Publish and Read Q&A
Posted on October 19, 2020 by Microbiology Society
Publish and Read is a fee-free way for authors to publish Open Access (OA) articles in all of the Society’s journals – both the OA titles (Microbial Genomics and Access Microbiology) and the subscription titles like Journal of General Virology. Readers at Publish and Read institutions also get unlimited access to all paywalled content. To see whether your institution has signed up for fee-free OA, check the list of institutions on our website.
We spoke to Professor Mark Harris (General Secretary) and Professor Paul Duprex (Editor-in-Chief of Journal of General Virology) about publishing Open Access and why they feel authors should make the most of Publish and Read.
Why should authors get involved with Publish and Read?
Publish and Read makes publishing OA easier and simpler for authors: there’s no transaction or fee involved, and no OA approvals mechanism required. It’s good for institutions too, as they can use their block grant to cover the cost of the Publish and Read deal. Authors can then publish an unlimited number of fee-free OA articles without worrying about their funding running out.
Authors can still publish OA articles via an Article Processing Charge if their institution hasn’t selected Publish and Read, and subscriptions are still available for institutions who prefer read-only access, but for research-intensive institutions Publish and Read may be a better value option.
How does it work?
Instead of purchasing a subscription, your university’s library would pay an annual fixed-price package deal. On submitting a manuscript to one of the Society’s journals, the corresponding author just needs to use their institutional email address and affiliation, then they will be directed to signing an Open Access (CC-BY) licence.
How can authors check if they’re eligible?
Authors can check their eligibility before submitting, here: microbiologyresearch.org/fee-free-open-access. If they forget, the in-house team are checking to make sure that authors at Publish and Read institutions aren’t missing out.
Why do you think authors should be publishing their articles Open Access?
OA publication is now mandatory for research funded by a number of organisations (e.g. Wellcome). In addition, it is clear that OA (by definition) allows easier and wider access to manuscripts, and this results in more reads, downloads and citations. Your research will therefore reach a wider audience with obvious benefits for all.
What should I do if I would like my institution to sign-up, but they haven’t yet?
Speak to your librarian or the Open Access team at your institution and ask them about signing up for Publish and Read. If you want data to back up your request, the Society team are happy to help – just email [email protected].
