Elsevier signs first open-access deal in U.S. 

Research publishing giant Elsevier recently signed an open-access deal with Carnegie Mellon University, the first such deal in the U.S. The company has been known to have a rocky relationship with academia, especially since deals to secure access for the University of California system fell through earlier this year. As part of the deal, first reported by Inside Higher Ed, CMU researchers will play a flat fee — and not separate fees — to access Elsevier journals and, starting in January, make their research freely available immediately after publishing. The new deal is a result of negotiations that began after CMU’s deal with Elsevier expired at the end of 2018. Elsevier struck a similar deal with a group of research institutions in Norway earlier this year.