The OA Fund is available from July 1 - June 30, matching the current fiscal year, on a first-come, first-served basis until the budget is exhausted. The applications will be reviewed by a committee of Library employees led by the Open Access and Intellectual Property Librarian.

As soon as an author has a manuscript accepted for publication under the Gold Open Access model, they should apply for assistance from the fund by filling out the application form. 

• The application will be reviewed within 5-7 business days. 

• If the application is approved, the author will be notified and provided with additional information. 

• All payments will be made directly to the journal/publisher on the author's behalf. 

We recommend that interested authors check with the Scholarly Communications Office at [email protected] first for the fund availability.  

Princeton faculty members, postdoctoral fellows, researchers, graduate students, undergraduate students, and staff who have no other funding sources such as research grants, departmental funding, or funding from third parties are eligible. Eligibility lasts 18 months after separation from Princeton in most circumstances.

Applicants are encouraged to consult with the committee at [email protected] prior to submitting an application to determine fund availability and eligibility. 

The OA Fund is intended solely for covering Open Access publishing fees charged by the publisher, also known as Article Processing Charges (APCs) and Book Publishing Charges (BPCs). 

Please note that the fund does not cover page charges or other publication-related fees. 

Works submitted to reputable, established, and scholarly open access journals; open access book chapters in a fully (Gold) open access book; and open access books are eligible. Articles in hybrid open access journals or delayed open access journals  (i.e. journals that embargo open release of the Version of Record for some period of time) are ineligible. 

Criteria for eligible open access journals

• Peer reviewed
• Listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals
• Publisher is a member of the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association or demonstrates the best practice and ethical standards to preserve the integrity of scholarship as outlined in the OASPA’s Code of Conduct
• Article Processing Charge (APC) schedules are publicly accessible
• Publisher offers a waiver in case of financial hardship

Criteria for eligible open access books/book chapters

• Peer reviewed
• Listed in Directory of Open Access Books
• Publisher is a member of the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association or demonstrates the best practice and ethical standards to preserve the integrity of scholarship as outlined in the OASPA’s Code of Conduct

Note: Fees for Open Access Books/Monographs are considerably higher than those for articles. As this part of the scholarly publishing ecosystem has evolved at a different pace and down a different path, we encourage you to consult with [email protected] to explore funding and publication options.

In order to make funding available to the greatest number of applicants, an individual author may be supported up to a maximum of $3,000 per fiscal year (July 1 to June 30). 

We strongly encourage seeking a variety of funding sources in case we are unable to fully fund your request. 

“Gold” Open Access

Gold open access requires payment of an Article or Book Processing Charge on acceptance of the manuscript (post-peer review) in order to make the work freely available to all at the time of publication. 

• Gold journals only publish openly, requiring all authors to pay such a fee for the privilege to publish unless their institution has made other financial arrangements with the publisher. 
• For the last 20 years, these charges have steadily increased in ubiquity and total cost, creating a financial strain on the scholarly community. 

• Gold Journals, while solving for issues of equity in access, cause a different issue of equity in who is able to participate in the scholarly conversation.

   

“Green” Open Access

Green open access works slightly differently, and without a cost associated with it. Instead of the “Publisher’s Version” being openly available, the “Accepted Manuscript” may be deposited in a publicly available repository (e.g. Princeton’s Open Access Repository; PubMed Central; or arXiv). 

• The "Publisher's Version” is the “Version of Record” which has gone through final copyediting and layout.
• The “Accepted Manuscript” is the version of the work that has implemented all changes post-peer review but hasn't gone through final copyediting and layout.
• Publishers sometimes require an embargo of 12 months or more for this kind of deposit, which can be contrary to requirements of many funding agencies (US Government; Gates Foundation, et al.) so check your publishing requirements closely.

• Consider carefully whether your work needs to be openly available at the time of publication, and what your funding and stakeholder requirements might be.