Open Access Publishing Support

Under a new collaborative deal, Indiana University Bloomington corresponding authors are eligible to publish with no author fees (also known as Article Processing Charges or APCs) in twelve PLOS journals through December 31, 2023.

Details of the PLOS All-In Unlimited Publishing Agreement

Beginning January 1, 2022, the new PLOS agreement ensures publication fees for accepted manuscripts will be covered for IU Bloomington corresponding authors. This is an extension of the BTAA-PLOS Community Action Publishing Agreement which covers articles with IU Bloomington corresponding authors accepted January 1, 2021 to December 31-2023 in PLOS Sustainability & Transformation, PLOS Medicine, and PLOS Biology. This has been extended to December 31, 2024. 

The All-In Agreement is a pilot through December 2023 which covers uncapped, no-fee publishing for Indiana University Bloomington corresponding authors in these PLOS journals: This has been extended to December 31, 2024.

PLOS Biology

PLOS Climate

PLOS Complex Systems

PLOS Computational Biology

PLOS Digital Health

PLOS Genetics 

PLOS Global Public Health 

PLOS Medicine 

PLOS Mental Health

PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases

PLOS ONE

PLOS Pathogens 

PLOS Sustainability and Transformation 

PLOS Water

All published articles are immediately Open Access and are available globally to read at no charge.

Indiana University Bloomington corresponding authors with articles accepted in PLOS journals between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2023 are eligible to benefit from this agreement. In addition, IU Bloomington corresponding authors whose articles were accepted in PLOS Medicine and PLOS Biology beginning January 1, 2021 also pay no author fees.

The All-In agreement covers unlimited publishing in all PLOS titles across existing and new PLOS business models that move beyond the APC to ensure more equitable and regionally appropriate ways to support Open Access publishing:

• PLOS Community Action Publishing (CAP) for PLOS Medicine, PLOS Biology, and (NEW) PLOS Sustainability and Transformation.
• Flat Fees for PLOS ONE, PLOS Genetics, PLOS Computational Biology, PLOS Pathogens, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, and PLOS Digital Health (ALL NEW).
• PLOS Global Equity model for PLOS Water, PLOS Climate, and PLOS Global Public Health (ALL NEW).

The Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA) CAP agreement that began January 1, 2021 continues to cover PLOS Medicine and PLOS Biology for Indiana University Bloomington corresponding authors. The new All-In agreement is an addendum to the original BTAA CAP agreement. This has been extended to December 31, 2024.

I am an author at Indiana University Bloomington. What do I need to do to benefit from this agreement?

For the six Flat Fee titles and the Global Equity titles, eligibility identification occurs at submission in Editorial Manager and authors have to indicate their institutional affiliation.

• Applies to PLOS Climate, PLOS Computational Biology, PLOS Digital Health, PLOS Genetics, PLOS Global Public Health, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, PLOS ONE, PLOS Pathogens, and PLOS Water.
• During manuscript submission "Additional Information" and "Manuscript Data" both require correct institutional affiliation selections. Within the "Additional Information" page, scroll to "Publication Fees". Select the radio button, "My institution will fully or partially pay the fee …" then select "Indiana University" from the drop-down menu. Navigate to the "Manuscript Data" section and go to "Authors" and then edit "Author list". Select "Indiana University" from the drop-down.  Do not override the drop-down.

For the CAP journals, authors take no action until the paper is accepted.

• Applies to PLOS Medicine, PLOS Biology, and PLOS Sustainability and Transformation.
• Funding approvals are determined at acceptance via the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) RightsLink platform.
• At submission, authors are given a summary of publication fees and the option to view a "quote" of their expected fees. Should authors select "View Publication Fees" they will be redirected to a "Quote" from Copyright Clearance Center RightsLink that takes into account your affiliation.

Where an IU researcher is not the corresponding author, a 25% discount on the standard fee applies.

The original CAP agreement was negotiated by the 15-member Big Ten Academic Alliance, or BTAA, to test new community-based models for quality open access publishing. BTAA Universities are national leaders in promoting greater author control over the dissemination of their research. As a long-time BTAA member, Indiana University Libraries embraces the evident impact of collaborative, collective action. The new All-In Publishing agreement was negotiated by the Center for Research Libraries (CRL), and the NorthEast Research Libraries (NERL) consortium.

The PLOS All-In Agreement frees authors from administering the fee process. Indiana University Bloomington guarantees funding for your publications by joining these journal communities. The next time your work is accepted in any of the twelve PLOS journals there will be no publication fees. You’ll only need to list your affiliation.

You can find a detailed FAQ at Publishing FAQs - PLOS. 

Contact iusw@iu.edu if you have any queries about this program.

More information about the PLOS All-In Unlimited Publishing Agreement is available in the FAQ below.

PLOS All-In Unlimited Publishing Agreement FAQ

How does this agreement work?

Effective January 1, 2022, the new PLOS agreement ensures publication fees for accepted manuscripts will be covered for IU Bloomington corresponding authors in all PLOS titles during the three-year pilot. Author-paid APCs will be eliminated, and publishing fees will be covered by IU Bloomington Libraries.

Authors will retain copyright ownership of their work and all published content will be available under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, meaning anyone is free to use and reuse the content provided the original source and authors are credited.

What journal titles are included in this agreement?

This pilot covers all PLOS journals: PLOS Biology, PLOS Climate, PLOS Computational Biology, PLOS Digital Health, PLOS Genetics, PLOS Global Public Health, PLOS Medicine, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, PLOS ONE, PLOS Pathogens, PLOS Sustainability and Transformation, and PLOS Water.

When will IU Bloomington authors be able to benefit from this agreement?

IU Bloomington corresponding authors with articles accepted in PLOS journals between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2024 are eligible to benefit from this agreement.

Who is eligible to benefit from this agreement?

Corresponding authors affiliated with IU Bloomington upon acceptance of their article are eligible to have Open Access fees fully covered. 

Are there costs for authors to publish in the CAP journals PLOS Medicine, PLOS Biology, and PLOS Sustainability and Transformation?

If an IU Bloomington author, or an author from a member institution (including participating BTAA institutions), is the corresponding author, there are no membership fees (APCs) to publish in PLOS Biology, PLOS Medicine, and PLOS Sustainability and Transformation during this pilot. If an IU Bloomington author, or an author from a member institution (including participating BTAA institutions), is not the corresponding author, but some or all of the contributing authors are members, there is a 25% discount on the non-member fee (APC).

How long will IU Bloomington authors be able to benefit from this agreement?

The new PLOS All-In Unlimited Publishing Agreement ends December 31, 2023.

How are articles published for IU Bloomington authors under this agreement?

All published articles are immediately Open Access available globally to read at no charge. Authors retain their copyright and articles are published under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY ) license.

Whom can I contact with questions?

For questions about the PLOS pilot, please contact us at iusw@indiana.edu 

More Information about open access publishing and other forms of open scholarship is available on the home page for our Open Scholarship at IU Bloomington site.