ACS Publications Flips the Switch to Simpler, Easier Open Access Reporting

ACS Publications is a long-time supporter of and leader in open science, a broad collective movement aimed to increase transparency and access across all components of the research process beyond the traditional article. Open science champions a globally inclusive landscape built on collaboration—not only among researchers and across academic fields, but also between publishers, funders, and institutions.

As part of our ongoing commitment to open science, ACS Publications is pleased to announce that later this year, we will join the OA Switchboard initiative alongside other publishing partners such as Oxford University Press, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and Cambridge University Press. OA Switchboard is a mission-driven initiative designed to simplify the sharing and reporting of open access journal information throughout the entire publishing process.

“We’re excited that ACS is reporting on OA publication output to their research funders and institutions via the standardized protocol and shared infrastructure that the OA Switchboard community has developed," said Yvonne Campfens, Executive Director of OA Switchboard. "As an intermediary, the OA Switchboard simplifies the sharing of information between stakeholders, thereby reducing the transactional cost for all, and it provides a safe space for publication metadata. It is designed to operate and integrate with all stakeholder systems.”

While the OA Switchboard caters to a variety of use cases, ACS Publications’ participation is focused on providing simple, standardized reporting for institutions and research funders. When an article is published open access in an ACS journal, the relevant information will be automatically forwarded to the author’s institution and funder (if they also participate in the OA Switchboard initiative). This helps improve the visibility of published work, enables institutions and funders to report OA information from all participating publishers within a singular data format, and helps institutions identify OA articles that should be held in their institutional repository.

"We’re always seeking ways to make the adoption of open science practices easier, and participation in the OA Switchboard initiative is an important part of this strategy,” said Sybille Geisenheyner, Director of Open Science Strategy and Licensing at ACS Publications. “Streamlining reporting and compliance processes are important steps in demonstrating the value that open science can offer researchers, institutions, and funders—and the OA Switchboard’s services are a perfect fit for this need.”

ACS Publications remains at the forefront of initiatives, products, and services supporting open access and the broader, ever-evolving open science landscape. Explore below to learn more about the various resources available for our community in support of open access.