Effective January 1, 2026, all ACM publications and related materials in the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Digital Library will transition to full Open Access (OA). This ensures that readers worldwide can access cutting-edge research results in the field of computing freely and immediately. This significant change in ACM's publishing model will directly impact how our faculty and students publish their research results in ACM journals and conference proceedings in the future. To help everyone understand these changes in the publishing model in a timely manner, we are providing the following explanation. Faculty, students, and staff are encouraged to read carefully.
I. Open Access (OA)
Open Access refers to the practice of making research outputs freely available on the public internet, permitting any user to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of these articles, crawl them for indexing, pass them as data to software, or use them for any other lawful purpose.
The model being implemented by ACM is "Gold Open Access" (Gold OA). This means that upon publication, journal articles are made immediately and freely available to the public on the journal's website. Under this model, authors typically pay an Article Processing Charge (APC) to cover the costs associated with peer review, editing, typesetting, and open access dissemination.
II. Explanation of Policy Changes
(1) Core Change: From "Pay-to-Read" to "Pay-to-Publish"
Before the Transition: Authors submitting and publishing articles (non-OA papers) in ACM journals typically did not pay APCs. The library subscribed to the ACM Digital Library, allowing our faculty and students to access its content directly via the campus network.
After the Transition: Papers published in ACM journals and conference proceedings will be openly accessible to all readers in OA format. The APCs will be paid by the authors.
It is important to note that not all types of ACM publications require APCs. Details are as follows:
Publication Type | Remarks | |
APC Applies | Research Article, Short Paper, Survey Article | Covering most ACM journals, magazines, and conference proceedings |
APC Typically Does Not Apply | Abstract, Announcement, Article Commentary, Book Review, Column, Correction, etc. |
(2) APC Fees
Starting in 2026, authors publishing articles in ACM publications will need to pay APCs. Based on the DRAA consortium agreement, standard prices range from $700 to $1,800 USD. Specific fees are as follows:
Article Type | APC Standard Rate | APC Rate for ACM/SIG Members |
Journal Article | $1800 | $1300 |
Conference Proceedings Article | $1000 | $700 |
Additionally, ACM has announced introductory discounted rates for 2026. For more information, please visit: https://authors.acm.org/open-access/acm-open-for-authors-home
(3) Copyright Retention
With the transition to the OA model, authors retain the copyright to their articles. By applying an appropriate Creative Commons License (CC License), authors specify the permissions others have for using their research results, including citation, reprinting, and adaptation.
III. Other Important Information
Building upon ACM's full Open Access transition, and to further enhance the user experience for our faculty and students, the library will continue its subscription to ACM's platform value-added services (including advanced search, data analysis functions, etc.). This aims to provide superior academic support for the entire university community. These services include:
Multi-format reading (HTML, XML, PDF, eReader) and support for batch downloads.
Access to the full Guide to Computing Literature abstract database (indexing abstracts from over 8,000 publishers).
Support for advanced search features.
Saving search queries, exporting citations, and setting up personalized alerts.
Viewing detailed bibliometric information on journal, institution, and author profile pages.
Support for newly launched and planned AI functionalities.
Provision of institutional services, such as usage statistics.
The transition to full ACM Open Access may bring uncertainties and challenges. The library will continue to monitor developments closely and actively seek solutions to safeguard the rights and interests of our faculty and students.
If you have any questions or need consultation, please do not hesitate to contact us:
Resource Development & Management Department, Zhejiang University Library: Ms. Ye - hqye@zju.edu.cn
Zhejiang University Library
January 2026