Description
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Library is seeking to award a sole source contract to Frontiers Media SA to provide a flat fee, firm-fixed price contract for assisting USGS authors with publishing open access (OA) articles. The contract will establish a flat fee, unlimited publishing arrangement that covers a coherent set of high-impact journals in USGS mission areas, allowing all accepted articles by eligible USGS authors to be published OA without individual Article Processing Charge (APC) payments. The contract will also consolidate invoicing and reporting, enabling the Library to centrally track USGS publishing output and compliance with federal OA requirements.
Some key points about this opportunity include:
* The contract will be for a period of one year, from May 1, 2026, to April 30, 2027.
* The publisher must provide perpetual access to OA original research, peer-reviewed articles in mineral exploration and resource development, petroleum and non-hydrocarbon energy research, geohazards and geo resilience, engineering geology, and hydrogeology.
* Multiple users must be able to access all content simultaneously and from different locations, both on and off the USGS network or VPN.
* The USGS is seeking a flat fee, unlimited publishing arrangement that meets all of its requirements, and Frontiers is the sole publisher that can provide this service.