image: JMIR Publications and Sweden's National Library Announce Renewal and Expansion of Flat-Fee Unlimited Open Access Partnership for 2026
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Credit: JMIR Publications
(Toronto & Stockholm, January 7, 2026) JMIR Publications, a leading open-access digital health research publisher, and the National Library of Sweden (NLS), representing the Bibsam Consortium, are pleased to announce the extension of their Flat-Fee Unlimited Open Access Publishing Agreement through December 31, 2026.
The renewal of this agreement, originally set to expire on December 31, 2025, reinforces the commitment of Swedish research funders and institutions to the principles of open science. The partnership provides authors affiliated with Bibsam member institutions with the means and opportunity to publish their articles open access in JMIR’s journals without paying individual Article Processing Charges (APCs).
"The success of the Bibsam-JMIR agreement proves that the path to Open Access doesn't have to be administratively complex,” said Dennis O’Brien, VP of Communications and Partnerships. “By replacing the friction of individual APC invoicing with a transparent, streamlined flat-fee model, we’ve significantly reduced the workload for both librarians and researchers. This renewal is about more than just publishing—it’s about providing a frictionless, sustainable alternative to the administrative weight of traditional transformative agreements."
The success of the JMIR-Bibsam partnership is demonstrated by the 40% increase in annual publishing by Swedish authors from 2023 to 2025. More than 130 digital health articles have been published without author payment since the beginning of the agreement in June 2024. In addition to the financial savings, the elimination of APCs for eligible authors has greatly reduced time spent administering payments thereby accelerating the speed of publication.
“Our initial agreement with JMIR Publications has been a success and we are pleased to renew it for another year,” said Erik Stattin, Manager of the Research Collaboration Unit at the National Library of Sweden. “Partnerships with Gold Open Access publishers like JMIR are important steps on Sweden’s path beyond Transformative Agreements towards a fully open access publishing system that encourages researcher equity and academic freedom.”
This renewed agreement facilitates a simpler publishing process for corresponding authors affiliated with the participating institutions, allowing them to publish their research findings immediately upon publication under the CC-By license without any embargo period.
About National Library of Sweden (NLS)
The National Library of Sweden (NLS) is the body responsible for centralizing the payment of open access charges from Swedish research funders to publishers on behalf of Swedish higher education institutions and national authorities (Institution). The NLS oversees the Bibsam Consortium, which provides the means and opportunity for Institution’s authors to publish their articles open access.
About JMIR Publications
JMIR Publications is a leading open access publisher of digital health research and a champion of open science. With a focus on author advocacy and research amplification, JMIR Publications partners with researchers to advance their careers and maximize the impact of their work. As a technology organization with publishing at its core, JMIR provides innovative tools and resources that go beyond traditional publishing, supporting researchers at every step of the dissemination process. Their portfolio features a range of peer-reviewed journals, including the renowned Journal of Medical Internet Research.
Media Contact:
Dennis O’Brien, Vice President, Communications & Partnerships JMIR Publications
communications@jmir.org
+1 416-583-2040
The content of this communication is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, published by JMIR Publications, is properly cited.