BMJ increases OA footprint

Global healthcare knowledge provider, BMJ, has marked the new year with a series of new Read and Publish (R&P) agreements, expanding its open access (OA) initiatives worldwide. The publisher says these partnerships mark significant strides in facilitating greater access to cutting-edge research and supporting the dissemination of knowledge for the global research community.

BMJ has unveiled the new Read & Publish agreements as follows:

• Consortium of Swiss Academic Libraries (CSAL), Switzerland: BMJ’s transformative R&P agreement with the CSAL Consortium encompasses the Standard Collection journals for 2024. This collaboration amplifies the reach of our critical research within Switzerland's scholarly community.
• Turku University, Finland: BMJ’s first R&P Agreement in Scandinavia. Partnering on our hybrid journals for 2024, this collaboration opens new avenues for sharing and accessing cutting-edge research in the Scandinavian academic sphere.
• University of Sydney, Australia: BMJ’s first R&P Agreement in Australia with the prestigious University of Sydney, with the focus on BMJ’s Standard Collection journals for 2024.

Erik Lindgren, information specialist, Turku University Library, said: “We are delighted to be able to offer our researchers a chance to publish open access in high quality transformative and hybrid medical journals after signing an agreement with BMJ Publishing Group. We hope to get more visibility for the important research made in the University of Turku through these excellent journals, and also to continue our cooperation in the future.”

Philip Kent, university librarian at the University of Sydney, said: "The new Read & Publish agreement with BMJ helps us share the results of our research worldwide," highlighting the significance of this collaboration in global research dissemination.”

BMJ says its open access activities have also expanded across the United States by securing new agreements with Rowan University and Vanderbilt University. Spanning BMJ's hybrid and Gold OA journals for 2024, these partnerships underscore BMJ's adherence to fostering academic collaboration and open access to help advance knowledge in the US.

Looking forward to 2024 and beyond, BMJ says it has reaffirmed its dedication to scientific advancement by renewing all existing Read and Publish deals, including those with JISC (UK), BSB (Germany), Bibsam (Sweden) and Ireland (IReL), continuing to champion open access.

Claire Rawlinson, director of strategy and transformation, BMJ commented: "As a pioneer and early champion of open access, BMJ continually looks for new ways to support the research community through our growing number of Read and Publish agreements. These partnerships are another step forward in continuing to transition research to open access to make it widely visible and accessible."