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Read & Publish Agreements: Āwhina | Help

A guide to making your research open access through read and publish agreements

Frequently Asked Questions

How do we find out which titles are covered?

You can check the titles lists on the Read & Publish Agreements Negotiated by CAUL (click on each agreement) or access a consolidated spreadsheet on this page.

See also Who is CAUL?

Are we able to change the conditions of these agreements, for example, by getting other titles added?

No, these agreements are negotiated by CAUL, we only have the option to opt-in or not.

Who is CAUL?

CAUL is a representative leadership body for university libraries in Australia and New Zealand. CAUL members are the University Librarians or equivalent of the 39 institutions that have representation on Universities Australia and the 8 members of the Council of New Zealand University Librarians (CONZUL).

Why aren’t all journals within a publisher’s portfolio included?

Publishers determine which titles are included in the deals. In some cases, individual journals have not given their permission to be included.

What happens when the cap is reached?

Researchers will be required to pay an APC to make their work open. They can also consider making it open via submission of the Author Accepted Manuscript into the institutional repository (Research Commons).

How does an APC come to be covered under these agreements? What do authors have to do?

Authors do not need to do anything. After acceptance, eligible authors will be notified that their APC is covered under the agreement and will be prompted to confirm this. CAUL will then take care of everything else.

Is there a risk that some institutions (particularly larger institutions) will use more than their fair share of the quota?

It is not anticipated that these agreements will change publishing practices in terms of the proportion of Australian and New Zealand publications that come from each institution. It is expected that academics will continue to choose to publish in the venues that best suit their research, informed by disciplinary norms and local requirements.

Who will approve articles for publication? 

CAUL National Office will approve articles for publication under the agreements. Where there are questions about eligibility, CAUL will forward to the institution for investigation. It is anticipated that most articles will be able to be approved without intervention from the author’s institution.

What years are covered/how long are these deals running for?

We will be reviewing them at the end of the calendar year.

Will my article always be Open Access into the future? Even if the deal were to end?

Yes. Any article which is published as open access (OA) within these Read & Publish agreements will remain open access in perpetuity.

I’m a student at the University. Do the Read & Publish agreements apply to me?

Yes. The agreements cover University of Waikato students. As long as you are the corresponding author and list the University as your first affiliation you will be covered by the agreement.

What if I’m charged an APC when I shouldn’t have been?

If you were an eligible author and any of the publishers charge you an APC throughout the term of the Read & Publish agreements then they’ll refund you the fee. The Library can support you to do this; please contact the Open Research Team by emailing library@waikato.ac.nz.

Do the agreements cover all publishing costs?

Some journals (usually print) have page and colour charges that are not covered by the agreement. You will be notified of these during the submission process.

I’m not the corresponding author. Can my articles still be published open access for free?

To be covered by the University of Waikato’s Read & Publish agreements you must be the corresponding author. If the corresponding author is from another institution you may want to check if their institution has signed up to a Read & Publish agreement.

If no agreement exists then you can still make your work open access for free via our institutional repository, Research Commons. Simply deposit your Authors Accepted Manuscript in Research Commons. For help with Research Commons please email researchcommons@waikato.ac.nz.

Will the library pay my APCs for journals not covered by a Read & Publish agreement?

The library will not automatically pay for individual APCs which are not covered by a Read & Publish agreement; however, you can apply for the Open Acces Equity Fund, which has been set up for individuals who wish to make their research open but do not have the funds to do so.

If we enter into separate Read & Publish agreements with other publishers in the future we will add details of those agreements to this page.

In the meantime you can make your work open access for free via our institutional repository, Research Commons. Simply deposit your Authors Accepted Manuscript in Research Commons. For help with Research Commons please contact the Open Research Team by emailing library@waikato.ac.nz.

What if I don’t want to make my work open access?

You will have the chance to opt out of the Read & Publish agreements. However, open access has advantages for you by increasing the discoverability and accessibility of your work which can lead to increased citations. If you’d like more information about the benefits, please contact the Open Research Team by emailing library@waikato.ac.nz.

Why do I need to release my article under a Creative Commons licence?

Open access is more than making research publicly available to read. Copyright restrictions can prevent research being shared and built upon. A Creative Commons licence allows you to control how your work is used but still ensure that it is truly open. All Creative Commons licences require that you are attributed as the author.

Is there a limit on the number of articles that can be published open access under the agreements?

Each of the Read & Publish agreements differ. While some provide unlimited publishing for 2023 others have a yearly capped allowance that is shared across other institutions within the CAUL consortium.

I have an article already published in one of the journals now included in these Read & Publish agreements. Can it be made open access retrospectively?

Yes, if it was accepted in the period covered by the agreement. If you think your article should have been published as open access but it wasn’t, please contact the Open Research Team by emailing library@waikato.ac.nz.

Need Help?

Need Help?

For assistance, reach out to the Open Research Team at library@waikato.ac.nz.