Open access (OA) publishing continues to transform the global landscape of scholarly communication by making research outputs freely available to readers everywhere. For health sciences researchers, where the timely dissemination of findings can directly influence clinical practice, education, and public health outcomes, the importance of open access cannot be overstated. Recognizing this, the Eccles Health Sciences Library has taken a proactive role in supporting researchers to publish their work openly and sustainably.
Supporting Authors Through Institutional Agreements
The Library currently participates in a range of transformative and open access publishing agreements with leading academic publishers. These agreements allow affiliated authors to publish their articles open access without incurring individual article processing charges (APCs). By centralizing and managing these costs at the institutional level, the Library helps to remove financial barriers that may otherwise prevent researchers from sharing their work openly.
These partnerships also ensure that the institution’s scholarly output is more discoverable, citable, and impactful — fostering a culture of open scholarship aligned with the principles of transparency, equity, and accessibility in research.
Launch of the Journal Eligibility Checker
To further streamline the open access publishing process, the Health Sciences Library is pleased to announce the launch of a new Journal Eligibility Checker. This tool enables authors to quickly determine whether a specific journal is covered under the Library’s open access agreements. By entering the journal title or ISSN, researchers can immediately identify whether publication fees will be covered and under what conditions.
The Journal Eligibility Checker aims to reduce the administrative burden on authors and empower them to make informed decisions about where to publish. It also provides direct links to relevant publisher agreements, author guidelines, and the Library’s open access support resources.
Empowering Researchers Toward Open Scholarship
Beyond financial and logistical support, the Library continues to play an educational role in the broader open scholarship ecosystem. Librarians offer consultations on topics such as:
- Selecting reputable open access journals and avoiding predatory publishers
- Understanding copyright retention and open licensing
- Complying with funder and institutional open access policies
- Maximizing research visibility through institutional repositories and preprint servers
Through workshops, one-on-one support, and tailored guidance, the Eccles Health Sciences Library ensures that authors have both the knowledge and the infrastructure needed to engage confidently in open publishing.
Looking Ahead
The launch of the Journal Eligibility Checker marks another step forward in the Eccles Library’s commitment to open, equitable access to research. By removing barriers to publication and promoting best practices in scholarly communication, the Eccles Library continues to advance the institution’s mission to disseminate health knowledge for the benefit of science and society.
