How Does It Work at UniLodz?
The University of Lodz, either as part of a consortium with other universities and research institutes or through individual agreements, concludes contracts with international publishers that cover both content subscriptions (mainly books and journals) and Open Access publishing programmes. In previous years, these programmes included a combined total of more than 6,000 journals.
Through the available Open Access publishing programmes, 88 articles were published in Open Access in 2025, resulting in savings of approximately PLN 977,000 in publication fees*. This demonstrates the dual benefit of participating in Open Access publishing programmes:
- increase in the accessibility of research results for readers around the world;
- reduction of publication costs incurred by authors and their institutions.
In 2025, the five most popular programmes were:
- Elsevier,
- Springer,
- Cambridge University Press (individual UniLodz agreement),
- Oxford University Press,
- Taylor&Francis.
In 2026, the Taylor & Francis programme allocation was the first to be exhausted, already in August, while the remaining allocations are gradually being used up. It is therefore worth taking advantage of the remaining places available under the Elsevier and Springer programmes. The Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press programmes operate until the end of the year with no article limits.
This year, researchers can also benefit from a new programme offering discounts on publishing in SAGE journals. In SAGE hybrid journals, UniLodz authors may publish for a fixed promotional fee of GBP 200, while a 10% discount is available for Gold Open Access journals.
There are also subject-specific programmes, primarily in the fields of physics, chemistry and biology, which continue to serve a dedicated group of users.
Before submitting an article, authors should check whether the journal and publisher participate in an Open Access publishing programme and review the eligibility requirements.
Are There Any Drawbacks to Open Access Publishing Programmes?
All of this sounds very attractive, but it is not without its challenges. The main drawback is the lengthy process of negotiating consortium agreements, combined with uncertainty regarding whether the Ministry will provide funding for the programmes in a given year and, if so, at what level. When funding is reduced, publishers may offer less favourable terms or suspend programmes altogether. From the perspective of authors wishing to take advantage of these opportunities, the greatest uncertainty typically arises during the first quarter of the year, when the operating rules and available funding for the programmes have not yet been confirmed.
Information about currently available programmes and their terms of use can be found on the Virtual Library of Science website and in the Knowledge Base in the Employee Portal under the Open Science section.
*Data based on a study conducted by the University of Lodz Library using information from the administrative panels of Open Access publishing programmes and data provided by the Interdisciplinary Centre for Mathematical and Computational Modelling at the University of Warsaw (ICM UW).
