FAQ | Open access publishing

Can I get an ISBN from CERN?

Yes, as long as the publication relates to your CERN activities. See ISBN/ISSN

CERN Open Access Policy: what is it?

The CERN Open Access Policy in its current revision is effective as of 25 May 2021. The Policy requires CERN Authors to publish all original results open access. Contributions to conference proceedings are not covered by this Policy.

How can I suggest a manuscript to be published as a CERN (Yellow) Report?

Contact the CERN Report Editorial Board. See Yellow Reports

In which journals can CERN Authors publish?

Authors should chose the most appropriate outlet for their research. When there are several options, CERN Authors should give preference to SCOAP3 titles or titles for which CERN has arrangements, so-called “read and publish agreements”.

Authors can use the CERN Open Access Author guide to find the best outlet for their articles. 

What are “read and publish agreements”?

“Read and publish agreements", often called transformative agreements, seek to shift the contracted payment from libraries to publishers away from subscription-based reading and towards open access publishing. If the corresponding author is affiliated with CERN, articles will be automatically detected and published open access for journals published by AIP, APS, Elsevier, IEEE, IOP, Springer Nature and Wiley. To verify if your co-authors benefit from “Read and publish agreements”, please consult the individual lists of institutions via the publishers’ respective websites: Elsevier, IEEE, IOPSpringer Nature and Wiley.

What is a CERN Author?

CERN-affiliated authors are intended as Staff, Fellows, and those collaborators authorized by their respective Department Heads to use the CERN affiliation, e.g. some scientific visitors, under certain conditions.

A CERN author is any author who, at the time the work described was carried out, as defined in CERN Operational Circular 6, is/was:

 a) Staff member or Fellow (Staff Rules, Article I 2.02 a), not on special leave (Staff Regulations, Article R II 4.29); or,

 b) an Associated member of the personnel (Staff Rules, Article I 2.02 b) allowed by their Division Leader (i.e. Department Head) to use CERN as their affiliation on the document.

What is a corresponding author?

The corresponding author is the author responsible for the submission and handling of the manuscript and for all related correspondence during the publication process. The corresponding author has authority to act on behalf of all co-authors in all matters pertaining to the publication of the manuscript and acts as the point of contact for any inquiries relating to the paper.

What to do in the case of non-CERN corresponding author?

If the corresponding author is not a CERN Author and he/she is not covered by a “Read and publish agreement” via his/her institution, the CERN Author should contact @email prior to submission.

Here is detailed information of our arrangements with publishers.

Where do I find detailed information on how to submit a paper in open access for a specific publisher?

You can consult the details of the Author journey for some publishers.

Which copyright option should I choose for my publication?

For papers originating from large collaborations, the copyright is vested in CERN. For all other papers, the copyright remains with the authors.

Which license option should I choose for my publication?

CC-BY license is the preferred license.

Who pays for the publication in open access?

Articles covered under the CERN agreements with publishers are paid centrally by CERN (conference contributions or invited articles excluded).

For articles that are not covered by a CERN agreement, CERN authors can still be eligible for central open access funding based on the following principles. 

If you publish in a journal that is not part of one of the CERN-wide open access agreements to or if you are not the corresponding author, please contact @email before proceeding with the license and rights process.

Who pays for the supplementary page charges?

Some journals request page charges when a manuscript exceeds the standard length or has colour figures. All such charges are carried by the group/department of the author. The Scientific Information Service can only cover author processing charges (APC) for open access.

Who should I contact in case I did not find the information I am looking for concerning open access publishing?

Contact @email, we ensure a quick answer.