Resource Cancellation FAQs

It is worth noting that we still have instant access to a lot of material through post-cancellation access agreements with publishers whereby we retain access to content from previous years, and open access copies. If the material is recommended reading for teaching and included in your Leganto reading list, the Library will source alternative content or contact you if that isn’t possible. Otherwise, if a resource is not available in our collection there are several ways this content can be obtained.

• Interlibrary Request Service 
  The Interlibrary Request service cannot be used to obtain teaching materials (see resource recommendation form below). StarPlus provides an option to include articles where we don’t have full text access in your results. Run your search in StarPlus and from the results page toggle the 'search beyond library collections' option so it's activated. From here you can select a result and choose 'Interlibrary request'. 

  You can watch this short video (1:28) for additional guidance on placing an Interlibrary Request.

• Resource Recommendation Form

  Items for teaching purposes should be requested via the Library resource recommendation form. Teaching resources should be added to your course reading lists via Leganto so the Library can source alternatives where possible, in the event of any journal cancellations. Information about adding items to a Leganto reading list can be found here: Creating and managing your reading list in Leganto.  

  More information about how the Library manages resource requests can be found on our Library Resources & Collections pages. 

• LibKey Nomad
  
  You can also use the LibKey Nomad browser extension to find resources, which flags open access journal articles, as well as articles we subscribe to, when you’re browsing the web. You can download and install it on your computer for free from the LibKey Nomad webpage. You can watch this short video (1:23) for additional guidance.

• Ask the author
  
  Most publishers allow authors to responsibly share their own publications. The author’s name and institution are usually shown on the preview page of the article.

The library has taken steps to ensure that alternative access is in place for most items on reading lists. Where this is not possible we will contact you. If you encounter any issues accessing material on reading lists please get in touch with your liaison librarian. 

Find the librarian for your school

Usually, no. It is good practice to link to the original article from Blackboard; this is for a number of reasons, particularly because it helps us to comply with copyright and also because it ensures we obtain accurate usage statistics. If this isn’t possible please fill in the library resource recommendation form to request a copy that can be shared with students legally.

Yes. Journals do not take into account whether or not an author is from a subscribing institution when they consider whether or not to accept an article.

Yes, you should be able to make your article open access by depositing your author accepted manuscript on acceptance in a repository such as White Rose Research Online. Guidance on how to deposit your article can be found here. 

If you are in any doubt please ask the Open Access team at: oaenquiries@sheffield.ac.uk

Funding for APCs for fully open access journals is available via the Institutional Open Access Fund or from the UKRI or Wellcome open access block grants for eligible authors.

There is no institutional funding available to pay for APCs in hybrid (subscription) journals. Authors publishing in subscription titles should make their articles open access by depositing the author accepted manuscript on acceptance in a repository such as White Rose Research Online. Guidance on how to deposit your article can be found here.

School funds should not be used to pay for APCs to avoid increasing overall institutional spending. Articles can be made open access via deposit in a repository such as White Rose Research Online so paying for APCs out of personal funds is also not recommended.

In some cases (for example, if you are funded by NIHR), you may be able to cost APCs into your research grants. Please note however, that this is not an option for UKRI or Wellcome Trust grants.

The major publishers have been notified of our Research Publications and Copyright Policy (see this list of publishers we have contacted). Provided you always deposit your Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM) in White Rose Research Online (WRRO) on acceptance we can in most cases make your article compliant via this route.

If you are publishing with the American Chemical Society (ACS), please see this additional information.

Yes. There is no reason why this should affect your position as a peer reviewer.

In principle there is no reason why not subscribing to a journal should affect your position on an editorial board. The decision to appoint and retain an individual on a board should be made on entirely academic grounds and there is no requirement that an individual be employed by an institution that subscribes or that they subscribe themselves (see an example here). 

Any items with a DOI or a URL will no longer take you to the full text if we do not have a subscription to that particular journal. There may be an alternative open access version available; see the first FAQ on this page, 'How do I access material the Library no longer subscribes to?', for more information.

It is possible to take out a personal subscription to individual journals and some academic colleagues do this in areas of personal interest. School funds should not be used to pay for subscriptions to avoid increasing overall institutional spending.