The HSHSL obtained “transformational” funding from UMB to support innovative Open Access (OA) publishing agreements. These “read and publish” agreements allow UMB researchers access to publishers’ subscription content and also provide an opportunity to publish an OA article without paying article processing charges (APCs).  These agreements cover APCs for research articles in a set of subscription journals with Elsevier and Wiley, not fully Open Access journals. This is also known as the Hybrid Gold model, where the journal is subscription-based, but the APC will make the specific article open.

Who is eligible?

• Anyone UMB-affiliated, including students, is eligible to publish under these agreements, however, the UMB author must be the corresponding author.
• The corresponding author is the author who submits the manuscript and other documentation to the journal and is the primary contact between the journal and the co-authors. Importantly, the corresponding author’s affiliation will be used to determine eligibility for the publishing agreement. The affiliations of other co-authors are not relevant for agreement eligibility.

How does the process work?

The process of publishing under the agreement is straightforward:

• Step 1 – Once the journal accepts your article, you will be given the option to make your article open access.

• Step 2 – You will be asked to review your affiliation and funder details. Based on this information, you will see personalized publishing options including the option to publish under the agreement.

• Step 3 – UMB will validate your eligibility for the agreement.  Please note that the number of APCs included under the agreement is fixed and will be allocated based on date of acceptance.

The HSHSL’s Open Access Publishing Fund is designed to improve access to research produced at the University of Maryland, Baltimore and:

• Promote publishing by early-career researchers
• Enable authors to retain their copyrights
• Accelerate the online availability of peer-reviewed scholarly journal articles generated by UMB researchers
• Raise campus awareness about the benefits of open access

There is a limited budget for this project, and reimbursements will be made on a first-come, first-served basis until funds are exhausted. [PLEASE NOTE: FUNDS HAVE BEEN EXHAUSTED FOR THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR (June 30, 2024 to July 1, 2025)].

Maximum Levels of Reimbursement

• 50% of article processing charges up to a maximum of $3,000
• 1 article per author per fiscal year

Who is eligible?

This fund is designed to promote open-access publication by early-career researchers. It is open to the following individuals who are UMB-affiliated and listed as the first author of the article.

• Students
• Postdoctoral researchers or fellows or equivalent
• Faculty at the rank of Assistant Professor or equivalent

What articles are covered?

Reimbursement is available for article processing fees in fully open access journals, which are journals that do not charge a fee for access to their content.

Eligible journals include the following:

• All journals in the Directory of Open Access Journals that allow authors to retain distribution rights
• Journals that are members of the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA) or demonstrate adherence to its Code of Conduct
• Journals that have publicly available a standard article fee schedule
• Journals that have a policy to substantially waive fees in case of economic hardship

Journals with a hybrid open-access model or delayed open-access model are not eligible. Subscription-based journals that charge a fee, sometimes called an “author’s choice” or “open choice” fee, to make single articles available by open access are also not eligible. Please see the above on our "Read and Publish" agreements with Wiley and Elsevier for support for publishing in hybrid open-access journals.

Reimbursement will cover only direct costs for open access publication (not the cost of reprints, color illustration fees, non-OA page charges, web hosting for self-archiving, etc.).

Procedures

To apply, complete the application form. [PLEASE NOTE: APPLICATIONS ARE CLOSED FOR THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR (June 30, 2024 to July 1, 2025)].

Reimbursement will be made after the article has been accepted for publication and the submission fee has been paid. At this time we are only able to make reimbursements to UMB Departments. Authors should pay the full amount of the APC with department funding then submit an invoice and department account number for reimbursement. We are unable to reimburse individuals or UMB Foundation accounts.

The applicant must submit either the author’s final version or the published version of the funded article for inclusion in the UMB Digital Archive.

Questions?

Contact Steve Douglas (sdouglas@hshsl.umaryland.edu) with any questions related to the Read and Publish agreement or Early Career Research fund. For general publishing questions and guidance, contact publishing@hshsl.umaryland.edu.