The MIT Libraries have established a special fund, the MIT Open Access Article Publication Subvention Fund (OAAPSF), to support equity in open access publication by providing funding to MIT authors who might not otherwise be able to cover publication fees. A subsidy of up to $1,000 per article is now available to faculty authors publishing in eligible journals.
The fund was created as a result of MIT’s commitment to the “Compact for Open-Access Publishing Equity,” launched with four other founding universities last September. The goal of the compact is to allow subscription-based journals and open access journals to compete on a more level playing field by providing equitable support for the processing-fee business model for open-access journals. As Provost Rafael Reif reflected when the Compact was launched: “The dissemination of research findings to the public is not merely the right of research universities: it is their obligation. Open-access publishing promises to put more research in more hands and in more places around the world. This is a good enough reason for universities to embrace the guiding principles of this compact.”
The fund is being initiated as a pilot project, in cooperation with the Faculty Committee on the Library System, with the initial goal of determining faculty interest in and financial requirements of such a fund at MIT.
Eligibility
This fund is intended to be a last resort for use when no alternative source of funding is available. Current MIT faculty are eligible to use the fund, for articles that will be submitted for publication after June 1, 2010 in open-access journals that:
- Are peer reviewed;
- Are listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals;
- Adhere to the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association Code of Conduct;
- Make their standard fee schedules publicly accessible; and
- Waive their fees in cases of financial hardship.
Articles reporting on research that was supported by funders that allow research funds to be used for publication fees (e.g. NIH) are not eligible for this funding, whether or not publication costs were specifically included in the grant. The subsidy is limited to $1,000 per article, regardless of the number of authors.
If you have any questions about eligibility for or use of the fund, please contact copyright-lib@mit.edu.
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More information on the fund:
FAQ on the purpose, scope, and use of the fund
More background on the Compact:
MIT news story
Compact web site
Inside Higher Ed article
PLoS article by Compact author and Harvard professor Stuart Shieber
