For three years the Sheridan Libraries and the Welch Medical Library supported a pilot Open Access Promotion Fund (OAPF). The fund reimbursed authors for the article processing charges they paid to gold Open Access journals. The pilot was very successful in that we learned that many JHU authors want to publish in Open Access journals. We anticipate that this desire will grow for three reasons:
- More funders are requiring open availability of articles
- More researchers are eager to publish in outlets that don’t keep their work behind paywalls
- More OA journals are growing in impact and reputation.
Interest in open access now outstrips the funds the Libraries can provide, so we have to close the OAPF. Authors needing assistance with article processing charges should ask the publisher about waiver and discount programs. Primary Investigators are encouraged to include reasonable estimates for article processing charges in their grant applications. The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) lists reputable Open Access journals, not all of which require large article processing charges.
“Open Access is the future of scientific publication and one that we should all work hard to make successful. Every scientist can help by embracing the concept of Open Access and supporting journals as they attempt to make it the norm.”
- Dr. Richard Roberts (A senior editor for NAR, and a past Nobel Prize winner)
Contact Robin Sinn, Coordinator, Office of Scholarly Communication, about the OPPF at [email protected].