Penn Libraries Enters Open Access Agreements with Major Publishers in Science and Healthcare

The Penn Libraries has signed new open access agreements with Springer Publishing, a major publisher of healthcare and behavioral sciences journals, along with three additional publishers: Company of Biologists, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and the Institute of Physics.

"These new open access agreements transcend traditional academic boundaries, fostering a more inclusive and interconnected global research community,” says Brigitte Weinsteiger, Interim Director and Gershwind and Bennett Family Senior Associate Vice Provost for Collections and Scholarly Communications. “They are a testament to Penn’s unwavering dedication to advancing human knowledge and solving the complex challenges of our time, reaffirming our position at the forefront of academic leadership and global engagement in the 21st century."

These new agreements build on the Penn Libraries’ ongoing efforts to support open access publishing, making cutting-edge research readily accessible to scholars worldwide. Making papers openly accessible also benefits the authors by amplifying the reach of their work. A new study, recently shared in Science magazine, found that open-access papers attract more total citations than those behind a paywall. Those citations also come from a broader readership, covering a wider range of locations, institutions, and disciplines.

Any Penn-affiliated authors — including students, faculty, researchers, staff, and clinicians — are eligible to publish their research as open access articles through these agreements. Authors can find additional guidance on publishing workflows, article requirements, and the scope of these agreements in our dedicated online portal.

Details on the Agreements

Springer Publishing

This three-year agreement (2024-2026) covers authors’ article processing charges (APCs) for open access publishing in Springer’s Hybrid (subscription-based) journals. The agreement also significantly expands the Penn community’s access to Springer publications. Penn faculty, staff, and students can now read the full suite of nearly 2,200 journals under the Springer umbrella, a 36% increase in the number of titles available. Springer imprints include Palgrave Macmillan journals, Adis Journals, and Academic journals.

Company of Biologists

This three-year agreement (2024-2026) covers APCs in both Hybrid and Gold open access journals. There is no cap to the number of articles covered during the term of our agreement. Only papers relating to original research are eligible.

Royal Society of Chemistry  

This one-year agreement (2024) covers APCs in both Hybrid and Gold open access journals. All article types are covered. This agreement also expands the Penn community’s access to RSC publications; this access now includes everything published by the RSC.

Institute of Physics

This three-year agreement (2024-2026) covers APCs in designated Hybrid and Gold open access journals within the package. Most, but not all, titles are eligible for open access publishing. Eligible article types include research papers, special issue articles, letters, and review articles. This agreement also expands the Penn community’s access to encompass the full IOPP (Institute of Physics Publishing) extra package, which includes the Electrochemical Society Digital Library.