On January 1, 2023, SUNY entered a three-year read-and-publish agreement with Cambridge University Press (CUP). This agreement – a market-based solution for expanding open access (OA) to scholarship – provides UAlbany access to all 400+ journals published by CUP while offering UAlbany-affiliated corresponding authors unlimited OA publishing benefits at no additional charge to the author or institution.
Following on the success of this effort, the University Libraries launched two similar agreements in January 2024, with the Institute of Physics and American Chemical Society.
Students and faculty gather outside the Dewey Graduate Library
Where average article processing charges (APCs) are $3,450, this agreement offers significant savings to our authors – particularly graduate students and early career researchers who may not have grant funding to offset these fees.
Nine UAlbany authors took advantage of the CUP agreement in 2023—the first of its kind at the SUNY level—and four UAlbany authors have done so to date in 2024. This represents a total savings of nearly $45,000 on article processing charges thus far.
These agreements have several clear benefits. In addition to UAlbany’s Open Access Policy and open access repository, Scholars Archive, they are another tool UAlbany authors can use to make their work openly available to expand the reach and impact of their scholarship. They embody the Libraries’ commitment to better contribute to an equitable, sustainable knowledge ecosystem by transforming current models while also ensuring researchers have access to the tools necessary for their research. They meet the call in the University’s mission for research excellence, internationalization, and engagement and service. And they do so in a frictionless way while maintaining current journal pricing.
"The transformative agreement with Cambridge is very exciting to me both as a scholar and as a journal editor. In my time working with the American Political Science Review, we have seen the huge benefits associated with open access, as our OA articles are downloaded more frequently and are more accessible, particularly to scholars outside of the United States. Open access is a huge win-win for authors, publishers, and scholars!" - Dr. Julie Novkov, Dean of the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy
The University Libraries are gathering our community’s feedback to and assessing the impact of these agreements. Working to build the best solutions and services for our students, faculty, and staff that better serve and address global challenges, we look to collaboratively and responsively meet the needs of the rapidly evolving research landscape.
Information on these read-and-publish agreements and the full suite of Scholarly Communication Services offered within the Libraries may be found on our website. There you will find FAQs and instructions for taking advantage of these agreements when submitting work to eligible journals.
As ever, the Scholarly Communication Team welcomes any questions or feedback you may have; we’re here to help!