Open Access Support: Library Fund

USU Libraries awards $30,000 annually to help authors from USU pay for open access publishing. Twice a year, on January 1st and July 1st, you can apply for up to $1500 to cover the Article Processing Charge (APC) for a Gold Open Access journal. You have to be a USU faculty member, staff member, or student, and you can only get one award a year. To make sure you get an award, apply right away when the fund opens. If you receive an award you will have to deposit a copy of your published article in USU's repository. You can't use the money to pay for other publishing costs, like page charges or color figure charges, and you can't for use an award for reimbursement if you've already paid the APC.

Fund Status

A limited amount of funding is available ahead of the end of the fiscal year. Applicants should have an article that already been accepted or that they expect will be accepted for publication within the next 2 weeks. All applicants will be considered, even if you have already received an OA Fund award in the current fiscal year. As in a general funding round, awards cannot be applied retroactively to invoices that have already been paid.

Click here to apply for an end of year award

The next general funding round will open on July 1st 2023. If you would like to receive a notification when funding is available, please click here.

New Requirements

From July 1st 2023, applicants must ensure that their article is submitted to the journal listed on their application within 6 weeks of receiving an award notice. Failure to submit the article within 6 weeks of receiving an award notice may result in forfeiture of the award.

Terms and Conditions

1. Eligibility: The fund is open to all USU faculty, students, and staff. Non-USU affiliated authors will be prorated out of the final award amount. Each individual is limited to one award per fiscal year.
2. Award Amount: Awards are limited to 50% of the Article Processing Charge (APC), up to a total award of $1500. Awards are distributed on a first come, first served basis.
3. Journal Requirements: Only fully open journals are eligible for funding. Hybrid journals or suspected deceptive or predatory publications may result in denial of funding.
4. Article Requirements: Your article does not need to be submitted or accepted before you apply for an award. If you receive an award, your article must be submitted within 6 weeks of receipt of the award notice.
5. Matching Funds: Applicants must identify the source of matching funds (department, college, grant F&A, other).
6. Deposit: Successful applicants must deposit a copy of the published article in the USU institutional repository.
7. Timing: The fund opens twice a year on January 1st and July 1st. Awards must be spent before June 1st of the fiscal year in which they were awarded. Awards not spent by this date will be forfeit and reallocated.
8. Invoicing: Awards are paid by invoice directly to the publisher and cannot be applied retroactively to invoices that have already been paid.
9. Other Costs: The award may only be applied to Article Processing Charges and does not cover other publishing costs, such as page charges or color figure charges.

By applying for the USU Libraries Open Access Fund, you agree to these terms and conditions. For any further questions or clarifications, please email scholarlycommunications@usu.edu.