A similar deal to the one announced below was signed by the Association of Dutch Universities and Springer in November 2014.
Springer and the Austrian Academic Library Consortium (AALC/Kooperation E-Medien Österreich/KEMÖ) have finalized a wide-ranging agreement for a Springer Compact deal running from 2016 through 2018.
Springer Compact combines reading and open access publishing in one annual fee. Consortium members gain access to over 2,000 Springer journals and also have the option of publishing their research open access in more than 1,600 Springer hybrid journals.
The Austrian Science Fund (FWF) is also a partner in the newly signed deal.
Springer is currently finalizing other comparable deals in the United Kingdom and Germany.
An especially attractive provision of the Springer Compact business model allows researchers the option of publishing their research open access in a large portfolio of journals without worrying about fees or not being able to meet OA mandate requirements.
See Also: Springer Signs Licensing Agreement with Dutch Universities (November 20, 2014)