Article processing charges (APCs) are fees paid to the publisher by or on behalf of the author, in exchange for publishing an article on an open access basis: without a paywall and (typically) with an open license such as one of the Creative Commons licenses. Libraries sometimes make agreements with publishers that cover or discount APCs for articles that have an author affiliated with their institution. These agreements can be called "read and publish agreements" or "transformative agreements."

Penn State has these agreements with some publishers. There are also a few APC discounts available to Penn State researchers. A list of such agreements and discounts is available on the Article Processing Charges page of our Open Access guide. Many publishers that charge APCs also provide APC waivers for some authors, for example authors based in developing countries.

If you have further questions, you can contact or book an appointment with the Office of Scholarly Communications and Copyright.