Library Guides: Open Access: Article Processing Charges

Article Processing Charges (APCs)

Article processing charges (APCs) are fees paid to the publisher by or on behalf of the author, in exchange for publishing the article on an open access basis: without a paywall and (typically) with an open license such as one of the Creative Commons licenses. Libraries sometimes make agreements with publishers that cover or discount APCs for articles that have an author affiliated with their institution. These agreements can be called "read and publish agreements" or "transformative agreements." See below for a list of Penn State's agreements of this type.

Creative Commons Licenses - Penn State
This page from the Office of Scholarly Communications and Copyright explains the basics of Creative Commons licenses, including considerations for Penn State affiliates. Authors publishing on an open access basis often have a choice of Creative Commons licenses for their article, especially when an APC is paid or the APC is covered by one of PSU's agreements.
Transformative agreements: Six myths, busted
This article from College and Research Libraries News provides an introduction to transformative agreements.

APC Discounts for PSU Authors

The following APC discounts are available to Penn State authors. Most of the discounts listed below are complete discounts resulting from "read and publish" or "transformative" agreements. Some partial discounts are also listed.

Please make sure to list your Penn State affiliation when you submit to the following journals. There are no codes to enter. Penn State corresponding authors publishing in eligible journals will automatically be offered free (or discounted) OA publishing. Contact openaccess@psu.edu if you have trouble.

American Chemical Society (ACS)
The Penn State University Libraries subscribe to the "ACS All Publications Package," so Penn State authors are eligible for a discount of $250 on open access publishing in transformative/hybrid journals. (Au journals are not included.) Discounts are also available to ACS members and authors who choose to delay open access to their articles.
Bioscientifica
The Penn State Libraries is a subscriber to the following Bioscientifica journals: Journal of Endocrinology, Journal of Molecular Endocrinology, European Journal of Endocrinology, and Reproduction. This entitles Penn State authors to a discount on APCs at those journals.
Cambridge University Press
Penn State corresponding authors can publish open access through Cambridge University Press (CUP) at no additional charge, as part of the Libraries' 2024–2026 agreement with Cambridge. This applies to research articles, review articles, rapid communications, brief reports and case reports. A small number (less than 10%) of Cambridge journals do not have an open access option and are excluded from the agreement.
Institute of Physics (IOP)
Penn State corresponding authors can publish open access in eligible IOP journals, including most of the gold and hybrid OA journals, with no additional charge. This applies to primary research articles accepted between January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2025. Excluded journals are American Astronomical Society (AAS) journals, some society titles that do not allow OA publishing, fully OA journals that do not charge OA fees, and translated and conference titles.
Eligible IOP Journals
List of eligible Institute of Physics (IOP) journals in which Penn State corresponding authors may publish unlimited OA primary research articles. Please see the above Institute of Physics OA deal description for more information.
Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development
The Penn State Libraries is a Library Shareholder in the journal, so the entire APC is waived for Penn State authors.
Microbiology Society
Penn State corresponding authors can publish open access in all hybrid and fully open access Microbiology Society journals at no additional charge, as part of Penn State’s participation in the 2023-2025 BTAA – Microbiology Society read and publish contract. This agreement covers articles that are accepted in a Microbiology Society journal between January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2025.
Portland Press
The Penn State University Libraries subscribe to several journals from Portland Press, which entitles Penn State authors to a discount on the open access fee with any Portland Press journal.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)
PNAS levies page charges for all articles, and all PNAS articles are free-to-read within six months of publication. The Penn State Libraries have a site license to PNAS, so Penn State authors who opt to pay a surcharge for immediate open access publication receive a discount on that surcharge. The discount does not apply to regular page charges.
Public Library of Science (PLOS)
Under the Libraries’ open access agreement with PLOS, there is no fee for open access publication in the following PLOS journals if the corresponding author is at Penn State: PLOS Complex Systems, PLOS Computational Biology, PLOS Digital Health, PLOS Genetics, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, PLOS ONE, and PLOS Pathogens. Eligibility is checked when the article is accepted.
Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Penn State corresponding authors can publish open access in all RSC journals at no additional charge, under Penn State's agreement with RSC. This agreement runs through December 31, 2025.
SAGE
Penn State corresponding authors can publish open access through SAGE at no additional charge, as part of the Libraries' agreement with SAGE. This agreement applies to 98% of SAGE titles. The current agreement runs through December 31, 2026.

2024 SAGE titles
This document lists all the journals included in our 2024 agreement with SAGE. "Not in PremierR&P" are the titles excluded from open access publishing in the agreement. Please contact us at openaccess@psu.edu with any questions.

Springer
Penn State corresponding authors can publish open access in Springer Hybrid Journals at no additional charge, as part of Penn State’s participation in the 2025-2026 BTAA-Springer read and publish agreement. This does not apply to Springer Open journals. Articles accepted by a Springer Hybrid journal between April 1, 2025 and December 31, 2026 are eligible. Eligibility applies at acceptance.
Taylor and Francis
Penn State corresponding authors can publish open access through Taylor and Francis at no additional charge, as part of the Libraries' 2024–2025 agreement with Taylor and Francis. This deal covers up to 210 articles per year. All current Taylor and Francis journals have an open access option and are therefore eligible for this deal. Eligibility applies at acceptance.

If you are a PSU affiliate and the corresponding author of an article published in a Taylor and Francis journal that was accepted January 1, 2024 or after, you can contact oalibrarianenquiries@tandf.co.uk to request retroactive conversion of your article to OA.
Wiley
Penn State corresponding authors can publish open access in all Wiley publications (including Hindawi journals) at no additional charge, as part of Penn State’s participation in the 2023-2025 BTAA-Wiley read and publish contract.

Penn State corresponding authors whose articles are accepted in a Wiley hybrid journal or submitted to a Wiley Gold or Hindawi journal between January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2025, will automatically be offered free OA publishing.

For all of the publishers listed here, please make sure to list your Penn State affiliation when you submit your article. There are no codes to enter. Penn State corresponding authors publishing in eligible journals will automatically be offered free (or discounted) OA publishing. Contact openaccess@psu.edu if you have trouble.

More Resources About APCs

Transformative agreements: Do they pave the way to open access?
This article from Learned Publishing analyzes 36 full-text transformative agreements recorded in the ESAC registry.
ESAC Transformative Agreement Registry
This registry lists standardized basic information for hundreds of transformative agreements, including Penn State and Big Ten Academic Alliance agreements.
The Worst of Both Worlds: Hybrid Open Access
This 2018 blogpost by Lisa Matthias on the OpenAIRE blog explains some problems with the hybrid open access model, where some articles in a journal are open access (typically by means of an APC) and others are not.