Open access publishing: Springer

This is a three-year (2023-2025) transformational read and publish agreement for the Springer Compact collection, which includes all hybrid and closed journals in Springer, Adis, Palgrave and Nature Academic journals but excludes the Nature Research journals and all fully open access journals.

The offer includes:

• Read access (back to 1997) to approximately 2 424 journals.
• Authors affiliated with Stellenbosch University will be able to publish under an immediate, open access license in hybrid journals without having to pay article processing charges (APCs).

Note that fully open access Springer Nature journals, including BioMed Central journals, are excluded from the offer. See box for information regarding these journals.

The Library administers the University’s deposit account with Springer Nature (formerly BioMed Central), which allows SU researchers to submit articles to BMC, Springer Open, Nature Open and Palgrave Macmillan Open journals without having to pay APCs before publication.

The Library pays Springer Nature on the author’s behalf, but then reclaims the full amount, plus 15% VAT, from the author/author’s department. (Rand value calculated at the exchange rate on the day of claiming the refund.)

Submissions under the University’s deposit account also afford researchers 15% discount on the article processing charge (APC) for BMC titles.