The University of California and scientific publisher Springer Nature have reached a deal on open-access publishing.
Under a four-year agreement, UC research published in Springer Nature journals will be open access, and UC students, faculty, and researchers will have access to more than 1,000 Springer Nature journals, including ones to which UC did not previously subscribe. At the same time, UC and Springer Nature are to launch an open science pilot project.
According to the Financial Times, this is the largest open-access agreement in North America. It adds that how much UC will pay will depend on the number of articles published, but that the university system estimates that it will bring down its costs.
"UC has always believed that providing greater open access to knowledge is the right thing to do. Springer Nature showed us that it can be done," Jeffrey MacKie-Mason, a librarian and economics professor at UC Berkeley who co-chaired the publisher negotiation team, says in a statement.
Last year, the University of California ended its subscription contract negiotiations with Elsevier, as it sought a "read-and-publish" contract that combined journal subscription and open-access publishing fees, but Elsevier wanted to maintain its traditional contract. MIT last week similarly ended negotiations with Elsevier.