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Open Access

Open access is refers to immediate and global access to scholarship, and is an alternative publishing model to subscription-based models of publishing journal articles and other materials which “paywall” access to important research and limit the reach and use of research.

The library supports open access for AU researchers in many forms, including:

Many funders of sponsored research mandate making data and/or publication openly available. The library is available to assist funded researchers in order to comply with these mandates. Please consult with our Sponsored Research OA guide for up-to-date information regarding mandates for publications, and our Data Management Planning guide for information regarding mandates for data management planning and publication.

Any AU researcher can apply for use of this fund, which will pay for an author’s fee to publish in a fully open journal (i.e., one without a subscription fee) once every 12 months.

The library has negotiated several agreements with publishers which support the open access publishing of most journal articles with that publisher, at NO COST to the researcher. Yes, you can publish open access in most journals through these publishers!

  • John Benjamins Publishing (New in 2025!)
  • 7 PLOS journals: (New in 2025!)
    • PLOS One
    • PLOS Complex Systems
    • PLOS Computational Biology
    • PLOS Digital Health
    • PLOS Genetics
    • PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
    • PLOS Pathogens
  • Cambridge
  • Springer Nature (applies to Springer titles only – Nature titles are excluded)
  • Association of Computing Machinists (ACM)
  • American Chemical Society (ACS)
  • Company of Biologists

The AU Research Archive (AURA) hosts publicly available AU scholarship. Faculty and other researchers are invited to upload their own research content, including data, preprints, reports, and other materials. Features include automatic DOI minting, excellent visibility including Google Scholar indexing for journal content, robust metrics for impact tracking, and a flexible uploading system that allows for a wide variety of content and formats.

The library financially support a number of open access publishing programs and infrastructure models, including DOAJ, SCOAP3, Annual Reviews Subscribe to Open, and Project MUSE Subscribe to Open.

Librarian Support

The library employs a Scholarly Communications Librarian, who can assist with anything related to open access! Email Rachel Borchardt or make an appointment.