ACM signs new open-access agreements with four leading universities

ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, entered into transformative open access agreements with several of its largest institutional customers, including the University of California (UC), Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Iowa State University (ISU). The agreements, which run for three-year terms beginning January 1, 2020, cover both access to and open access publication in ACM’s journals, proceedings and magazines for these universities, and represent the first transformative open access agreements for ACM.

“This joint agreement shows our universities’ collective power to secure the widest possible readership for our research,” said Keith Webster, Carnegie Mellon’s Dean of Libraries and Director of Emerging and Integrative Media Initiatives. “By doing so, scholars at Carnegie Mellon University and other institutions can more rapidly advance innovation and discoveries that benefit society. If we want to see real momentum in changing from restrictive, costly publishing models to those that provide open access to our scholarly work, libraries must work together to build the business models of the future.”

Under the new agreements, faculty and students of UC, CMU, MIT and ISU will continue to receive unlimited and unrestricted access to all articles in the ACM Digital Library during the three-year term. Beginning January 1, 2020, articles with corresponding authors from these institutions published during the period of the agreements in ACM journals, conference proceedings and magazines will be made openly available at the time of publication at no cost to the authors.

Additionally, ACM will make deposits into institutional repositories for all co-authors from these universities. The new agreement also expands the range of rights authors retain when publishing with ACM.

“This agreement brings to life a bold vision for how society publishers and universities can work together to make full open access a reality,” said Jeff MacKie-Mason, University Librarian at UC Berkeley, co-chair of the team overseeing UC’s publisher negotiations and a member of ACM. “We can — and will — work with publishers of all sizes to navigate the transition to open access so that researchers and the public have free and immediate access to the world’s knowledge.”

This new transformative open access publishing model was developed in collaboration with UC, CMU, MIT and ISU.

“What began as a conversation at an open access workshop led to many long hours of truly collaborative work and has resulted in a model that we believe has the potential to transform ACM’s publications program,” said Scott Delman, ACM Director of Publications. “We believe that the new model, which we’re calling ACM OPEN, brings the computing community closer to a sustainable future where all scholarly articles are immediately open at the time of publication.”

“I appreciate the willingness of ACM and the libraries to collaborate on a creative agreement that moves us toward an open access model for publishing,” said Hilary Seo, Iowa State University Interim Dean of Library Services. “This is what happens when libraries and publishers deviate from traditional models and build agreements with access, trust and innovation at the core.”

“This agreement with ACM is a model for new kinds of collaborations between research libraries and scholarly societies,” said Chris Bourg, Director of Libraries at MIT. “We are especially pleased that it aligns with the MIT Framework for Publisher Contracts, published in October 2019 and endorsed by over 100 libraries and consortia. When scholarly societies and libraries work together, we can forge sustainable paths to achieving immediate open access to scholarly research.”

These new agreements express ACM’s commitment to open access publication and its transition to full open access within the next several years. ACM is extending the principles of the new access model to universities throughout the world under the rubric ACM OPEN.

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About ACM

ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, is the world’s largest educational and scientific computing society, uniting educators, researchers and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources and address the field’s challenges. ACM strengthens the computing profession’s collective voice through strong leadership, promotion of the highest standards, and recognition of technical excellence. ACM supports the professional growth of its members by providing opportunities for life-long learning, career development, and professional networking.

About the University of California Libraries and the California Digital Library

Individually and collectively, the University of California libraries provide access to the world’s knowledge for the UC campuses and the communities they serve, directly supporting UC’s missions of teaching, research, and public service. The California Digital Library, situated within the UC Office of the President, was founded in 1997 to provide transformative digital library services that amplify the impact of the libraries, scholarship, and resources of the University of California.

About MIT Libraries

The MIT Libraries advance knowledge at MIT and beyond by providing a trusted foundation for the generation, dissemination, use, creative engagement with, and preservation of information. The Libraries envision a world where enduring, abundant, equitable, and meaningful access to knowledge serves to empower and inspire humanity.

About Carnegie Mellon University

Carnegie Mellon is a private, internationally ranked university with programs in areas ranging from science, technology and business to public policy, the humanities and the arts. More than 14,000 students in the university’s seven schools and colleges benefit from a small faculty-to-student ratio and an education characterized by its focus on creating and implementing solutions for real world problems, interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation.

About Iowa State University Library

The Iowa State University Library is a signatory of the Open Access 2020 Initiative and is active in national and international efforts to advance open access. As part of a land-grant university with a mission to create, share, and apply knowledge to make Iowa and the world a better place, the University Library works to ensure the free dissemination and preservation of the university’s research and scholarly outputs.