The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) and TIB – Leibniz Information Centre for Science and Technology and University Library, have signed their first truly transformative Open Access (OA) agreement.
Beginning in 2024, the four-year agreement bridges the gap to 2028 when the Royal Society of Chemistry plans to transition all its fully RSC-owned journals to Open Access.
The RSC Platinum consortia model in Germany is a new community Open Access model, co-designed by the RSC and TIB, enabling participation from all academic and research institutions, including non-publishing institutions.
enabling participation from all academic and research institutions, including non-publishing institutions
The four-year agreement provides unlimited publishing services (submission, peer-review, hosting, indexing, promotion, etc) supporting authors and readers at 77 institutions in Germany.
Authors at participating institutions can read and publish in all RSC journals without any author-facing charges. From 2028, under a renewal of the model, all content will be fully Open Access and authors from participating institutions can publish without author charges.
Response to the pilot model has been positive, signalling the importance of truly transformative and transparent deals to German institutions.
77 institutions have signed up to the RSC’s new RSC Platinum consortium model, ensuring the vast majority of publications in RSC journals from German institutions will be published Open Access.
supporting authors and readers at 77 institutions in Germany.
In comparison, the RSC’s previous Read & Publish consortium with TIB covered 31 institutions and approximately 45% of articles from Germany.
Dr Irina Sens, Deputy Director and Head of Library Operations at TIB, said: “In 2014, TIB concluded its first consortial licensing agreement entailing a publishing component with the RSC. After successfully implementing Open Access goals within the consortium over the past decade, we are very happy to have come to an agreement that heralds the end of this transformative journey.
“During the next 4 years, this agreement will assist all parties to move from the current hybrid model to a fully Open Access model in a sustainable and equitable manner. With the entire portfolio covered for the first time, this deal also allows authors to choose their RSC publication venue irrespective of financial considerations.”
Claudia Heidrich, Royal Society of Chemistry EMEAI Sales Manager, said: “It was a truly collaborative process to develop the deal structure we now have – incorporating all of the ideals we were striving for, including equity for institutions, a community approach and universal OA for authors, at the same time ensuring that the agreement is financially viable for the RSC.”
This agreement is the first in a series of pilot models the Royal Society of Chemistry plans to roll out to its global institutional customer base to support the transition of RSC-owned journals to Open Access by 2028.
The RSC aims for the majority of its authors to be covered by institutional OA agreements by the time it transitions to OA.