ACS Open Access: A Fresh Approach

ACS OPEN ACCESS

A Fresh Approach
By Darla Henderson, Ph.D.

Asst. Director, Open Access Programs

Over the past two years, the open access programs at ACS Publications have grown to
deliver better solutions for authors and their funders. Our efforts have centered around four
initiatives: a fully open access journal, expanded options and discounts across all journals, a
rewards program that gives back to authors, and a program releasing one new open article
each day of the year. To give you the true flavor of our programs, heres the latest update:
ACS first fully open access journal, ACS Central Science, is multidisciplinary and highly
selective, publishing the most important advances in chemistry and related fields.
The journal also features engaging news stories and interviews reported by our C&EN
colleagues. ACS funds all open access publishing charges, so the journal is free to publish
and free to read. Introduced in April 2015, ACS Central Science is the first ACS journal to
publish regular news and views-style articles (First Reactions) by leading scientists. In
collaboration with the ACS Office of Public Affairs, embargoed press releases for key articles
publishing in the journal are attracting global attention: As of September, ACS Central
Sciences 32 published articles have been featured in over 200 news stories with a combined
reach of more than 500 million people.
At the center of the success of ACS Central Science youll find chemical biologist Professor
Carolyn Bertozzi (HHMI and Stanford). As founding Editor-in-Chief, Bertozzi leads a team of
highly engaged Senior Editors and a global multidisciplinary Editorial Advisory Board. Through
their dedicated efforts, ACS Central Science is fast becoming a leading must-read journal in
scientific publishing. Read the latest issue and sign up for e-alerts to be the first in-the-know.
ACS AuthorChoice allows authors to purchase open access for an article in any ACS journal.
As we engage with authors around the globe, we see a variety of open access needs.

pubs.acs.org

Some funders require immediate open access, others allow a delay. Some require a specific
license, others do not. In response, ACS now allows authors to choose from licenses (a base
ACS AuthorChoice license, or CC-BY/CC-BY-NC-ND add-ons) and to choose the timing of
open access (immediate or delayed 12 months for a lower price). ACS Certified Deposit is
also a key part of any ACS AuthorChoice purchaseauthors may ask ACS to deposit their
final published article to a repository. ACS also offers expanded discounts to ACS members
(a 50% discount) and to those affiliated with subscribing institutions (a 25% discount). The
process for purchasing open access is now completely online, facilitating anytime-anywhere
purchases by credit card or purchase order.
ACS Author Rewards is a generous direct-to-author stimulus program sponsored by ACS
and potentially worth $60 million. For every article published during 2014, ACS sent the
corresponding author two $750 credits (total value per article: $1,500) that can be used
against the purchase of any open access option. Credits are valid through December 31,
2017, and may be used on newly published content or on older content. Credits are fully
transferrablesimply give a colleague the credit code and they may use the code to
complete a successful open access purchase in the online purchasing system.
Launched January 1, 2014, ACS Editors Choice is a way for ACS Editors and ACS to recognize
the breadth of high-impact content we publish every day of the year. Journal Editors make
recommendations of noteworthy articles, and one article each day of the year is rewarded
a complimentary ACS AuthorChoicemaking that article openly available to all interested
readers at no charge to the author. And, wow, what a result! ACS Editors Choice is a showcase
for ACS content and an interesting readas evident from the fact that the subscriber list
has grown to be the ACS Publications largest list in less than two short years. Take a look at
todays article, and make it your daily morning habit alongside a cup of coffee or tea.
Inquiring minds want to knowwhats next, ACS? Here are a few new developments:
ACS is adding value to its open access offerings and improving ACS Certified Deposit,
so it is even easier for authors.
Funders are monitoring compliance with their open access policies, and we want
to support authors in complying. Well continue to improve our data capture and
infrastructure, so we can point authors towards the best options for them.
ACS recently announced a partnership with figshare to promote open data discovery
and use. ACS Editors Choice is already leveraging that partnership to provide optional
ACS LiveSlides to authors who are selected for the program.
At ACS, our mission is to improve peoples lives through the transforming power of
chemistry. Keep your eyes peeled for the next slice in our evolving open access story,
coming soon.