Heard Libraries and Springer Nature establish open access publishing agreement for ‘Nature’ and other leading science journals

Vanderbilt University’s Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries have announced an open access agreement with Springer Nature, a global leader in research publishing. The agreement, the first of its kind in North America, enables Vanderbilt-affiliated authors to maximize the dissemination and citations of their research without incurring article processing charges when publishing in Nature, the world’s leading multidisciplinary science journal, and 38 other Nature hybrid journals that are part of the publisher’s portfolio. 

Among the world’s most prestigious and most-read academic journals, Nature publishes cutting-edge research across the life, physical and clinical sciences as well as technology. 

“This transformative agreement allows Vanderbilt researchers to benefit from Nature’s tremendous influence and reach,” University Librarian Jon Shaw said. “Our research findings will reach global audiences immediately upon publication, speeding up scientific innovation and progress. This collaboration not only strengthens Vanderbilt’s reputation but will aid in attracting top faculty, students and partnerships to the university.”  

Vanderbilt’s open access agreement includes the flagship publication Nature, which has a Scopus CiteScore of 90, and Nature Medicine, with a CiteScore of 100.9. Of the 39 titles included in Vanderbilt’s agreement—including Nature Neuroscience, Nature Cancer and Nature Aging—34 are ranked in the top 10 percent of journals in their respective fields per Scopus CiteScore, with 14 of those ranked No. 1.

“We are delighted that, following their participation on the NERL transformative agreement for the Springer portfolio, we have extended our partnership with Vanderbilt University by signing our first institutional Nature TA in the U.S.,” said Maria Lopes, vice president of institutional sales for Springer Nature. “Vanderbilt University is a valued partner in our transition to open access, and we are pleased to collaborate on the goal of delivering a sustainable and effective pathway to an open science future.”

Vanderbilt authors can learn more about the Heard Libraries’ agreements supporting open access publishing in this research guide. Questions about open access publishing should be directed to Vanderbilt’s subject librarians.