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Springer Nature Open Access quota soon to be reached

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September 27, 2024

We expect to reach the 2024 maximum (CAP) for free open access publishing in Springer journals by the third week of October. Once the quota is reached, WUR authors must pay the Article Processing Charges (APCs). Read more on the implications and explore alternative options to make your research accessible.

What are the consequences?

If your manuscript is accepted between the moment the cap is reached and 1 January 2025, Springer will still offer to publish your article Open Access, but the costs will no longer be covered by the consortium agreement.

Alternative funding of immediate open access publishing

If you opt for immediate open access publishing – e.g. because this required by your funder - consider paying the associated APC (Article Processing Charge) by other sources, such as your research grant or research budget. If you're currently preparing your manuscript, note that a new Open Access quota will be available for articles accepted by Springer Nature for publication in 2025.

Delayed (green) Open Access publishing in Springer Nature

You can also choose to share your article Open Access free of charge after an embargo period. Then, your article is initially published behind a paywall, and made openly available after an embargo period and without an open license. This can be done in two ways:

  • By using the Taverne Amendment (article 25fa) of the Dutch Copyright law. For WU authors, the opt-out route is set in place. For WR authors, the opt-in route is available by filling in the online participation form - please check beforehand whether you fulfil the Taverne requirements.
  • By self-archiving the Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM). Please email the AAM of your article to the Library upon publication, and include the DOI if available. We'll make the AAM available in Research@WUR when the publisher’s embargo period expires.

Stay informed

To stay informed about the status of the quota, please regularly check the information section of selected Springer journals in the WUR Journal Browser.

You can also sign up for a national ‘notify-me service’. You can use this service also to receive updates about other publishers with a maximum number of open-access publications.

Springer deal

Springer and the VSNU agreed that corresponding authors from Dutch Universities can publish up to 2,067 articles Open Access in 2024 at no cost to the author. The maximum number is expected to be reached in the third week of October 2024.

Support

If you have any more questions, please contact the Open Access team of WUR Library. We're happy to help you.