---
title: "Scaling Open Access: Lessons from a New Institutional Agreement"
description: Preparing for the Charleston Conference this year, let's look at how institutions can build sustainable OA infrastructure.
image: https://blog.jmir.org/hubfs/Mike%20blog%20June%202026%20(2).png
---

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# Scaling Open Access: Lessons from a New Institutional Agreement

![Michael Byer, Institutional Partnerships Lead](https://blog.jmir.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot%202026-10-01%20at%2012.32.25%20PM.png?width=45&name=Screenshot%202026-10-01%20at%2012.32.25%20PM.png) 

[Michael Byer, Institutional Partnerships Lead](https://blog.jmir.org/author/michael-byer-institutional-partnerships-lead)

Published Date: 7 October 2026 4:45 p.m.

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![Blog header for Charleston conference featuring photo of Mike Byer](https://blog.jmir.org/hubfs/Mike%20blog%20June%202026%20(2).png)

I’m looking forward to my second visit to the [Charleston Conference](https://www.charleston-hub.com/the-charleston-conference/welcome/2026-charleston-conference/) in November. Since last year, I've noticed that the conversations I’m having about Open Access (OA) with North American librarians are shifting. I’m talking less about whether OA should receive institutional support and more about how to create sustainable publishing agreements that reduce obstacles and create opportunity.

---

| Key Takeaways |
| --- |
| **Unlimited OA subscription** models eliminate publication caps and drive higher author adoption. |
| **Frictionless author identification** and streamlined verification dashboards minimize administrative overhead. |
| **Evaluating open access agreements** requires new metrics focused on submission pipelines and total APC spending rather than traditional usage data. |

---

While Europe led early momentum in the OA transformation, North American institutions are transitioning from early-adopter pilots to broader, operationally viable market models. 

To ground our conversations at Charleston this year, let's look at one of JMIR’s newest institutional agreements as a proof-of-concept model for how institutions, consortia, and publishers can build sustainable OA infrastructure.

### The University of Nevada, Las Vegas

UNLV started their Unlimited OA Institutional Publishing Subscription in March 2026. Over the three years from 2023-2025, JMIR had published eight articles with lead authors from UNLV.

|  | **2023** | **2024** | **2025** |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Publications | 2 | 2 | 4 |

An additional eight articles were under review in early 2026. It was clear from the data that UNLV researchers were increasingly choosing JMIR.

Early in our discussions with UNLV, it became clear that the library’s top priorities were agreements with easy-to-use workflows and no publication caps. JMIR’s Unlimited OA Institutional Publishing Subscription could deliver both of those.

Because eight articles were already under review, UNLV started with an active pipeline of articles and a clear pathway towards exceeding the expected publishing output.

Fast-forward to the end of September, seven of those articles under review in March have been accepted for publication. 

|  | **In Review** | **Accepted** | **Published** |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Articles | 10 | 2 | 7 |

Since March, 16 manuscripts have been submitted, with ten of those submissions coming in the past three months. 

By subscribing to JMIR’s Unlimited OA Publishing offer, the UNLV library created an opportunity for their campus and researchers are responding enthusiastically.

UNLV’s experience demonstrates how a flexible, transparent agreement can rapidly unlock institutional publishing potential.

### 3 Lessons for Charleston: Moving from Pilots to Production

Looking at the UNLV deal and our other institutional partnerships, a few themes emerge that apply to any institution preparing to expand their OA support:

#### 1. Open Access is strengthened by institutional support.

In March, there were indications that UNLV researchers were interested in publishing more with JMIR. The response of UNLV researchers since then indicates that this interest was stronger than anyone knew. By providing institutional support for JMIR’s unlimited OA publishing subscription, the UNLV library removed the final barrier for their researchers to publish fully open access.

#### 2. Simplicity is Necessary

Like the medical technology that is featured in many of the articles we publish, an agreement is only effective if people like to use it. The UNLV deal demonstrates that frictionless author identification, streamlined library verification dashboards, and zero publishing caps are necessary. When administrative overhead is minimized, adoption accelerates.

#### 3. New subscription models require new datasets

Evaluating OA publishing agreements requires a different dataset than a reading subscription. JMIR doesn’t provide institutional level usage, cost-per-download, or denial metrics. These metrics aren’t applicable because we don’t restrict reading access. Instead, we provide data that shows total publications and APC spending over time, active submissions, and author affiliation that allows librarians to measure the potential impact across the campus and over time. Showing recent spending patterns, demonstrating equitable author participation, and establishing an active pipeline gives collection managers the evidence needed to justify shifting budgets.

### Let’s Continue the Conversation in Charleston

This year in Charleston, I want to learn how other institutions and publishers are navigating this shift. A few questions I’ll be asking over coffee and between sessions:

- How is your library handling author identification and workflow friction?
- What financial or cost-allocation models are proving most resilient for your institution?
- What metrics are you using to evaluate the long-term ROI of open publishing agreements?

If you'll be in Charleston, I’d love to connect. Catch me in the vendor hall at Booth 44 on Tuesday, November 3, or reach out by [email](mailto:michael.byer@jmir.org) or [LinkedIn](http://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelbyer).

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