Duke University Libraries, in collaboration with the Duke Medical Center Library, is pleased to announce our new partnership with the Open Access publisher PLOS (formerly known as the Public Library of Science), a non-profit scientific publisher that has led the way in establishing high quality journals that anyone can read without a subscription. Duke University Libraries has been a leader in advancing access to scholarship and supporting the University’s commitment to knowledge in the service of society, and has been working with innovative publishers like PLOS to develop models that provide equitable access to both readers and authors. While typically authors publishing with PLOS are expected to pay a fee in order to make their articles openly available, through this new agreement, Duke authors will be able to publish in all twelve PLOS journals at no cost to themselves.

Duke authors have averaged nearly 200 publications a year in PLOS journals over the last five years. For the next two years, authors will no longer have to cover PLOS publishing costs from their own funds. The cost of this arrangement represents a major investment from the libraries, but it should result in savings for the university overall, as it will help many individual authors avoid having to pay fees separately, and make it possible for many more authors to publish open access without having to budget for it themselves.

Details for authors

This agreement covers manuscripts accepted during 2023 and 2024 with corresponding authors affiliated with Duke University, Duke University Medical Center, Duke University Health System, and Duke Kunshan University. For six of the twelve PLOS journals, there is a benefit if any contributing author is affiliated with Duke, not only the corresponding author. Eligible authors will be identified by the institutional affiliation entered in the PLOS manuscript submission system. Additional details can be found on this FAQ page.

Investing in the future of scholarly publishing

The PLOS partnership is one example of Duke University Libraries’ commitment to invest in a sustainable future for scholarly publishing that aligns with our institutional values and mission. PLOS has been an innovator in Open Access publishing since its founding in 2001. In 2020 they debuted new business models, developed with library partners, that seek to move beyond article processing charges (APCs), address equity issues, and expand access for authors. Supporting this new direction will benefit Duke authors in the short term by easing the cost to publish and in the long term by helping publishers develop in productive ways.

We look forward to assessing the impact of this program, and to collaborating with PLOS and the academic library community on strategic next steps for support of Open Access publishing.