Frequently asked questions
Open Access
What are my options to publish Open Access with the Society?
In our journey to transition to OA we are supporting our authors with a range of options to publish OA in any of our six titles. See our routes to Open Access page for more details on the various routes we offer to publish OA with us and the benefits of each.
Do I need to pay an article processing charge (APC)?
If the corresponding author is covered by a Publish and Read agreement (see our list of Publish and Read institutions), or you are publishing in one of our Subscribe to Open titles, the cost of immediate Open Access publication has already been covered.
Authors who wish to publish fully Open Access but are not at a Publish and Read institution or publishing in one of our Subscribe to Open journals may do so by paying an APC.
How do I pay my APC?
If you opt to pay for your article to be published Open Access, you can select ‘Yes’ for Open Access publishing at submission of your article (in original and/or revised form) on the journal's Editorial Manager system.
Authors will then access the Rightslink platform to view cost estimates, applicable waivers and discounts, and terms and conditions. No order will be made and no payment will be taken at that point. Only when an article receives an 'accept' decision will the author be directly notified by email and linked to the Rightslink platform. At that stage, authors can apply any relevant discounts, place their order and, if a charge applies, can pay quickly and easily online.
What support is available for those who might not be able to cover an APC?
At the Society we acknowledge that not all authors receive financial support to publish their work Open Access.
If the corresponding author is covered by a Publish and Read agreement (see our list of Publish and Read institutions), or you are publishing in one of our Subscribe to Open titles, the cost of immediate Open Access publication has already been covered.
We are also pleased to participate in the HINARI programme (part of Research4Life), meaning that corresponding authors in Group A or B countries are automatically entitled to a 100% APC discount on our fully Open Access journals, which can be applied by authors during the check-out process upon acceptance.
In order to maintain the sustainability of our publishing programme and hold true to our values of equity and inclusivity, we can offer support (including free or highly discounted Open Access articles) in covering the cost of APCs when an author needs assistance to publish in Microbiology, Microbial Genomics or Access Microbiology. More information can be found on our publishing costs page.
Will the Society deposit my manuscript in PubMed Central?
Yes. The Microbiology Society is a signatory of the National Institution of Health (NIH) Portfolio Agreement: all papers that acknowledge funding from NIH and all Open Access papers will be automatically deposited by the Society in PubMed Central (and mirror sites) on publication and will be freely available from PubMed Central.
Subscriptions and Transformative Agreements
Purchase
How can I purchase an institutional subscription or Publish and Read agreement?
Institutional subscribers can either purchase directly from the Society or via their preferred subscription agent. To receive a quotation or request an invoice, please email [email protected].
What is meant by FTE?
FTE (“full-time equivalency”) refers to the number of relevant science faculty and individuals in each institution type. Relevant researchers are considered as those registered in doctoral (Ph.D, MD, or DVM, etc.) and postdoctoral programs in immunology, microbiology, pharmacology, biology, biochemistry, medicine (but not disciplines such as rehabilitation or nursing), veterinary medicine, biotechnology and related agriculture.
Website and authentication
What methods of authentication does the site support?
The Microbiology Society publishing website (microbiologyresearch.org) supports IP recognition, EZProxy, Shibboleth and Open Athens. Please note: with EZ Proxy the university/institution must have a subscription and IP recognition setup.
If you need support with access or authentication, please contact [email protected].
Is the site COUNTER/SUSHI/OpenURL compliant?
Yes, microbiologyresearch.org is COUNTER, SUSHI and OpenURL compliant and supports SFX link resolvers.
Which browsers are supported?
We support current versions of the following browsers on Windows, Macintosh, Android and iOS platforms:
• Internet Explorer / Edge
• Firefox (Mozilla)
• Safari
• Google Chrome
All pages function appropriately using any of the browsers referenced above. Please keep in mind that no two browsers (or two versions of the same browser) will display pages the same way.
Does the platform meet global accessibility standards?
We have aimed for WCAG 2.0 AA compliance with the Web Accessibility Initiative recommendations (WAI) and compliance with Section 508 Amendment to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
Can I use the platform with cookies or JavaScript disabled?
We recommend leaving cookies in place for the best possible user experience. Access to the site is possible with either cookies or JavaScript disabled, though some functions and content may not be available.
Does the platform meet global accessibility standards?
Yes, KBART files are available in TSV format here, and in XLSX format, here.
The first request submitted each day will trigger a new file build; any subsequent requests will receive the existing file for that day.
Account management
If I don't have an admin account, how can I create one?
When we set up access to journal content an activation email is sent to the email address registered on the admin account. The librarian should follow the link in the email to activate the account and update their login credentials.
How do I use the administrator portal?
Our admin portal requires one institutional administrator account per institution for subscriptions, which should be set up at the start of your subscription. The account will give you access to the admin portal, where you can see all holdings, download COUNTER reports, and add colleagues to admin roles. All access settings (IP ranges, usernames, Shibboleth settings) as well as link resolvers settings can be found here.
If you cannot access your administrator account, please contact our team at [email protected].
How do I access my SUSHI credentials?
Customers can find their SUSHI information by logging on to www.microbiologyresearch.org as an administrator with their username and password. SUSHI credentials are at the bottom of the Counter 4 reports page. If SUSHI has not already been enabled, the administrator should select 'Enable SUSHI reports' to obtain their credentials.
What do I do if I have forgotten my customer reference number?
Contact [email protected] with your institution name and IP ranges. We will provide you with your customer reference number.
Publish and Read
Do I need to approve papers for publication under Publish and Read?
Papers are managed through CCC RightsLink for Scientific Communications and your Publish and Read agreement should have appeared in your account dashboard.
We strongly recommend turning on automatic approval as our uncapped Publish and Read model is not set up to handle denials. Automatic approval means that as soon as an article is accepted (where the corresponding author has self-identified as a member of your institution during submission) we will automatically proceed with Open Access publication under the terms of our agreement.
If auto-approvals are not activated, then each funding request will need to be approved individually on your dashboard upon notification. This may cause unnecessary delays in the manuscript workflow.
Turn automatic approvals on in RightsLink by clicking the 'Billing Profiles' tab and then ticking the box in the automatic approvals column next to your billing profile for Microbiology Society.
Will I still be notified of articles on our dashboard if I activate auto-approve?
If you turn on auto-approval, you will receive email notifications when an article has been accepted for publication from your institution, unless you switch this off. However, whether or not you receive a notification, no action will be required. The articles will still appear in your dashboard, but the buttons for approval and denial will be greyed out.
To turn off email notifications, click the 'Billing Profiles' tab, then click your billing profile for Microbiology Society. Click the pencil icon above the ‘Contacts’ section. Tick the box for ‘Suppress email notifications,’ then click 'Next', 'Next', and 'Save'.
When will we see papers on the OA Switchboard and on RightsLink’s dashboard?
All manuscripts from corresponding authors at your institution will be visible on your RightsLink dashboard when accepted for publication. The reports will indicate whether a fee has been paid, or whether the manuscript falls under a Publish and Read deal. Version of Record Open Access articles associated with a Publish and Read agreement will be reported via the OA Switchboard upon publication.
Does my Publish and Read agreement still cover Subscribe to Open journals?
Yes. Whilst Subscribe to Open journals do not charge an article processing charge (APC) to any authors, institutions with Publish and Read agreements will be covered for fee-free publishing across our entire portfolio. In addition, institutions with Publish and Read agreements will have read access to any paywalled content, including the archives of Subscribe to Open titles.
Which article types are covered under Publish and Read? Are any article types filtered out from the OA Switchboard or the RightsLink dashboard?
Our Publish and Read agreement currently covers all article types in our titles. We have no filters for particular article types and all affiliated accepted manuscripts should appear in your dashboard.
Further support
I still need support – who can I contact?
For any further questions about our titles or licensing options for your institution, please contact [email protected] for more information.