By Karen Gutzman and Ramune Kubilius 

Publishing research open access (OA) increases visibility, expands readership, and helps ensure that scholarly work is accessible to researchers, clinicians, policymakers, and the public. Northwestern University Libraries and Galter Health Sciences Library support open access publishing through agreements with major publishers including Springer Nature and Wiley, along with institutional memberships and negotiated discounts that reduce or eliminate article processing charges (APCs) for Northwestern corresponding authors. 

These agreements are often negotiated through large academic consortia such as the Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA) or the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI). In many cases, article processing charges (APCs) are fully covered or significantly reduced for Northwestern corresponding authors, allowing faculty to publish open access without paying fees from grant funds or departmental budgets. 

Several publisher agreements currently provide fully funded open access publishing opportunities for Northwestern researchers. 

Springer Nature Journals
Northwestern participates in a BTAA agreement with Springer Nature that runs from January 2025 through December 2026. Under this agreement, corresponding authors affiliated with Northwestern may publish open access without APCs in eligible hybrid journals, including titles published by Springer, Adis, and Palgrave Macmillan. Academic journals hosted on Nature.com are included, although the flagship Nature and Nature-branded journals are excluded.  
Check whether a specific journal is covered using Springer Nature’s Journal Finder. 

Wiley Journals 
Northwestern has participated in a BTAA agreement with Wiley that enables affiliated corresponding authors to publish open access without APCs in both hybrid and fully open access Wiley journals. The agreement originally ran from January 2023 through December 2025 and was temporarily extended through February 28, 2026 while negotiations continue. A separate announcement will be shared once the updated agreement is finalized. 
Check whether a Wiley journal is eligible using the Wiley Journal Recommender System. Use the Open Access filter to select “Yes” for gold open access journals or “Optional” for hybrid journals. 

Biochemical Society Journals 
Through a BTAA agreement running through December 2026, Northwestern authors can publish uncapped, fee-free gold open access in all journals published by the Biochemical Society’s Portland Press. 
View the Biochemical Society journals included in the agreement.

Several society publishers have adopted “Subscribe-to-Open” (S2O) models, in which library subscriptions enable open access publication without APCs. 

For example: 

• American Physiological Society journals waive APCs for Northwestern corresponding authors. See the AJP Consolidated Package for the list of journals in which Northwestern corresponding authors may publish open access without APCs
• American Society for Microbiology journals waive APCs for participating institutions, though authors may still pay page or supplemental material charges. See the list of ASM’s S2O package for the list of journals in which Northwestern corresponding authors may publish open access without APCs
• De Gruyter Brill journals waive APCs for Northwestern corresponding authors. Visit this page and scroll to “Discover our S2O journals” to see participating titles 

Note: Some publishers have not yet finalized or released their 2026 Subscribe-to-Open (S2O) journal lists. The links above point to the most current information available from each publisher. 

Northwestern authors may also receive discounts or partial support through other publisher arrangements, including: 

• American Chemical Society (ACS) offers reduced APC rates and repository deposit options through a CARLI consortium agreement. More information and step-by-step instructions are available here
• Royal Society of Chemistry offers open access publishing across hybrid and gold journals through a BTAA agreement. See the journal list 
• MDPI provides Northwestern corresponding authors with a 10% APC discount. See the list of MDPI journals
• Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) reduced open access fee for authors affiliated with institutions holding a site license. Because Galter Library maintains a current-year institutional site license, Northwestern corresponding authors may publish open access for $5,300 (reduced from $5,800). Authors of accepted papers should select the reduced fee on the PNAS billing forms included with the author proofs. 

These agreements help Northwestern faculty publish open access in major journals while reducing or eliminating article processing charges (APCs). 

Northwestern also supports open publishing beyond journal articles. Faculty and staff can use Open Book Publishing, a Pressbooks-based platform, to create and distribute openly licensed textbooks, scholarly monographs, and other digital publications. 

Many research funders allow publication costs to be included in grant budgets. For example, NIH grants may include article processing charges, allowing researchers to plan for open access publishing as part of the research lifecycle. For detailed guidance on NIH requirements, submission routes, and funding considerations, see the NIH Public Access Policy Galter Library guide. 

Publisher agreements and discounts are updated periodically. For the most current information, see the Galter Library guide: Open Access Publishing Support Guide. 

Faculty with questions about open access publishing options or eligibility for specific agreements are encouraged to contact Galter Library’s liaison librarians or reference team at ghsl-ref@northwestern.edu.

Karen Gutzman is Head of Research Assessment and Communications at the Galter Health Sciences Library & Learning Center, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, where she works with faculty on scholarly communication, research visibility, and open access publishing initiatives. Contact her at karen.gutzman@northwestern.edu. 

Ramune Kubilius is Collection Development and Special Projects Librarian at the Galter Health Sciences Library & Learning Center, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, where she works on collection strategy, scholarly communication initiatives, and access to health sciences information resources. Contact her at r-kubilius@northwestern.edu.