Beginning Oct. 1, 2023, the Publications Division of the American Chemical Society (ACS) will provide authors with a new option to satisfy funder requirements for zero-embargo green open access. Through this pathway, authors will be able to post accepted manuscripts with a CC BY license in open access repositories immediately upon acceptance.
To ensure a sustainable model of delivering services from submission to final editorial decision, ACS Publications is introducing an article development charge (ADC) as part of this new zero-embargo green open access option. The ADC covers the cost of ACS’ publishing services through the final editorial decision. This includes organizing, developing and maintaining the high-quality, scholarly peer review process and multiple other publishing services provided by a vast global network of editors and reviewers.
A number of funders and institutions require authors to retain the rights to post their accepted manuscripts immediately upon acceptance. Already, more than 90% of authors subject to these mandates have a simple and funded pathway to publish gold open access in ACS journals either through an institutional read and publish or another source of funding. The ADC is intended to provide a solution to the remaining authors who need to adhere to the zero-embargo green open access mandate.
“Funders, institutions and publishers alike acknowledge the need to support the costs incurred to support high-quality publishing activities,” says ACS Publications President James Milne. “While this option will only apply to a very small subset of authors, it reflects our goal of supporting researchers as they traverse new open access policies and funder mandates.”
For authors not covered by a read and publish agreement or another pathway, this option provides an alternative for researchers to share their work widely, while sustaining the costs incurred to ensure quality, value and integrity during the publishing process. To provide equitable access to publishing services and support researchers worldwide, ACS Publications will automatically apply waivers or discounts to manuscripts submitted by corresponding authors from all countries that currently receive special country pricing for article publishing charges (APCs).
As the industry moves beyond being solely focused on a subscription-based model, ACS Publications is committed to finding sustainable ways to support all authors as they navigate funder and institutional mandates around public access.
