The University of California has extended its open access agreement with scholarly journal publisher Wiley for an additional three years. From January 1, 2024, through December 31, 2026, researchers and students at all 10 UC campuses and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will receive continued access to subscription content and funding support for open access publication in Wiley’s expansive journal portfolio.

What the Agreement Means for UC Authors

The UC libraries will continue to pay the first $1,000 of the open access fee, or article processing charge (APC), for UC faculty, students, staff, and medical professionals who publish in any of Wiley’s more than 1,600 journals. The libraries will pay the entire APC for authors who wish to make their work freely available but do not have research funds available for this purpose. UC authors also receive a 15% discount on the APC.

Making More California Research Available Open Access

The UC is pleased to be partnering on the new agreement with 48 other California private and public academic and research institutions represented by the Statewide California Electronic Library Consortium (SCELC), further increasing free and open access to research produced in our state.

“Some of the most groundbreaking research in the world is done right here in California, driving advances in medicine, environmental sustainability, and society. I am excited about this opportunity for more California scholars, from UC and beyond, to make their work freely available so that people around the globe can benefit from and build on their discoveries,” said Maria De Prano, professor of art history at UC Merced and chair of the UC faculty Academic Senate’s systemwide committee on library and scholarly communication.

Publishing Open Access at UCI

UCI Libraries’ commitment to increasing access to research and reducing the cost of course materials includes several ongoing open access and realted initiatives and pilot programs:

• Open access publication pilot program to support UCI monograph authors: This two-year pilot of a program supports UCI authors who are publishing monographs with commercial, university, or society publishers that will be used as course materials either at UCI and/or elsewhere within the University of California.
• Affordable Course Materials and Open Educational Resources Initiative: Learn about financial incentives and guidance for instructors seeking to adopt, adapt, or create low-cost or free alternatives to traditional textbooks and access codes. Instructors will learn ways to eliminate barriers and increase the use of library licensed, or owned, materials including Open Educational Resources (OER) adoption.
• Open Access Research Guide: Learn more about UC Open Access Policy and federal policies and connect to online resources, helpful videos, and more.  
• Additional publisher transformative agreements: See the complete list of open access agreements with scholarly publishers.

For more details about the Wiley Transformative Agreement, please visit the UC Office of Scholarly Communication website or contact UCI Libraries Scholarly Communication Coordinator Mitchell Brown at mcbrown@uci.edu.