Estimated costs associated with Article Processing Charges (APCs) for corresponding authors from Unicamp and initiatives promoted by the “Sistema de Bibliotecas da UNICAMP” focused on transformative agreements

Abstract

This study presents an estimate of the cost associated with the payment of Article Processing Charges (APCs) by corresponding authors from Unicamp, as well as some initiatives promoted by the UNICAMP Libraries System, focusing on APCs and transformative agreements, without generating an increase in university spending. Based on data collected from the Dimensions database, for the period of 2021 and 2022, it was found that 31.2% of articles published by UNICAMP were in open access journals that require payment of APCs. The total estimated amount paid by corresponding authors from the university was approximately R $ 26,905,351.41, with an average of R $ 9,287.31 per article. The results and initiatives presented in this study, although incipient, demonstrate the importance of creating a national and institutional policy on transformative agreements to foster publications in open access journals that charge APC, which would avoid possible use of resources for research, as well as avoiding burdening researchers.