KU Libraries has joined a partnership with the Public Library of Science (PLOS) that waives author fees for Lawrence campus researchers.
Normally, the cost to publish in PLOS journals ranges from $800 to $5,300 per article, depending on the journal. The agreement waives fees for all PLOS journals for Lawrence campus corresponding authors. Fees are waived for KU Medical Center corresponding authors in PLOS Medicine, PLOS Biology, and PLOS Sustainability and Transformation under a previous agreement. The agreements also offer a 25% discount to contributing authors from both KU’s Lawrence campus and KUMC for those titles.
The waiving of author-side publishing fees is supported by a flat annual fee paid for by KU Libraries with support from the Office of Research. The annual cost is based on the number of articles by KU researchers published in PLOS journals in recent history. KU librarians hope that researchers will take full advantage of this opportunity to publish their work without barriers in order to reap the benefits of open access.
PLOS is home to more than a dozen open access scientific journals with a global reach. Founded in 2001, PLOS is a non-profit open access publisher whose mission is to support innovative research in science and medicine. This pilot program not only makes it easier for KU researchers to publish their work, but also gives KU publications more visibility.
This agreement is one of many implemented by the libraries to engage with open access publishers across disciplines. Partnerships with open access publishers lower costs for the university as well as for researchers and readers.
To take advantage of the waived fees, KU researchers must indicate their University of Kansas affiliation on the PLOS article submission form.
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