Multiple open access Partnershipss solidify BMJ’s commitment to global knowledge dissemination

February, 2024—Leading global healthcare knowledge provider, BMJ, marks the new year with a series of new Read and Publish (R&P) agreements, expanding its open access (OA) initiatives worldwide. These Partnershipss mark significant strides in facilitating greater access to cutting-edge research and supporting the dissemination of knowledge for the global research community.

New Read & Publish agreements unveiled:

  • Consortium of Swiss Academic Libraries (CSAL), Switzerland: BMJ’s transformative R&P agreement with the esteemed CSAL Consortium encompasses the Standard Collection journals for 2024. This collaboration amplifies the reach of our critical research within Switzerland’s scholarly community.
  • University of Turku: Our first R&P Agreement in Finland. Partnering on our hybrid journals for 2024, this collaboration opens new avenues for sharing and accessing cutting-edge research in the Scandinavian academic sphere.
  • University of Sydney, Australia: BMJ’s first R&P Agreement in Australia with the prestigious University of Sydney, with a focus on BMJ’s Standard Collection journals for 2024. 

Erik Lindgren, Information Specialist, University of Turku Library, said, “We are delighted to be able to offer our researchers a chance to publish open access in high quality transformative and hybrid medical journals after signing an agreement with BMJ Publishing Group. We hope to get more visibility for the important research made in the University of Turku through these excellent journals, and also to continue our cooperation in the future.”

Philip Kent, University Librarian at the University of Sydney, said, “The new Read & Publish agreement with BMJ helps us share the results of our research worldwide,” highlighting the significance of this collaboration in global research dissemination.”

  • BMJ’s open access activities have also expanded across the United States by securing new agreements with Rowan University and Vanderbilt University. Spanning BMJ’s hybrid and Gold OA journals for 2024, these Partnershipss underscore BMJ’s adherence to fostering academic collaboration and open access to help advance knowledge in the US.

Renewals
Looking forward to 2024 and beyond, BMJ reaffirms its dedication to scientific advancement by renewing all existing Read and Publish deals, including those with JISC (UK), BSB (Germany), Bibsam (Sweden) and Ireland (IReL), continuing to champion open access. 

Claire Rawlinson, Director of Strategy and Transformation, at BMJ, commented, “As a pioneer and early champion of open access, BMJ continually looks for new ways to support the research community through our growing number of Read and Publish agreements. These Partnershipss are another step forward in continuing to transition research to open access to make it widely visible and accessible.”

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Immediate release / February 2024 

-ENDS –

About BMJ:

BMJ promotes better scientific evidence and enables better clinical decisions and health systems through three lines of business:

  • Publishing and Events: Influencing health policy and practice, and connecting communities of academics, researchers, clinicians and funders through impactful research publications, data tools and event delivery.
  • Careers and Learning:  Empowering health professionals worldwide throughout all career stages with exam preparation, interactive learning modules, and recruitment advertising.
  • Digital health:  Supporting healthcare professionals in their decision-making providing computable, trusted, evidence-based solutions at the point of care, and clinical insights at a population level.

BMJ is a pioneer and champion of open access. We support and promote a future built on the principle of unrestricted access to medical research outputs, which encourages proper scientific discourse and debate and, in turn, facilitates further medical advances. 

We believe that increased access to and use of medical and scientific research through open access will create a global healthcare system shaped by better evidence. These new contracts will benefit patients, health professionals, policymakers, and the public. Find out more at: https://www.bmj.com/company/openaccess/

About BMJ Journals 

BMJ publishes 65 journals, many of which are the most influential titles in their field, including The BMJ, ranked number 4 out of 167 in Medicine, General & Internal, with 105.7 Journal Impact Factor and 15.3 CiteScore.

Over 60% of BMJ journals are in the top quartile of their category, with 15% ranked in the top five for their specialty, including Gut, Journal of Medical

Ethics, Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, and the British Journal of Sports Medicine.  

In 2023, BMJ developed BMJ Impact Analytics, the first research impact tool focused on health and social care. It reveals that more than 14,000 BMJ articles were cited in 6,000 policy and clinical guidance documents published in 2022.

Nearly all BMJ’s journals have migrated to ‘Transformative Journal’ status. This movement aligns with BMJ’s goal to transition all research it publishes to open access. 

Also, as a signatory to the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), BMJ fully supports the need to use a broad range of metrics to assess research published in journals. https://journals.bmj.com