Publishers and Libraries in Support of Open Knowledge

Subscribe to Open (S2O)

Through the innovative OA model called Subscribe to Open (S20), new and existing institutional library customers subscribe to the selected journals, using current collection development workflows. With sufficient support, new journal volumes are converted to OA upon publication, and made available for everyone to read and share. If subscription (or pledging) support is insufficient, the paywall is retained.

What we support

Sustaining Open Access through Subscribe to Open

Subscribe to Open (S2O) extends the KU model by helping libraries collectively support the transition of subscription-based journals to Open Access. Through partnerships with participating publishers, S2O provides a sustainable pathway that keeps peer-reviewed research openly available while preserving the quality and integrity of scholarly publishing.

Pledging Timeline

Please submit pledges by December 18, 2026.
How S2O Works

Subscribe to Open's Step by Step Process

  1. 01

    Library subscribes to journal(s)

    Customers subscribe to or renew selected journals without any additional administrative workflow or article processing charges (APCs).

  2. 02

    Subscription goals are assessed

    The publisher assess whether subscriptions meet the required Open Access threshold.

  3. 03

    Journal publishes Open Access

    When the target is met, the current year publishes fully Open Access. If not, subscribers receive full access and the paywall is retained for nonsubscribers.

  4. 04

    The global population benefits

    Open science helps to enable critical solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges.

*Subscribing institutions benefit from pre- and post-access rights regardless of whether the yearly threshold is achieved.

KU S2O partners

2027 Subscribe to Open journals

Berghahn Journals

2027-2029 Berghahn S2O

Options include: Berghahn Open Anthro, Berghahn Open Society, and Beghahn Complete

Diverse Scholarly Perspectives

EDP Sciences

EDP Sciences: Open Mathematics

Titles cover strategic fields from numerical analysis and control/optimization to operations research and theoretical computer science.

Six prestigious, peer-reviewed titles

Stanford University Press

Stanford University Press: New Collection

Journals include: Journal of Mass Spectrometry and Advances in the Clinical Lab, Reviews of Economic Literature, and Population Biology Modeling and Theory.

Experienced editors dedicated to equitable publishing

For Librarians: Contact us about an S2O subscription Contact the KU Team