A pilot program to support UT faculty and graduate student use of open-access journals has been tapped by a dozen faculty in seven departments. To date six articles have been published in six peer-reviewed open-access journals, with five more manuscripts still in the peer review process.

The Open Publishing Support Fund, sponsored by the UT Office of Research and University Libraries, made available $20,000 to cover publishing in open-access journals that charge fees. At the end of the trial period, a total of $14,361 was allocated, an average of $1,105 per article. Open Access publishing makes content available via internet with no charge to the end user.

“Goals of the Open Publishing Support Fund are being met,” said Linda Phillips, head of scholarly communication at University Libraries. “The concept is gaining traction and will become better understood as we roll out Trace, the digital showcase for the campus’ creative and scholarly work.”

The program required faculty to negotiate for lower publishing fees, if possible.

Phillips and Greg Reed, associate vice chancellor for research, coordinated the program. On the basis of the trial year, the Office of Research has allocated $20,000 to continue UT’s open-access awareness program in FY 2010.