Changes to publishing agreements
The national agreements that the Bibsam Consortium signs with academic publishers are currently undergoing changes. This affects both future access to academic articles and the terms and conditions for publishing open access under these agreements.
Please note: For articles submitted in 2026 to journals currently subject to ongoing agreement negotiations, the terms and conditions may change. As a result, articles accepted after the end of the year may no longer be covered by an agreement, meaning that authors could be responsible for the publishing costs themselves.
Agreements being negotiated for 2027
Read and publish agreements are being renegotiated with the following publishers:
Terminated agreements
The following agreements are being terminated in 2027:
- Bristol University Press – only articles submitted to the publisher during 2026 are covered by the agreement.
- Microbiology Society – only articles accepted for publication during 2026 are covered by the agreement.
- Royal Society of Chemistry gold journals – only articles accepted for publication during 2026 are covered by the agreement.
Background
After several years of agreements combining access to reading and publishing, the Bibsam Consortium has concluded that, whilst this contractual model has certainly contributed to more articles being published as open access, it has not yet brought about any clear, long-term change in publishers’ pricing or business models.
The transformative agreements signed through the Bibsam Consortium still largely cover hybrid journals, which entails a risk that what was originally intended as a transitional solution may instead become established as a permanent model amongst publishers. Against this background, the Consortium’s steering group has adopted an action plan for forthcoming contract negotiations:
- Focus on open access journals
No new agreements should be entered into for reading and publishing in so-called hybrid journals. Hybrid journals are subscription-based journals in which articles can be published as open access for a fee. The aim is that, from 2026, new agreements should cover open access journals only. - Promoting alternative publication routes
Promote new routes to open access publishing and alternative business models, and support researcher-led journals that wish to shift their publishing from traditional publishers to other platforms. - Requirements for open licences
Publication shall take place under an open licence in accordance with the FAIR principles, and copyright opportunities shall be utilised to promote open access, for example through secondary publication.
Further information about the Bibsam Consortium and its action plan is available on the National Library of Sweden's website:
