Open Access

Bunch Library has established an Open Access Publishing Fund in order to support Belmont authors to publish and disseminate their works to a wider audience through open access journals. Funding is on a first come, first served basis, beginning June 1 of each fiscal year. 

(policy last reviewed 9/21/23)

Who is eligible?

• All full-time Belmont faculty, professional staff, and students.

What is eligible? 

• Peer-reviewed journal articles accepted for publication in open access or hybrid journals that charge a publication fee associated with making an article freely available.
• Eligible journals must meet standards of quality as described in Appendix A of the Faculty Handbook. 
• Articles must be made freely available on the web at the time of initial publication, with no embargo period.
• Costs for submission fees, reprints, color illustration fees, non-open access page charges, administrative charges and other fees are not applicable.
• Funds can only be used to pay author processing charges for articles that have been accepted but not yet published.

Funding Levels:

• The fund will provide up to $3000 per article. As funds allow, exceptions will be considered for requests above this cap. 
• Authors must exhaust other funding avenues (e.g., grants) before applying for funds. 
• Belmont authors may request funding for two articles per fiscal year, for a maximum of $6000. 

Requirements for subsidized authors: 

• Authors who receive funding should consult with librarians before signing the author agreement to ensure that the paper can be made available in the Belmont Digital Repository.
• Authors who receive funding are encouraged to make a copy of the paper available in the Belmont Digital Repository.

Intermural collaborations: When an article is co-authored by scholars from different institutions, how are they supported by the Fund?

• If the Belmont scholar is the first author, they are eligible for full payment of publishing fees.
• If the Belmont scholar is not the first author, they are eligible for a prorated portion of the publishing fees.

Application

• Applicants should consult with their Dean before completing the Open Access Fund Request Form.
• Complete the online Open Access Fund Request Form.

Review Process 

• Requests will be reviewed by library faculty including the college library liaison, the Director of Library Services, and the Scholarly Communications Librarian along with the College Dean.
• The review process will take approximately two weeks.