Professional Engineering Publishing, publishers for the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, recently announced their Engineering Open Choice option. From the press release (pdf):
"Engineering Open Choice gives authors the option of having their published research made available free to anyone throughout the world, on an open access basis. The service is available to authors of all papers accepted for publication, upon payment of a standard fee. Engineering Open Choice is designed to satisfy the needs of the community – authors, funding bodies, readers – who want research material to be made available on an open access basis."
With this announcement, Professional Engineering Publishing joins a growing number of publishers offering hybrid journals – that is, subscription journals that offer authors the option to pay a fee to make their research articles freely available online. Similar programs include the American Chemical Society's Author Choice, the American Physical Society's Free to Read, BMJ Unlocked, Springer's Open Choice, and Wiley's Funded Access.
For more information on hybrid journals and open access, visit the library's website about Scholarly Communication .