Cambridge University Press signs major Open Access deal in Sweden

Cambridge University Press has reached a major Open Access deal with higher education and research institutions in Sweden.

The three-year ‘Read and Publish’ deal has been agreed with Bibsam – a consortium of 85 higher education and research institutions, led by the National Library of Sweden. This deal allows affiliated institutions access to the Press’ full collection of journals. Authors from these institutions can also publish publicly-financed research articles in the Press’s hybrid and fully Open Access journals.

Chris Bennett, Global Sales Director (Academic Publishing) at the Press, said: “We are delighted to have reached this agreement with the Bibsam Consortium. It is a further, clear demonstration of our determination to be at the forefront of building a sustainable, responsible transition to full Open Access on behalf of our authors, their institutions and those who fund them. We recognise and support wholeheartedly the benefits to global research of doing so.”

Details of the deal

The terms of the agreement allow affiliated institutions access to the Press’ full collection of nearly 400 journals across STM and HSS, from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2021. Authors from these institutions can also publish publicly-financed research articles in the Press’s hybrid and fully Open Access journals. The agreement covers the Article Processing Charges that authors would normally pay to publish their work Open Access.

Opening the door to Open Research

As the Open Research movement seeks to unlock the potential in academic research by making knowledge accessible to all, read and publish agreements find the balance between safeguarding publishing opportunities for authors and maximizing access opportunities for readers.

The Swedish deal underscores the commitment of the Swedish research community to make research freely available. Directed by the Swedish government, the National Library of Sweden acts as a national coordinating body to transition all research outputs to Open Access by 2026 (set out in chapter 1, section 6 of the Higher Education Act (1992:1434)).

Anna Lundén, Head of Division, National Coordination of Libraries, at the National Library of Sweden, said that ‘the transformation to “Read and Publish” for participating organisations in the Bibsam Consortium’ with Cambridge University Press is an ‘important milestone’.

Cambridge University Press’ history, relationship with the University, and not-for-profit status creates a strong position to engage the community, invest in innovative solutions and play an important role in helping to shape Open Research as it evolves.

Mandy Hill, Managing Director of Academic Publishing at the Press, said: ‘This Read and Publish deal with Bibsam also supports our wider ambitions and our long-term commitment to Open Research – making scholarly publishing more accessible, while ensuring sustainability and quality for the academic community.’

Further information for Swedish authors can be found here.

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