University Library of Bern UB

Read and Publish

Nature

Media release, 11.5.2023:

Nature Research journals: 2023 article quota for free open access publishing has been reached


This media release only concerns publications in Nature Research journals; it does not concern the Read & Publish agreement with SpringerNature on journals published by other parts of SpringerNature (Springer, Adis, Palgrave, etc.).

Since January 2023, a Read & Publish deal with SpringerNature allows members of the University of Bern, PH Bern and the Hospitals Insel and Tiefenau to publish their articles open access in hybrid Nature Research journals without incurring any costs of their own. As part of this deal, which was brokered by swissuniversities, the publisher set an upper limit on the number of articles, which should cover about 50% of the annual publication volume. Since Swiss researchers published more articles in Nature Research journals than expected in the first months, the quota has now already been exhausted.

For members of the University of Bern and its affiliated institutions this means that from now on and until the end of 2023, they will no longer be able to publish articles that are accepted for publication by a Nature Research journal in open access via this Read & Publish agreement.

The submission date of the article is therefore irrelevant for counting an article towards the article quota: according to the Read & Publish agreement, the date on which the journal accepts the article for publication (acceptance date) is decisive.
 

Alternative publication options until the end of 2023

For those who wish to continue publishing articles in a Nature Research journal, the following options are available:

  • Publication in open access in hybrid Nature Research journals: APCs must be paid from funds to be acquired by the authors themselves.
  • Publication in open access in a pure Open access journal: APCs might be covered by the publication fund of the University Library of Bern. Contact the Open Access team of the University Library. Information can be found here.
  • Publication in open access green (self-archiving): the accepted manuscript can usually be made available in open access in a repository (e.g. BORIS) after an embargo period (often 12 months) after publication.
  • Publication in closed access in a Nature Research journal: No additional costs are incurred, as these are covered as part of the subscription. The article will not be published in open access.
     

New article quota from 2024

The open access agreement with SpringerNature has not ended. As of January 1, 2024, it will again be possible to publish for free in Nature Research journals within the Read & Publish agreement. For 2024, it is expected that the article quota again will be exhausted by mid-year at the latest.
 

Further information:

  • on the Read & Publish agreement regarding the Nature Research journals can be found here.
  • on the Read & Publish agreement regarding the other journals of SpringerNature can be found here.
  • on open access in general is here, or contact the Open Access Team: openaccess@unibe.ch