The University Library has made new Transformative Agreements with publishers. These agreements help Texas Tech researchers publish open access. Researchers get big discounts on article processing charges (APCs). In some cases, the library covers the full APCs.

Agreements are in place with the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), Cambridge University Press and Elsevier. Discussions also are underway for a Transformative Agreement with the Institute of Physics. Since 2020, more than 57 articles from TTU authors, including lead and co-authors, have been published Open Access (OA), translating to over $120,000 in APC savings.

Cambridge Agreement

 A Read and Publish Agreement with Cambridge University Press allows Texas Tech authors to sustainably convert publishing to Open Access with full APC charge coverage by the library for numerous titles. Close to 400 journals, in subjects including Archaeology, Chemistry, Media, Linguistics, Nutrition, Psychology and more, are eligible for OA publishing under the agreement. The Cambridge agreement also provides access to high-quality, peer-reviewed journals for library patrons.

According to Cambridge University Press, 75% of OA articles get more citations than their non-OA equivalents, receiving on average 30 to 50% more citations. This guide provides step-by-step assistance on publishing open access in Cambridge journals.

Elsevier

In addition to the Cambridge agreement, the library was part of a Texas-wide coalition of universities that negotiated new agreements with Elsevier, the world’s largest publisher of scientific journals, in which members received a discount on journal subscriptions – some as high as 30%.

 In negotiations with the Texas Library Coalition for United Action (TLCUA), Elsevier also agreed that all authors at TLCUA-member institutions who choose to publish their work under an open-access license will have access to discounted APCs (between 10-15%), as well as providing authors with greater control over their published work.

For more information about publishing agreements, email Marina Oliver, Associate Dean of Libraries for Resources Management, Collections and Systems, at marina.oliver@ttu.edu.