The Library has signed a number of agreements for open access publishing. These agreements allow the Library to directly pay article-processing charges (APCs) for accepted open access articles by authors affiliated with Qatar-based non-profit research institutions. The Library covers the costs through deposit accounts with the publishers or through offsetting the cost against subscriptions. The agreements cover open access journals (where all the content is published open access) and/or hybrid journals (a subscription-based journal that offers an open access option which authors can choose if they wish) of the publishers listed here.
Please note that agreements are based on a projection of the number articles that will be published in the current year. If demand exceeds our projections, your article may not be covered by these agreements. In order to avoid this situation, we have introduced a cap on the number of articles an author may have processed through this program in a calendar year. Please note that having an active agreement at the time of your submission does not guarantee funding for your article. Funding approval depends on the availability of funds when your article is accepted by the publisher and when the Library is notified of its editorial acceptance. Decisions are also subject to the funding criteria in effect at the time of acceptance. As funding is allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, we strongly encourage authors to apply for pre-booking when available.
To be eligible for funding, you need to meet the following requirements:
Agreements in Funding Pool A
- Funding will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
- The Library may set a funding cap on articles, determined by the annual volume of requests and the terms of the publishing agreement. QNL may ask authors for supporting letters from their institutions.
- The Library will fund article types according to the details of the publishing agreements (e.g. original research article, review articles, etc); please refer to the ‘Instructions to Authors’ section of the table.
- Authors may pre-book a funding request. Pre-booking is available for up to 20% of available tokens. Please note that pre-booked articles must be accepted by 31 October of that year.
- The corresponding author must have an account with Manara - Qatar Research Repository.
Agreements in Funding Pool B
- Each corresponding author is limited to one funded article per calendar year.
- Both the first author and the corresponding author must be affiliated with a Qatari institution.
- The Library will only fund original research articles.
- Authors have the option to pre-book funding requests. Pre-booking is available for up to 80% of available tokens. Pre-booked articles must be accepted by 31 October, 2025.
- The corresponding author must have an account with Manara - Qatar Research Repository.
- The journal must be listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals.
- The Library will implement a cap on the expenditure for each publisher to ensure a fair distribution of funding opportunities.
- The Library only supports CC BY 4.0 licenses for open access publications.
Important tip:
- To assist the Library and publishers in determining your eligibility for funding, please use your Qatar institutional email address.
- Please visit this page to view the remaining token balance for this year.