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Investing in the Future: A New Strategic Agreement for Diamond Open Access in Canada

March 12, 2025

The Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN) and Érudit are proud to announce a new five-year agreement (2025–2029) for the Partnership for Open Access, with 57 participating libraries. This renewal represents an important step in the transition toward a fair, non-commercial and sustainable model for scholarly publishing in Canada.

Benefits for the Academic Community and Society as a Whole

Researchers, as well as members of the public, should be able to easily access the results of publicly funded research. Based on a shared desire to remove barriers to the dissemination of knowledge, Érudit and CRKN are collaborating to address this issue, through a partnership designed to support Canadian scholarly journals.

Thanks to the ongoing engagement of participating libraries, the Partnership for Open Access (POA) provides financial support to 260 scholarly journals. Independent and diverse, these journals reflect the linguistic diversity and the impactful research conducted in Canada and beyond. They are also deeply rooted in their academic communities, as over 1,500 Canadian researchers publish their work in these journals annually, which are often based on Canadian university campuses.

Canadian Leadership in Sustainable Publishing

Since its creation in 2014, the POA has pursued the objective of supporting Canadian scholarly journals while also promoting open access without publishing fees, commonly called Article Processing Charges (APC). These publishing fees, which often amount to several thousand dollars per article, are not affordable to many researchers, notably those from underfunded institutions, poorer countries or fields with fewer resources. 

Headshot of Clare Appavoo

 

“Canadian university libraries play an essential role in a robust and sustainable publishing ecosystem through their support for Canadian non-commercial scholarly journals,” explains Clare Appavoo, Executive Director of CRKN. “By investing in the POA, CRKN member libraries are collectively driving the evolution of open knowledge and advancing widespread access to vital Canadian research without financial barriers for researchers or the public.”

 

As part of the international movement toward diamond open access, the POA brings libraries and journals together to build a fairer and more sustainable publishing model. This new agreement is especially noteworthy, as it comes at a time when the financial situation of libraries is particularly complex. With this in mind, Érudit and CRKN express their deep gratitude to the academic library community for its ongoing commitment to open access and Canadian journals.

Headshot of Tanja Niemann

 

“This partnership highlights Érudit’s and CRKN’s shared commitment to advance the model for scholarly publishing in Canada, connecting us with the global movement of diamond open access initiatives, such as those in Latin America and Europe,” states Tanja Niemann, Executive Director of the Érudit Consortium. “The consolidation of this agreement confirms Canada’s key position within this movement.”

 

For a More Open Future

Through its 10+ years, the POA has established itself as a successful and sustainable model: it enables the distribution of over 2,000 articles per year without APCs, and has already helped 40 journals make the transition to open access. With this new agreement, the POA has new objectives, as the world of research and scholarly publishing continues to evolve:

  • Accelerate the adoption of open access in Canada, without charges to authors
  • Support up to 100 new journals over the next five years
  • Ensure the stability and sustainability of the diamond model in Canada

Together with Canadian journals and libraries, Érudit and CRKN reaffirm their commitment to a future where knowledge flows freely, for the benefit of everyone.

🔗 To learn more about the POA, including a full list of the participating libraries, visit erudit.org/partnership .


Contact:

  • CRKN

Mélanie Plante, Communiations Coordinator - mplante@crkn.ca

  • Érudit 

Gwendal Henry, Communications Advisor -  gwendal.henry@erudit.org 

About CRKN

CRKN is a non-profit organization with 89 members, including world-class academic libraries and research institutions, two national libraries, and Canada’s largest public library system. By advancing open access initiatives, licensing vital research content, facilitating widespread access to and preservation of Canadian heritage content, and supporting persistent identifier adoption, CRKN and our members are collectively empowering Canada with access to trusted knowledge. 

About Érudit

Dedicated to open knowledge, Érudit’s mission is to support digital publishing and research in the humanities and social sciences. As a research infrastructure supported by an inter-university consortium, Érudit is committed to open access and open science. The erudit.org platform provides access to a vast and unique collection of digital publications in French and English, including journals, books, proceedings, and theses. The foremost Canadian research dissemination platform for the arts, humanities, and social sciences, Érudit showcases the wealth of knowledge produced in Canada and beyond.

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    • Clark Wilson LLP Memo on the Acquisition and Use of Commercial Microfilm
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