journals in the Biological Sciences Collection
• The discount is automatically applied when authors indicate their U of G affiliation during the submission process. Biological Collection Journals included are:
  • Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B
  • Proceedings of the Royal Society B
  • Biology Letters
  • Journal of the Royal Society Interface
  • Interface Focus

Royal Society of Chemistry

• 15 per cent discount on Hybrid journals

Sage Journals

• 100 per cent discount in select SAGE Choice journals; 40 per cent discount for most SAGE gold open access journals
• As of 2021, U of G authors may publish their articles as open access in over 900 SAGE Choice journals (journals excluded from SAGE Choice) without paying Article Processing Charges (APCs). For most SAGE gold open access journals, a 40 per cent APC discount applies. The waiver or discount is automatically applied when authors indicate their U of G affiliation during the submission process.

SCOAP3

• No APC charged

Taylor & Francis

• 25 per cent discount
• Discount applied for Open Select Journals only

Wiley

• 100 per cent Article Processing Charge (APC) discount on all Hybrid journal journals for corresponding U of G authors
• As of 2023, U of G authors may publish their articles as open access in over 1,600 Wiley hybrid journals without paying Article Processing Charges (APCs). This does not apply to Wiley's Gold Open Access journals, only their hybrid journals. The discount is automatically applied when authors indicate their U of G affiliation during the submission process.