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Open Access Publishing Support

Information about resources, agreements, and supports for Open Access (OA) publishing provided by UVM Libraries

Microbiology Society OA Publishing Support FAQ

Microbiology Society Journals

UVM Libraries is participating in a Publish & Read Agreement with the publisher Microbiology Society that fully covers the Author Processing Charge (APC) for accepted articles in their journal catalog.

What is a Publish & Read Agreement?

A Publish & Read Agreement is a contract between a publisher and library that has the library pay a surcharge on top of its usual subscription contract that allows its affiliated authors to publish without paying Author Processing Charges (APCs). 

UVM's agreement with Microbiology Society gives us full text access to all of their journals, as well as covering APCs for affiliated authors.

Which titles are included in this agreement?

This agreement covers all of Microbiology Society's journals, which are largely hybrid journals. This means that the journal is by default published without Open Access (OA), but that authors may pay an Author Processing Charge to make them OA. UVM and UVM Medical Center affiliates can publish OA in them without paying a fee.

Find their journals here: Microbiology Society

Does this mean my article will be accepted?

No. The process of submitting an article for publication is identical until after it has been reviewed and accepted.

Does this mean that the Library impacts my article's acceptance?

No.  Neither this agreement nor the Libraries have any impact on article acceptance.

Who is an affiliate?

  • University of Vermont
    • Faculty
    • Staff
    • Students
  • University of Vermont Medical Center Employees

Is UVMMC included?

Yes.

Can someone who is not an affiliate get covered by UVM?

No. Affiliation will be checked before an APC credit is approved. 

One author on a covered article must be a UVM affiliate; however, other authors of the same article may have different affiliations. 

Do I have to be first author?

No. You do not have to be first author. 

You DO have to be an author - other types of contribution are not sufficient. 

How many APCs are covered each year?

All articles authored by UVM affiliates.

Is there any dollar limit on APC amount?

No. All APCs are covered in full, whether $500 or $10,000.

What do I have to do?

You must submit your article using your UVM or UVM Medical Center email address, and/or list your institutional affiliation as one of these two entities. 

Your affiliation must be current on the date your article is accepted.

After your article has been accepted, Microbiology Society will publish your article Open Access (OA) by default.

  • If you do NOT want it to be OA, you can check a box to Opt Out.

You must accept one of the available Creative Commons Licenses for your article. 

What happens to my copyright under a Creative Commons License?

Authors retain their copyright, but allow others to access or use their work without consultation or fees under one of several standard Creative Commons licenses. Works licensed under a Creative Commons License must still be cited when used. 

"A creative commons license is a license issued by the copyright owner to allow anyone in the world to use his or her copyright work in any manner consistent with that license. Creative Commons licenses are essentially standard form license agreements which can be attached to a work to enable its use under certain circumstances without the need to contact the author or negotiate terms of use."

Copyright Alliance, 2022

What if I don't want my article to be OA?

If you do not want your article to be published OA, you do not have to. You can check a box to Opt Out.

What about other publishers?

UVM is beginning to add more agreements like this one. Find out more about them on the Library's Open Access Publishing Support Guide.