Free access to peer-reviewed literature is central to equity in scientific research and can help scientists disseminate findings to their target audiences. “Open access” publishing models that remove the cost of accessing and downloading scientific articles are also consistent with NWSA’s mission of supporting research and education in the natural sciences in northwestern North America. However, traditional open access publication shifts significant costs onto authors in the form of Article Processing Charges (APC) that compensate the publisher for lost income traditionally generated from article downloads. These APCs can greatly reduce equity in research publication. For these reasons, NWSA is thrilled to announced that Northwest Science will be part of the BioOne Subscribe to Open (S2O) pilot program from January 2026.
S2O is a new publication model under which libraries subscribe to a package of BioOne’s journals, enabling these journals to eliminate APCs and allowing BioOne to provide free-of-charge access to current-year articles for all readers. At the time of writing, Northwest Science is one of 71 journals to have signed up to the S2O pilot, and libraries have also been receptive to the program. During S2O years (years with sufficient library subscriptions), all Northwest Science articles will be published open access and authors will only pay the modest page charges required to cover the production cost. As S2O is a new approach, BioOne is initially implementing S2O as a 3-year pilot program that will begin in January 2026 and last until December 2028.
The Northwest Science editorial board looks forward to working with authors and BioOne to implement S2O publication. For queries about S2O authorship and implementation, please contact Northwest Science Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Lucy Kerhoulas, or Managing Editor, Dr. Kathryn Peiman.