Subscribe to Open threshold met: Journal of General Virology and Journal of Medical Microbiology Open Access for 2026

Thanks to the support of subscribing institutions, the Microbiology Society is pleased to confirm that we have again met our sustainability target for the Journal of General Virology and the Journal of Medical Microbiology under the Subscribe to Open (S2O) model for 2026. All content published in these titles in the next year will be published as permanently Open Access (OA). 

S2O is a sustainable model that enables the transition of subscription-based journals to Open Access (OA), one year at a time. Under S2O, renewals enable the journal’s transition to OA – provided that enough subscribers renew, the content of that year will be published OA for all to access. S2O supports us as a publisher to enable increased readership worldwide whilst protecting a journal’s viability and helping us to continue serving our community for years to come. 

The Microbiology Society is a membership charity and not-for-profit publisher. Submissions to our titles support our community – income from our journals is re-invested back into our activities – ensuring that we continue to provide events, grants and professional development for microbiologists at all career stages.  

Why S2O?  

S2O is designed to support the sustainable transition to OA through the regular renewals process with no additional costs for subscribers. Researchers at subscribing institutions have full access to the journal archive as well as unlimited OA publishing in that title. Journal of General Virology and Journal of Medical Microbiology rely upon a strong existing subscriber base; S2O offers a more stable model to enable OA publishing in the title without relying on APCs alone, supporting increased usage of Society content worldwide whilst protecting the journal’s viability into the future. 

Under the Microbiology Society’s S2O model, authors not covered by an institutional agreement (S2O subscription or Publish and Read agreement) will be required to pay an article processing charge (APC), unless covered by our inclusivity policy. 

Check if your institution has an agreement with us and which journals are included on our institutional agreements page. 

Benefits of S2O  

• S2O titles open newly published content to be accessed by anyone, anywhere in the world, whilst ensuring that the journal can continue to serve its community for years to come.  

• Subscribing institutions retain guaranteed access to S2O journal archives. 

• Subscribing institutions secure uncapped OA publishing for their researchers. 

• S2O supports our wider portfolio transition to OA, providing broader access to our content and increased usage for authors.  

• Via S2O, subscribing institutions support the transition of our journals to OA without any additional cost or administration, using existing renewals processes.  

For more details on the Microbiology Society S2O model, please see our FAQs page.