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Open Access to Information Helps Scholars and Saves Lives

Texas A&M University researchers often investigate topics like food safety that are critical to public health. What’s also vital is sharing research findings with the world.

“The widespread dissemination of information is important, so the public can access it without having to pay or subscribe to an academic journal,” said Dr. Elena Castell-Perez, associate department head of academics for biological and agricultural engineering. 

When research findings are published, Castell-Perez and other scholars now rely on open access publishing, an increasingly popular way to inform industry, fellow academics and the public. Texas A&M University Libraries are a leader in this growing movement, which aims to make research findings available at no cost to all.

Castell-Perez studies food safety, focusing on how advanced, safer packaging can be used to clean surfaces in food industry facilities. The packaging uses antimicrobial nanotechnology to prevent foodborne illnesses and ultimately saves lives.  

“Bad salad is a problem if you are immune compromised,” Castell-Perez said. “It can be fatal. One person dying is one too many.”

In the past, scholars often shouldered open access publication costs, which could be expensive. To help researchers with these costs, the Libraries negotiated contracts with various publishers. 

Open access publishing agreements allow Texas A&M researchers and affiliates to publish findings at a reduced cost or for free. In turn, this makes findings readily available to a wider audience.

Under an open access publishing model, authors affiliated with Texas A&M University have published 837 articles in the 2024 fiscal year, saving them over $2,429,000. 

In addition to increased access to information, open access agreements between Texas A&M and publishers enable researchers to redirect funds from publishing costs to other needed areas.

“We get to provide supplies for our students’ experiments,” Castell-Perez said. “You can also use it to send students to a conference instead of having to spend so much money on a publication.”

Saving money on publishing costs encourages authors to publish more, according to Salim Surani, adjunct clinical professor of medicine and pharmacology at Texas A&M.

“I think the Libraries supporting open access — where the researcher, residents or the clinician doesn’t have to pay to publish — motivates them to publish more,” he said. “Cost is one of the barriers to publication.”

Surani said the main purpose of his work is to improve the quality of life of people. 

In turn, the Libraries continue to negotiate to improve the quality of open access agreements.