Read & Publish Open Access agreement with the South African National Library and Information Consortium (SANLiC) renewed for a further three years

25 August 2026

The Company of Biologists is pleased to announce the renewal of our Read & Publish Open Access agreement with the South African National Library and Information Consortium (SANLiC). The renewal comes from a successful first agreement in South Africa with our representative in South Africa, Worldwide Information Services agency (WWIS), being influential in helping us establish our connection.

The agreement will run from 1 January 2027 until 31 December 2029 and corresponding authors at participating institutions can publish an uncapped number of research articles immediately Open Access (OA) in our hybrid journals (Development, Journal of Cell Science and Journal of Experimental Biology) and our fully Open Access journals (Disease Models & Mechanisms and Biology Open) without paying an article processing charge (APC). Researchers at participating institutions also benefit from unlimited access to our hybrid journals, including their full archives dating back to 1853.

Shelly Turner, Sales & Marketing Director at The Company of Biologists, says:

“We are delighted with the renewal of our Read & Publish agreement in South Africa which builds on the success of our existing collaboration with SANLiC and partnership with our exclusive Read & Publish agent in the region, Worldwide Information Services (WWIS) for a further term.

Through this extended partnership, participating libraries will maintain unlimited access to all journal content while enabling their researchers to publish Open Access research articles fee-free for a further three years. This ongoing commitment not only promotes wider dissemination and increased citation potential for authors but also strengthens the advancement of open science across South Africa.”

Lindiwe Soyizwapi, Chairperson of the SANLiC Board, says:

“It is evident that The Company of Biologists is serious about ensuring that research in the discipline of biology is accessible to all as it should be. The renewal of this agreement is testimony to this fact.”

Melissa Badenhorst, Managing Director at WWIS, says:

“We are pleased to continue our partnership with The Company of Biologists and SANLiC through this renewed Read & Publish agreement. By expanding access to high-quality research and removing barriers to Open Access publishing, we are helping South African researchers increase the visibility and impact of their work while supporting the continued advancement of open science.”

View current participating institutions

About the South African National Library and Information Consortium

SANLiC is the leading facilitator of cost-effective access to high-quality scholarly electronic information and Open Access publishing in public higher education and research institutions in South Africa. Its mission is to ensure equitable and affordable access to scholarly electronic information resources and participation in open science in support of the learning, teaching, and research activities of its members. https://www.sanlic.ac.za

About Worldwide Information Services (WWIS)

Established in 2006, Worldwide Information Services (WWIS) is a dominant player in the

Southern African Information Management Solutions industry. The business supplies print and electronic information services and solutions to the academic, corporate, healthcare and government markets. WWIS’s mission is to innovate in the delivery of subscription and

information services and solutions, through flexible local pricing, client and partner

consideration and seamless, value-added technology services, coupled with dedicated research support. Its primary objective is to provide clients with the best return on their investment in information resources and to provide innovative solutions to support and improve research within Southern Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. https://www.wwis.co.za/

About The Company of Biologists

The Company of Biologists is a not-for-profit publishing organisation dedicated to supporting and inspiring the biological community. We partner with libraries and library consortia to enable biologists worldwide to access our leading peer-reviewed hybrid journals – Development, Journal of Cell Science and Journal of Experimental Biology.

We have a long-standing and ongoing commitment to Open Access. Our cost-neutral Read & Publish initiative enables corresponding authors at participating institutions to publish an uncapped number of OA research articles in our hybrid journals and our two fully OA journals – Disease Models & Mechanisms and Biology Open – without paying an Article Processing Charge (APC). We were the first not-for-profit publisher to commit to the Transformative Journal approach and our journals were the first to be awarded Transformative Journal status by Plan S. Over 1,000 institutions in 57 countries are now participating in our cost-neutral Read & Publish OA initiative. We also have Read & Publish agreements with many library consortia.

Learn more about our new bio-positive publishing initiative, The Forest of Biologists.