Despite the rise of transformative agreements and Read & Publish deals, many researchers still struggle to navigate the Open Access (OA) publishing landscape. For librarians, that often means managing a steady stream of repetitive questions, manual checks, and communication breakdowns that drain precious time.
In this article, we break down six critical challenges that keep OA adoption from reaching its full potential — and show how the right tool can remove roadblocks, save time, and maximize the value of every agreement.
In this article, we explore six critical problems that keep OA adoption from reaching its full potential—and how the right tool can make all the difference:
- Uncertainty Around Where Authors Can Publish OA
Researchers often don’t know which journals are covered under their institution’s OA agreements. This leads to confusion and missed opportunities to publish openly without additional cost. A smart tool solves this by mapping journals to institutional affiliations and instantly showing authors exactly where they can publish OA — at no extra charge.
- Time-Consuming Manual Checks
Today, librarians and researchers often rely on static spreadsheets or lists to check publisher eligibility. This manual back-and-forth slows down the publishing process. An intelligent, searchable interface matches authors and institutions to eligible journals instantly, saving valuable time for everyone involved.
- Inconsistent Communication Between Libraries and Researchers
Libraries can’t always reach every researcher with up-to-date information about Read & Publish deals. As a result, many authors remain unaware of the benefits available to them. A self-service platform empowers researchers to find accurate, current information on their own, reducing the burden on library staff and ensuring consistent communication.
- Confusion Over Publisher Policies
Publisher policies for OA eligibility often vary from one agreement to another — and can change at any time. This complexity leads to errors, misunderstandings, and missed publishing opportunities. A centralized tool keeps all deal terms and journal eligibility details organized and up to date in one place, so both librarians and researchers stay aligned.
- Missed Opportunities to Publish OA
Too often, authors pay unnecessary article processing charges (APCs) or choose journals outside their covered agreements simply because they didn’t know better options existed. A smart OA tool guides authors to fully covered journals, maximizing the value of every institutional agreement and boosting OA publishing rates.
- Administrative Burden for Library Staff
Answering the same eligibility questions repeatedly pulls librarians away from more strategic tasks. Over time, this constant admin work eats into already limited staff capacity. With an intuitive tool, common questions are handled automatically, freeing librarians to focus on negotiation, strategy, and broader support for their research community.
Conclusion
Whether you’re managing transformative deals or helping researchers publish more openly, having the right infrastructure makes all the difference. By addressing these six challenges head-on, institutions and consortia can drive greater OA adoption, maximize the impact of their agreements, and deliver real value back to their communities.