UC Santa Barbara Library

The looming budget crisis in higher education has not spared our institution. When the California Governor proposed significant budget cuts for the University of California system, all ten campuses faced difficult financial decisions, including reductions in collection spending. As part of this process, our institution also had to make a challenging decision regarding our Open Access (OA) funding support for authors publishing in OA journals. This poster shares how, after assessing strategies across peer institutions, we decided to pause our OA fund. It also highlights alternative ways the institution continues to advance open access publishing through infrastructure, education, and partnership efforts. The goal of this poster is to offer practical insights for other institutions navigating similar budget constraints that impact open-access initiatives such as library support for article processing charges (APCs). It also aims to foster dialogue and knowledge sharing among conference attendees on how their institutions manage financial challenges while sustaining equitable access to research.