New deal supports open and accessible research

The Open University Library, working with other universities through the Jisc* consortium, has finalised major new agreements with the world’s five largest academic publishers: Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley, Taylor & Francis, and Sage.

These agreements enable our staff and students to read from a wide range of journals and support our academic staff and postgraduate research students in publishing open access articles (where the final published version is available for anyone to download and read), while keeping costs under control. 

For staff across the OU, this means continued access to high-quality journal content that underpins teaching, learning, professional practice and innovation. For researchers, it removes many of the financial and administrative barriers that can make publishing open access complex or costly.

The agreements are particularly significant at a time when open access requirements from funders are increasing. By combining reading access and publishing rights into single deals, universities can avoid paying twice - once to read research and again to publish it - ensuring better value for public money.

Professor Mark Brandon, Interim Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research & Innovation, welcomed the announcement:

"I’m delighted that The Open University Library team have played such a key role in securing this arrangement. Our staff, students and funders will benefit greatly from this new agreement. Thank you to our Library staff.” 

Why this matters

This deal supports the OU’s commitment to high-quality research, knowledge exchange and public benefit. By widening access to research outputs, it helps increase the visibility and impact of work produced here, strengthens collaboration, and supports transparency and openness in research.

What you can do next

Researchers can find guidance on how to publish open access under these agreements, including eligibility and next steps, on the Library’s open access webpages. The Library’s Research Support team is also available to advise on publishing options and compliance with funder requirements.

* Jisc is the UK’s not-for-profit organisation that supports digital services for education and research.