Sage agreement
Libraries and Museums has decided not to subscribe to the new Read and Publish agreement offered by Sage. Instead of subscribing, our goal has been to provide tailored access to the journals most used by our staff and students. Our intention with this tailored approach is that, when combined with our other services, access to Sage publications will be largely unaffected, protecting both teaching and research. â¶Ä¯
After consultation with academic and research colleagues, Libraries and Museums have now reached an agreement with Sage for a tailored read deal (more information below).
Please get in touch with any queries via library@st-andrews.ac.uk
What is a Read and Publish agreement?
For information about Read & Publish agreements with other publishers, see our publishing agreements web page (link). Here you’ll also find our new where you can see which journals are included in publisher deals.
What is our new agreement?
After consultation with academic and research colleagues, Libraries and Museums have reached an agreement with Sage for a tailored read deal. This provides read access to 5 of Sage’s subject collections, including:
- Business & Management Collection
- Politics & International Relations Collection
- Psychology Collection
- Sociology Collection
- Urban Studies & Planning Collection
This ensures that our users have instant read access to over 450 journals, and combined with post-cancellation and open access, over 90% access to Sage journal content.
Will I still be able to use Sage publications for teaching and research?
Yes. We already have access to 72.3% of Sage content without subscribing to the Read and Publish deal, due to previously arranged post cancellation access and Open Access content. â¶Ä¯â€¯â¶Ä¯â€¯
Input from academic and research colleagues continues to be vital in shaping our collections, and to ensure we supplement this content with the right titles, we have been working with colleagues in schools most impacted by this decision to tailor the selection of Sage titles for purchase. 
In addition, articles required for teaching and included on reading lists will be purchased or access obtained via copyright fee paid scans. Research materials continue to be available via our , providing individual chapters and articles which usually arrive the same day as high quality scans, in an accessible format. â¶Ä¯â€¯
Can I still publish with SAGE?
Yes, it is up to you where you want to publish, but it is important to note that the OA±Ê³Ü²ú±ô¾±²õ³ó¾±²Ô²µâ€¯ portion of our agreement with Sage is not included in the new Read arrangements.
When publishing in one of Sage’s hybrid (subscription-based) journals, you should choose the subscription route and simply deposit your accepted manuscript in Pure. This is called the green route and it guarantees compliance with both our own open access policy, and OA requirements of various funding bodies (UKRI, REF, etc.). If you are publishing in one of Sage’s fully open access journals, there are also other funds, subject to availability and eligibility. â¶Ä¯â€¯
What’s next?
We continue to support all our users, and to work alongside schools and academic colleagues to ensure we are providing the best access to resources that we can. There may be some disruption whilst the new agreement is implemented, and we appreciate your patience.
As we have further information to share, this will be provided to your Library reps, as well as Directors of Research. â¶Ä¯â€¯
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us via library@st-andrews.ac.uk
Why are we not subscribing to the new Sage agreement?
Libraries and Museums has a finite content budget and of course need to get the best value possible to support the University’s teaching and research needs. It is with this in mind that we have decided not to accept a new Read and Publish deal with Sage, and opt instead for a bespoke collection of the heaviest read titles. â¶Ä¯â€¯
Sage has been chosen specifically following the evaluation of different options based on key factors such as usage, cost per use, and publishing outputs. For example, since January 2024, Sage has the lowest read usage among the top 5 publishers; of the top 1000 titles read by staff and students at St Andrews, only 96 are Sage titles (with just 8 in the top 100). â¶Ä¯â€¯â¶Ä¯â€¯â¶Ä¯
Our post cancellation access with Sage (titles published during our paid subscription that we retain access to) is also particularly good. When combined with tailored purchases and OA content, as well as content sourced via our  service, our access to Sage publications will be almost unaffected. â¶Ä¯