From: Kim Hetherington <[log in to unmask]> Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2024 17:31:30 +0000 *** Apologies for cross-posting *** 27 February 2024 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE *The Company of Biologists announce new Read & Publish Open Access agreements with consortia in Canada and China* The Company of Biologists is pleased to announce new Read & Publish Open Access agreements with the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL), Canada and the Digital Resource Acquisition Alliance of Chinese Academic Libraries (DRAA) consortium, China. Corresponding authors at participating institutions in Canada and China can publish an uncapped number of research articles immediately Open Access (OA) in our hybrid journals (Development, Journal of Cell Science and Journal of Experimental Biology) and our fully Open Access journals (Disease Models & Mechanisms and Biology Open) without paying an article processing charge (APC). Researchers at participating institutions also benefit from unlimited access to our hybrid journals, including their full archives dating back to 1853. *Claire Moulton, Publisher at The Company of Biologists, says:* “As a not-for-profit publisher dedicated to supporting the biological community worldwide, we have a long-standing commitment to Open Access publishing. Our journals were the first in the world to be awarded Transformative Journal status by Plan S and the success of our Read & Publish initiative has already driven a significant increase in Open Access research content in our hybrid journals. We welcome our new Read & Publish agreements with the OCUL and DRAA consortia and look forward to working together to promote the growth of Open Access publishing in the biological and biomedical sciences in both Canada and China.” *The Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) <https://ocul.on.ca/>* This is the Company’s first consortium agreement in Canada and is available to 21 member institutions. The five-journal agreement runs from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2026. *Shelly Turner, Head of Sales and Business Development at The Company of Biologists, says:* “We are delighted with our new partnership with the OCUL Consortium which will expand the readership of our content to a wider audience and will allow authors throughout Ontario to be able to publish fee-free Open Access research articles in all five of our journals.” *View participating institutions* <https://www.biologists.com/library-hub/read-publish/library-consortia/read-publish-agreement-with-the-ontario-council-of-university-libraries-consortium-ocul/>* | **Read the announcement online <https://bit.ly/49KAciC>* *Digital Resource Acquisition Alliance of Chinese Academic Libraries (DRAA)* <http://www.libconsortia.edu.cn/index.action> DRAA is a large consortium in China and this agreement, which runs from 2024 to 2026, is available to several hundred member institutions. This is the Company’s first consortium agreement in China and *Charlesworth,* our representative*, was influential in** helping us establish this agreement.* *Sarah Logan, Regional Sales Manager at The Company of Biologists, says:* “We are thrilled to announce a ground-breaking shift towards open science in China as the DRAA consortium becomes the first consortium to adopt our Read & Publish initiative. We are grateful to our exclusive agent, Charlesworth, for their invaluable contributions in bringing this agreement to fruition, and for their commitment to advancing open science within the DRAA consortium. By joining the DRAA consortium's 5 journal Read & Publish initiative, libraries can empower their researchers to disseminate their research without any financial barriers to publishing Open Access. We encourage all DRAA consortium members <http://www.libconsortia.edu.cn/Org/listlib2main.action> to consider joining us in this exciting journey towards a more open and accessible future for research.” *Michael Evans, CEO, Charlesworth, says:* *“*Charlesworth is at the forefront of supporting authors and librarians in China by exploring transformational agreements tailored to the Chinese market. We are excited to be working with The Company of Biologists to deliver a new agreement with the DRAA consortia. This agreement, for the first time, gives libraries the flexibility to choose a transformative model that works best for them.” *View confirmed institutions* <https://www.biologists.com/library-hub/read-publish/library-consortia/read-publish-open-access-agreement-with-the-digital-resource-acquisition-alliance-of-chinese-academic-libraries-draa/>* | **Read the announcement online* <https://bit.ly/49KAciC> *About the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL)* OCUL <https://ocul.on.ca/> is a consortium of Ontario’s 21 university libraries. Its strength lies in its commitment to collaborate to maximise its collective expertise and resources. It enhances information services in Ontario and beyond through collective purchasing and shared digital information infrastructure, collaborative planning, advocacy, assessment, research, partnerships, communications and professional development. Based on an established leadership record in the shared development of innovative digital library services and collections, OCUL supports Canada’s knowledge economy by providing the information tools and access essential for high-quality education and research in Ontario’s universities. *About the Digital Resource Acquisition Alliance of Chinese Academic Libraries (DRAA)* Digital Resources Acquisition Alliance of Chinese Academic Libraries (DRAA), established in 2010, was jointly initiated by university libraries in China and is composed of member libraries, council and secretariat. DRAA currently consists of 726 member organisations. The purpose of the alliance: to unite and cooperate to carry out the procurement of digital resources; standardise the behaviour of the group subscription resources and through the efforts of the alliance; to introduce digital academic resources for member libraries and seek the best price and best service. University libraries voluntarily participate in the alliance and decide whether to participate in the digital resources group procurement organised by the alliance. *About Charlesworth Group* Charlesworth Group is an Enago company and together form a market-leading, global publishing solutions company. With a global presence in nine countries, including primary offices in the UK, China, Japan, South Korea, India, and the US, Enago and the Charlesworth group are able to provide STM publishers and authors with localised and innovative tools and services to help them achieve their goals. www.enago.com/publishers *About The Company of Biologists* The Company of Biologists is a not-for-profit publishing organisation dedicated to supporting and inspiring the biological community. We partner with libraries and library consortia to enable biologists worldwide to access our leading peer-reviewed hybrid journals Development, Journal of Cell Science and Journal of Experimental Biology — and our fully OA journals — Disease Models & Mechanisms and Biology Open. We also have a long-standing and ongoing commitment to Open Access. Our cost-neutral Read & Publish initiative enables corresponding authors at participating institutions to publish an uncapped number of OA research articles in our hybrid journals and our two fully OA journals – without paying an Article Processing Charge (APC). We were the first not-for-profit publisher to commit to the Transformative Journal approach and our journals were the first to be awarded Transformative Journal status by Plan S. Over 750 institutions in 47 countries <https://www.biologists.com/library-hub/read-publish/participating-institutions/> are now participating in our cost neutral Read & Publish OA initiative <https://www.biologists.com/library-hub/read-publish/>. We also have Read & Publish agreements with many library consortia <https://www.biologists.com/library-hub/read-publish/library-consortia/>*.* Learn more about our new bio-positive publishing initiative, The Forest of Biologists <https://forest.biologists.com/>. For further information about the Read & Publish agreement with OCUL *Contact:* *Shelly Turner, Head of Sales and Business Development* *Email:* *[log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>* *Website:* *biologists.com/read-publish* <https://www.biologists.com/read-publish> *Twitter:* *@Co_Biologists* For further information about the Read & Publish agreement with DRAA *Contact:* *Sarah Logan, Regional Sales Manager* *Email:* *[log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>* *Website:* *biologists.com/read-publish* <https://www.biologists.com/read-publish> *Twitter:* *@Co_Biologists*