The Company of Biologists announces first consortium agreement in South Africa – the South African National Library and Information Consortium (SANLiC)

12 March 2024

The Company of Biologists is delighted to announce a new three-year Read & Publish Open Access agreement with the South African National Library and Information Consortium (SANLiC). This is the Company’s first consortium agreement in South Africa and Worldwide Information Services agency (WWIS), our representative in South Africa, was influential in helping us establish this agreement.

The agreement will run from 1 January 2024 until 31 December 2026, and corresponding authors at participating institutions 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.

Sarah Logan, Regional Sales Manager at The Company of Biologists, says:

“We’re thrilled to announce a new Read & Publish agreement in South Africa. This collaboration with the SANLiC Consortium and our exclusive agent for Read & Publish in South Africa, Worldwide Information Services agency (WWIS), opens the door for 26 universities, 6 research councils, and 4 neighbouring country institutions to join a new and advantageous Read & Publish agreement with The Company of Biologists. Participating libraries will benefit from unlimited access to all journal content and enable their academics to publish research articles fee-free, providing advantages such as wider dissemination and increased citations for authors, and fostering open science in South Africa.”

Ellen Tise, Chairperson of the SANLiC Board, says:

“SANLiC is excited to collaborate with The Company of Biologists to repurpose reading expenditure, enabling our researchers to publish in The Company of Biologists’ hybrid and fully Open Access journals at no fee. We need a world where under-resourced researchers can participate meaningfully in research production and dissemination. So, we are very pleased!”

Melissa Badenhorst, Managing Director at WWIS, says:

“We are delighted to represent The Company of Biologists in this region and support the Read & Publish deal that had been made available to all SANLiC members. This means we can continue to offer SANLiC members and their researchers the possibility to publish Open Access research articles in their five prestigious journals. Providing these opportunities to authors in this region will assist researchers in fostering collaborations and increase visibility of their work.”

View current participating institutions

About the South African National Library and Information Consortium
SANLiC is the leading facilitator of cost-effective access to high-quality scholarly electronic information in support of research, teaching and learning in public higher education and research institutions in South Africa. It facilitates, on a non-profit basis, affordable access to scholarly electronic information in support of the learning, teaching and research activities of its members. It negotiates collective license agreements with publishers and aggregators for scholarly reading and publishing services on behalf of its members and beneficiaries. SANLiC is committed to promoting a transition to Open Access publishing, as it enhances the global reach and visibility of scientific research. https://www.sanlic.ac.za

About WorldWide Information Services (WWIS)
Established in 2006, WorldWide Information Services (WWIS) is a dominant player in the Southern African Information Management Solutions industry. The business supplies print and electronic information services and solutions to the academic, corporate, healthcare and government markets. WWIS’s mission is to innovate in the delivery of subscription and information services and solutions, through flexible local pricing, client and partner consideration and seamless, value-added technology services, coupled with dedicated research support. Its primary objective is to provide clients with the best return on their investment in information resources and to provide innovative solutions to support and improve research within Southern Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. https://www.wwis.co.za/

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 woldwide 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 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 800 institutions in 49 countries are now participating in our cost-neutral Read & Publish OA initiative. We also have Read & Publish agreements with many library consortia.

Learn more about our new bio-positive publishing initiative, The Forest of Biologists.