Purdue Libraries and School of Information Studies News

Public access to funded research: How Purdue Libraries can help

October 22nd, 2026

Choosing to publish research openly can lead to higher research impact. Studies have found that open access articles tend to receive more citations than articles available only through subscriptions. Open access research can attract citations from researchers across a broader range of institutions, countries, and disciplines. By removing barriers to access, open access publishing creates more opportunities for Purdue research to be discovered, cited, and used not only by scholars worldwide, but also by industry professionals, policymakers, educators and more.

Purdue Libraries has long supported open access and helped Purdue researchers make their scholarship publicly available. Through publisher agreements and other open access initiatives, Purdue authors have opportunities to publish their work openly without always having to pay an article processing charge (APC) themselves.

Federal public access requirements

Following the 2022 Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Nelson Memo, federal research agencies have implemented policies requiring federally-funded research publications to be made publicly accessible immediately, without an embargo. Depending on the funder and the specific award, researchers may need to ensure that an accepted manuscript or published article is deposited in an appropriate repository and made publicly accessible without an embargo. 

At the same time, a May 2026 proposal from the Office of Management and Budget would change how publication costs can be charged to federal awards. The proposal is not final, but it highlights an important challenge for researchers: how authors can make their federally-funded research publicly available when they may not have grant funds available to pay APCs.

Options for making your research openly available

Purdue Libraries can help you identify an open access option that fits your publication, funder requirements, and available resources.

• Publish open access at no additional cost through publisher agreements
  • Purdue authors are eligible to publish open access in thousands of journals through open access agreements. These agreements can allow eligible corresponding authors to publish open access without personally paying an APC. Purdue authors have already published more than 2,000 articles through Purdue Libraries’ open access agreements since 2021, representing millions of dollars in saved publication charges. See the Open Access Publishing Partnerships guide for a complete list of agreements. 
• Take advantage of discounted APC programs
  • Purdue Libraries participates in programs and publisher agreements that provide discounts on APCs for eligible authors. See the Publishing Discounts guide for more information. 
• Understand and retain your author rights
  • Purdue Libraries can help you understand publishing agreements and identify opportunities to retain the rights needed to share your work in a repository. Retaining these rights can give authors greater flexibility to make their research publicly available without paying an APC. 
• Green Open Access as an alternative to APC
  • Purdue authors may be able to deposit an author-accepted manuscript—the version of an article accepted for publication after peer review—in Purdue e-Pubs or another appropriate repository, subject to the publisher’s terms. Repository-based open access can also provide a way to meet many public access requirements. Green open access also increases the reach and visibility of scholarship.  

Fortunately, making an article publicly available does not always require paying an APC.

Libraries can help

You do not have to navigate these changes alone. Before you submit a manuscript, or when your manuscript is accepted, contact Purdue Libraries to explore your options for open access publishing, repository deposit, and author rights. The Open Publishing Toolkit is available here. 

Seeking feedback
Researchers are encouraged to complete a brief survey to help Libraries better understand how publication costs and federal public access requirements are affecting their research and publishing decisions.

Please complete the survey below by Friday, December 4, 2026.