January 1, 2026
Free PDFs, spicy comments
ACM Is Now Open Access
ACM throws open the library—cheers, side-eye at ‘open-ish’ extras
TLDR: ACM made its research library free to read, with a paid Premium tier for extra tools. Fans cheered, skeptics called it “open-ish,” and the big debate landed on author publishing fees and paywalled metadata—important because it shapes who can access and share cutting‑edge computing research.
Happy New Year, nerds and newbies alike: ACM (the Association for Computing Machinery) just flung open its research library to the world. Papers, data, and artifacts are now free in a Basic edition, with a paid Premium tier for extra tools. The crowd rushed in, then immediately started arguing. One camp is popping digital confetti—ModernMech says this finally makes submitting to ACM feel better than rival IEEE. Another camp rolled out the “open-ish” memes after SkySkimmer flagged that some metadata—the searchable “breadcrumbs” about papers—appears paywalled, even sharing a petition.
Then the money talk hit. Commenters reminded everyone that “free to read” doesn’t mean “free to publish.” vinni2 pointed to author fees (APCs—basically a publishing charge) if your university isn’t in ACM’s program, with waivers for some. elashri took a sharper swipe at the industry trend: publishers charging authors “thousands” while volunteer reviewers get zero. Meanwhile, colesantiago turned the moment into a rally: great start, now let’s push IEEE, Springer, Elsevier to follow. The vibe: ACM’s move is huge, but the community is split between high-fives and side-eye, joking about “DLC for science” and asking if open access comes with a hidden boss level in the Premium tier. More free knowledge, more free drama—classic internet.
Key Points
- •As of January 1, 2026, all ACM publications and related artifacts in the ACM Digital Library are open access.
- •The change responds to calls for research to be more accessible, discoverable, and reusable.
- •ACM President Yannis Ioannidis described the transition as a monumental milestone for computing.
- •The transition followed extensive dialogue with authors, SIG leaders, editorial boards, libraries, and research institutions.
- •The ACM Digital Library now has a free Basic edition and a Premium edition with additional tools and services.