Self-archiving and manuscript deposition
Self-archiving of books and chapters published open access
Book and chapter authors who have published via the paid open access option are encouraged to deposit the final published PDF in their institutional repository or any suitable subject repository on publication.
Authors should include a link to the published book or chapter on Springer Nature Link when they deposit the content in a repository; in all cases, the requirement to link to the publisher’s website is designed to protect the integrity and authenticity of the scientific record, with the online published version on the publisher’s website clearly identified as the definitive version of record.
Authors are advised to check their funders' deposition requirements to ensure compliance. Read our OA Policy FAQs to learn about how book and chapter authors can ensure they meet funder self-archiving requirements
Publisher deposition of books published open access
Springer Nature deposits the full text of all open access books and chapters in the Directory of Open Access Books on behalf of the authors. We also deposit all books and chapters funded by the Wellcome Trust in PubMed’s NCBI Bookshelf, and will submit other titles in relevant subject areas on request.
Self-archiving of books and chapters published non-open access
Our policies on self-archiving of books and chapters which have been published via the non-open access route can be found below.
Authors whose book or chapter is accepted for non-OA publication are permitted to self-archive a portion of the accepted manuscript (AM) on their own personal website, and/or in their funder or institutional repositories, for public release after an embargo period (see the table below). The AM is defined as the version of the work after the contract is signed, publication is approved, and final editorial and peer review (where applicable) is complete. The AM is not the Version of Record (VOR) and does not reflect post-acceptance and post-publication improvements on behalf of the Publisher, such as copyediting, typesetting, any amendments and corrections.
Accepted manuscript terms of use
The amount of the AM, or AM chapter can be deposited after first online publication; subject to Springer Nature’s AM terms of use and the criteria in the table below.
| Deposition terms |
|
|
| Location |
|
|
Accepted manuscript | Embargo length after publication* | Version of MS that can be deposited | Amount of AM that can be deposited | Creative commons/ Open licence permitted? | Institutional or funder repository*** | Author’s own personally maintained website | Commercial scholarly networks |
Authored works | 12 months | AM | Up to 10% | No | Yes | Yes | No |
Edited works | 12 months | AM | Author's own chapter** | No | Yes | Yes | No |
Proceedings papers | 12 months | AM | Author's own paper** | No | Yes | Yes (immediately on acceptance) | No |
* Authors may make a closed deposit on acceptance, provided the embargo periods above are adhered to for public release.
** Each contributor to an edited work may archive up to one chapter per volume (provided they are the author or a co-author of such chapter). Please note that any linking, collection or aggregation of chapters from the same volume is strictly prohibited.
*** Excludes commercial scholarly sharing networks (e.g. ResearchGate, Academia.edu, Mendeley).
****Deposition of the amount of AM or AM chapter to author’s own personally maintained website is permitted immediately on acceptance for proceedings papers.
Where authors are not able to meet their funder or institution’s requirements for self-archiving by publishing via the non-OA route, they are advised to look into options for publishing open access before submitting, and indicating their requirements at the proposal/submission. Authors should check funding availability from their funders and institutions. Authors can speak to their Editors or Springer Nature's Funding Support Service for advice on meeting their funders’ and institutions’ OA policy requirements.
Preprints
In addition to the above policy, which applies to the accepted manuscript (AM), authors may deposit a portion of the preprint in a recognised preprint server such as arXiv, biorXiv, or RePEc. The preprint means the version of the author’s manuscript prior to acceptance for publication which has not undergone editorial and/or peer review on behalf of the Publisher (when applicable). Preprints must not be archived/deposited under a Creative Commons licence, such as a CC BY licence. See the below table for details of the amount of work and location allowances for preprint deposition.
| Preprint | Deposition terms | Location | |||
| Deposition time | Amount of preprint that can be deposited | Creative commons/Open licence permitted? | Author’s own personally maintained website | Legally compliant, non-commercial preprint server (e.g. arXiv, bioRxiv and RePEc) |
Authored works | At any time | Up to 10% | No | Yes | Yes |
Edited works | At any time | Author's own chapter* | No | Yes | Yes |
Proceedings papers | At any time | Author's own paper* | No | Yes | Yes |
* Please note that any linking, collection or aggregation of chapters from the same volume is strictly prohibited.
Other types of publication
- Books and chapters published under the Apress imprint and major reference works (MRWs) are not covered by this policy.
- For self-archiving policies applying to subscription journal articles please see our journal policy page.
- If you have any queries regarding this policy please contact us at oafundingpolicy@springernature.com.
