The agreement runs from January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2027, and enables UC corresponding authors to publish open access in ASM 6 primary research subscription-based journals at a substantial discount. Authors will not incur APCs and will receive discounts on standard page charges and supplemental material fees. More information on author fees can be found on ASM’s author FAQ page.

For the list of included journals, see “Which ASM journals are included in the agreement?” below.

Funding for open access publishing is included as part of UC’s subscription to ASM journals. The agreement follows the “Subscribe-to-Open” (S2O) model, under which the accessibility of ASM’s previously subscriber-only content depends on continued support from subscribing institutions. ASM establishes a minimum sustainability target each year to fund the journals. If the target is met, that year’s content will be made open access. If the target is not met, the content will remain available only to subscribers. This framework provides ASM a practical path to converting these journals to open access without relying on article processing charges or institutional goodwill.

Yes, if you are (1) a UC affiliate (faculty, lecturer, staff, graduate student, etc.) at any of UC’s ten campuses or LBNL, (2) you are the article’s corresponding author, and (3) you choose to publish your article in an ASM journal.

ASM considers the corresponding author to be the person listed as the contact during the submission/production/publication process, and who is identified as “Author for correspondence” on the final published article.

In general, the corresponding author is the person who oversees the manuscript and correspondence during the publication process — from manuscript corrections and proofreading, to handling the revisions and re-submission of revised manuscripts up to the acceptance of the manuscripts. The corresponding author has the authority to act on behalf of all co-authors in all matters pertaining to publication of the manuscript including supplementary material. The corresponding author acts as the point of contact for any inquiries after the paper is published.

This agreement covers all articles containing original research that are accepted for publication from January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2027.

The agreement includes ASM’s 6 primary research subscription-based journals, including:

• Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy
• Applied and Environmental Microbiology
• Infection and Immunity
• Journal of Bacteriology
• Journal of Clinical Microbiology
• Journal of Virology

Under the agreement, your APC will be fully and automatically covered by the UC libraries. While standard page charges and supplemental material fees will still apply, you will be eligible for significant discounts. (More information on author fees can be found on ASM’s author FAQ.)

Upon acceptance and after you indicate your affiliation with UC in the ASM author submission portal, you will see messaging indicating that you are eligible to publish open access with the APC covered under an agreement with UC.

Other than indicating your UC affiliation in ASM’s author submission portal upon acceptance of your article, no action is needed by you as the corresponding author. If you do receive an invoice for the APC, simply reply to the email and reference the UC-ASM open access agreement. You may also contact your campus library or OpenAccessInquiries@ucop.edu for assistance. See “Resources” below for your campus library contact information.

More information is available via:

• Press release on the agreement

Or from your campus library:

• UC Berkeley 
• UC Davis
• UC Irvine 
• UCLA 
• UC Merced 
• UC Riverside 
• UC San Diego 
• UC San Francisco
• UC Santa Barbara 
• UC Santa Cruz

As this is a pilot agreement, your feedback is appreciated. Please submit any comments or questions to your campus library or to OpenAccessInquiries@ucop.edu.