Agreements
Although the Library does not have stand-alone funding to cover article processing charges (APCs), we do have agreements with certain publishers in place that allow UD authors to publish open access without any fees:
Scroll or click the publisher name below to learn more:
What UD Authors Get
Open: APC fees will be waived, provided that the corresponding author is affiliated with UD, and uses their institutional email address for submission.
Notes
American Chemical Society (ACS)
What UD Authors Get
Free deposit of Author Accepted Manuscript to PMC; no APC discount for Gold OA publishing
Notes
Read-and-green agreement; satisfies NIH no-embargo requirement without OA fees. The author will retain copyright of the Version of Record. There is no fee for authors to participate in the program. Additional information about ACS agreement.
BioMed Central
What UD Authors Get
15% discount on APCs for BMC, Discover, or SpringerOpen journals
Notes
Cambridge University Press
What UD Authors Get
APC waived in all participating CUP journals
Notes
Some article types excluded. Renewed through 2027.
Royal Society of Chemistry
What UD Authors Get
APCs covered for all hybrid RSC journals; 15% discount on gold OA
Notes
Chemistry-focused; limited utility for biomedical authors
Springer Nature
What UD Authors Get
APCs waived when they publish in any hybrid Springer, Palgrave, or Adis journal, as well as the Academic Journals on nature.com.
Notes
Excludes Nature portfolio titles (Nature, Nature Medicine, etc.)
Discounts
In addition to our full agreements, UD authors may get a discount on publishing open access with the following publishers:
ASM Journals
APCs waived; authors must still pay a per-page charge of $79 for ASM Subscribe2Open members (ASM S20), as well as a $180 flat fee.
BioMedCentral
15% discount on APCs for BMC, Discover, or SpringerOpen journals.
GeoScienceWorld – Lithosphere
As part of the library’s membership in the NERL (Northeast Research Libraries) consortium, UD affiliated researchers can receive a 20% discount on APCs for articles published in Lithosphere. To receive the discount, the researcher must be the corresponding author on the accepted paper. The discount code can be entered during the checkout process when the manuscript is submitted, and must be entered prior to the manuscript final decision.
Submission link. Discount code: NERL-SAVE-TB7E
MDPI
10% discount on APCs for all MDPI journals.
Subscribe to Open (S2O)
S2O is a scholarly publishing model where libraries maintain subscriptions to journals, but if enough libraries participate, the content is made Open Access for that year without charging authors APCs. It bridges the gap between traditional subscriptions and open access, ensuring sustainability while removing financial barriers for authors.
Royal Society: In 2026, researchers can publish open access in the Royal Society’s eight subscription journals without having to pay an APC. The journals covered are Proceedings A, Proceedings B, Journal of the Royal Society Interface, Biology Letters, Interface Focus, Philosophical Transactions A, Philosophical Transactions B, Notes and Records.
For More Information
Contact the Collections and Electronic Resources Management team with questions about these publisher agreements.