microPublication Biology, the open-access journal published by the Caltech Library, has signed a publish agreement with University of Detroit Mercy. Under the agreement, UDM pays an annual fee that covers publication costs for its researchers, who can publish an unlimited number of peer-reviewed articles in the journal with no individual article processing charge.
What the agreement covers
Instead of paying a fee for each article, eligible Detroit Mercy authors are covered by a single institutional agreement.
The waiver applies to corresponding authors who are Detroit Mercy faculty, staff, postdoctoral researchers or graduate students when they submit. Every manuscript still goes through microPublication Biology’s standard peer review, with acceptance remaining an editorial decision.
Why it matters
microPublication Biology publishes short, peer-reviewed reports of experimental results represented in one figure, including new findings, negative results and data that might otherwise go unpublished. When possible, each article is integrated into community databases, such as WormBase, so results become findable and reusable right away.
The partnership began with requests from UDM faculty, several of whom held back submissions until the agreement was in place.
“This agreement lets Detroit Mercy researchers, including students, share their results without worrying about publication fees. We hope it becomes a model for other institutions,” said Paul Sternberg, editor-in-chief of microPublication Biology.
“Supporting open access is central to the Libraries’ mission. This agreement removes a cost barrier for our faculty and students,” said Kate J. Harger, UDM”s dean of Libraries.
“Our faculty and students now have a clear, affordable path to publish their research,” said Jacob Kagey, professor and chair of the UDM Biology department.
