Academic publisher Cambridge University Press (CUP) and the universities in the Netherlands recently concluded a three-year agreement guaranteeing 100 percent open access to academic journals. As of June 1, researchers at Dutch universities will be able to publish articles in CUP’s full open access journals via the so-called ‘gold route’. This marks a significant step for the Dutch academic community, as it is the first time a publisher has opted to go down the gold route from the outset.
The agreements between CUP and the universities in the Netherlands are unique, with researchers now being able to publish in the hybrid journals as well as in the full open access journals. The agreement is the first of its kind, as never before have universities been able to negotiate an agreement with a publisher guaranteeing researchers the right to publish their articles open access directly via the gold route.
The VSNU (Association of Universities in the Netherlands) is in charge of negotiating agreements on subscription fees for scientific journals on behalf of the universities in the Netherlands. In general, universities will only wish to extend subscription agreements on the condition that the publishers are willing to take a step closer to open access. The fact that CUP was willing to take that far-reaching step was welcomed and applauded by the various Dutch universities.
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