Fondren Library Has Signed A New Agreement with the American Chemical Society (ACS)
Fondren Library is pleased to announce a new agreement with the American Chemical Society (ACS). Under this agreement, Rice users enjoy reading access to all ACS journals, and Rice researchers can publish open access with no fees in any ACS hybrid journal. Rice researchers publish around 100 articles annually in ACS journals, and the agreement is estimated to provide authors with at least $168,000 in article processing charge avoidances per year. It also allows NIH-funded authors to avoid the $2,500 article development charge that ACS instituted as a zero-embargo green OA option.
Eligibility and details:
- Effective for articles accepted between Jan. 1, 2026, and Dec. 31, 2028.
- No limit or cap on publishing.
- Eligible content includes accepted peer-reviewed publications for which the corresponding author is Rice-affiliated. Authors retain copyright.
- Authors may choose between CC-BY and CC-BY-NC-ND license options.
- Authors who publish open access under this agreement will automatically have their final published article sent for deposit in PubMed Central.
- ACS open access titles are excluded from this agreement.
This agreement aligns with Fondren Library's ongoing efforts to support the visibility and impact of Rice research while providing access to scholarly research, despite the challenges of rising costs. "This is a highly important agreement that Fondren has made," said Jordan Traylor, Research Services Librarian for Science & Engineering. "ACS is committed to advancing scientific knowledge and innovation, and agreements like these help Rice University and our SCELC partners empower the researchers who do so. It will help authors meet updated public access policies, like those from the National Institutes of Health, easing them of administrative and financial burdens so that they can continue their research at the forefront of chemistry and other sciences."
The agreement was reached through the TexShare/SCELC Partner Program, and its impact extends beyond Rice, ultimately benefiting Texas researchers from 28 participating institutions.
Reach out to Jordan Traylor (jt68@rice.edu) to inquire about the American Chemical Society agreement. For more information on open access publishing at Rice University, please visit our OA publishing libguide.