Changes to open access publishing agreements

The Bibsam Consortium negotiates publishing agreements

Open publishing agreements enable employees at Umeå University to publish in a large number of journals without having to pay publication charges. These agreements are largely negotiated through the Bibsam Consortium, a national consortium comprising 97 participating organisations, of which Umeå University is a member.

The transformation that never materialised

Over the past decade, these so-called transformative agreements have largely combined open access publishing with reading access to publishers’ hybrid journals. The hybrid journal model allows publishers to charge both subscription fees for access to articles behind paywalls and publication fees for articles that researchers wish to make openly available. The idea behind transformative agreements was that hybrid journals would gradually transition to becoming fully open access. 

The hybrid journal model has generated substantial profits for publishers, while costs for libraries have not decreased. As subscriptions continue to form the basis of publishers’ business models, the hybrid model does not contribute to the Bibsam Consortium's goal of gradually increasing open access to research outputs. In essence, the transformation these agreements were intended to achieve has not materialised.

Changed direction for the agreements

To place greater emphasis on publishing in fully open access journals and to support the development of alternative publishing models, the Bibsam Consortium has therefore decided on a new direction for its agreements.

The new direction involves the following:

• A focus on fully open access journals. Agreements covering both reading access and publishing in hybrid journals will no longer be signed. From 2026 onwards, the aim is for new agreements to cover only fully open access journals.
• Support for new publishing models. The new direction promotes new routes to open access publishing and alternative business models. It also supports researcher-led journals that wish to move their publishing activities from traditional publishers to other platforms.
• Requirements for open licences. Research should be published under an open licence in accordance with the FAIR principles. Copyright provisions should also be used to promote open access, for example through secondary publication, also known as self-archiving.

Some publisher agreements are being renegotiated

The agreements with publishers are renegotiated on an ongoing basis by the Bibsam Consortium according to different timelines, and many of the current agreements will remain in force throughout 2027. The agreement with Bristol University Press has already been renegotiated and will continue to apply during 2027

However, ahead of 2027, the reading and publishing agreements with the following publishers are being renegotiated: 

• American Physical Society (APS)
• Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
• Wiley

If you submit an article to a journal published by one of these three publishers and the article is not accepted or published until 2027, new terms and conditions may apply. There is also a risk that some journals will no longer be covered by an agreement.

What the new direction means: effects and challenges

The new direction brings both potential benefits and certain challenges in how research is published and made accessible.

In the long term, the changes may lead to several positive outcomes: 

• A more transparent and sustainable publishing market, through a greater focus on fully open access journals.
• More opportunities to publish in researcher-led and non-profit journals through increased support for alternative publishing models.
• Stronger support for open science through requirements for open licences and adherence to the FAIR principles, making research outputs easier to reuse.

In the short term, however, the transition may present the following challenges:

• Researchers who currently publish in hybrid journals may need to find other routes for publishing and funding. Researchers remain free to choose where to publish, but not all options will necessarily be eligible for financial support.
• As current agreements are phased out, new ways of both financing publishing and ensuring access to scholarly journals will need to be developed.
• During a transitional period, the changes may create uncertainty regarding both publishing agreements and reading access.

Questions and answers

Umeå University Library is closely following developments and will provide regular updates. Below, you will find answers to some frequently asked questions. If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact the library.

Will previously subscribed content still be available?

Access to previously subscribed content varies depending on the agreement. In most cases, access remains available to volumes published during the subscription period. There may be exceptions where access will be unavailable or restricted.

If you do not have access to an article, you can order a copy through the library.

Order interlibrary loans and article copies

Will researchers still be able to choose where to publish?

The Bibsam Consortium’s action plan does not restrict researchers’ choice of publication channel.

Researchers continue to decide for themselves where and how their research results are published, and may therefore also publish in so-called hybrid journals (subscription-based journals in which articles can be made open access for an additional fee).

The new approach will gradually phase out agreements that cover publication costs in hybrid journals. Without such agreements, publication costs will no longer be covered as before and will instead need to be funded by other means.

What happens if I submit an article now to a publisher that may not be covered by future agreements? 

There is some uncertainty as to whether an article submitted today will be covered by a future agreement. This will depend partly on the outcome of forthcoming negotiations and partly on the practices of individual publishers and journals. A key factor is the date used to determine whether an article is included in an agreement.

For agreements renegotiated in 2026 (with new terms taking effect from 2027), the following key dates are used to determine whether an article is covered:

• Association for Computing Machinery, ACM (acceptance date) 
• American Physical Society, APS (acceptance date)
• Wiley (acceptance date)

When will the changes take place?

The changes will be introduced gradually as existing agreements expire. It is currently difficult to predict the exact outcome, as this depends on how forthcoming negotiations develop.

If you would like to know when an agreement with a specific publisher is scheduled for renegotiation, please contact the library.

This article cites and is based on a summary produced by Lund University: Changes to agreements with academic publishers