The University of California Libraries have expanded funding support to UC authors with the launch of the UC Libraries Arts & Humanities Open Access Fund, an initiative to cover the costs of open access for authors publishing in over 3,600 eligible arts and humanities journals. 

The goal of the fund is to provide financial support to author communities at UC that are underserved by existing funding sources for publishing open access. Whether due to a lack of grant funding opportunities or current gaps in UC’s open access publishing agreements, authors in the arts and humanities are often the least likely to be able to secure funds to publish open access. By providing targeted support for arts and humanities scholarship, the UC Libraries aim to bridge this gap and make open access publishing easier and more affordable for UC authors publishing in these disciplines.

The fund covers the full costs of the open access publication fees for UC authors at nine participating campuses, regardless of career status, who are publishing arts and humanities articles that meet the fund’s eligibility requirements. 

“For too long, the costs of open access publishing have created an uneven playing field, leaving many humanities scholars with fewer opportunities to share their work freely and reach the broadest possible audiences. This fund is an important step toward changing that,“ said Maria DePrano, professor of art history at UC Merced and former chair of the UC faculty Academic Senate’s University Committee on Library and Scholarly Communication. “When UC scholarship can travel beyond journal paywalls — to classrooms, cultural institutions, independent researchers, and curious readers everywhere — we extend the reach of knowledge and put the public mission of the University into practice.”

To be eligible, applicants must be the article’s corresponding author publishing in select nonprofit, noncommercial arts and humanities journals that are not otherwise covered by UC’s existing open access publishing agreements. Authors may apply before their articles are accepted for publication.

Visit the UC Libraries Arts & Humanities Open Access Fund webpage for more details about the fund’s eligibility requirements, the list of eligible journals, and application instructions. Participating campuses include UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UCLA, UC Merced, UC Riverside, UC San Diego, UC Santa Cruz, and UC San Francisco.

Contact UCLIB-ARTS-HUMANITIES-OAFUND-L@listserv.ucop.edu with questions about the program.

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