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  1. Open Access Publishing: What are your options?

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  2. Open Access Repositories
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    Intro Publishing in Repositories Source: based on Koch, M. (2015). Publizieren über das Repositorium der Leibniz Universität Hannover. TIB Blog The Key takeaways from this article are 1 Repositories are document servers on which scholarly materials are archived and made available free of charge. 2 A distinction is made between institutional and disciplinary repositories. 3 Content and metadata stored in repositories are made available via OAI interfaces. The DINI Certificate ensures the quality standards of document servers. What Are Repositories? Repositories are document servers operated by universities or research institutions on which scholarly materials are archived and made available free of charge worldwide. Categories of Repositories A distinction is made between institutional and disciplinary repositories. Institutional repositories are document servers operated by institutions (mainly university libraries, other infrastructural institutions, or research organisations) that enable their members to digitally publish scholarly documents. Disciplinary depositories, by contrast, are trans-institutional. They are available to scientists and scholars to publish and archive their works on specific subjects, for example, in a specialist discipline. Examples are media/rep/ , an open access repository for publications in the field of media studies ; Social Science Open Access Repository (SSOAR) for the social sciences ; PubMed Central for the biomedical and life sciences ; and arXiv for scholarly articles, especially from the fields of physics , mathematics , and computer science . As a rule, authors do not have to pay a fee to make scholarly works available in institutional or disciplinary repositories, and users do not have to pay to access these works. As of November 2021, the Directory of Open Access Repositories (OpenDOAR) listed 5,771 repositories, via which universities and research institutions enable scientists to make scholarly documents freely available to the public. Operating a Repository Find an introduction here. Open Access Helpdesk Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have about open access. Focus Group on Self-Archiving Feel free to discuss developments in self-archiving with experts in the Focus Group on Self-Archiving. Rights Rights in the Case of Self-Archiving Documents that are made available in repositories are frequently also published formally with a publisher – for example, in a journal, an edited volume, or as a monograph. The use of a repository to make a work that has also been published with a publisher available to the public is refer­red to as self-archiving ; it constitutes green open access . In this case – in contrast to open access journals , for example – content licences are of minor importance. Scientists and scholars who, in addition to formal publication, also make their works available on a document server have often already transferred all rights of use to the publisher, and can there­fore no longer license the self-archived version under a content licence. Rather, the possibility of self-archiving documents that have already been published in a journal or with a publisher presupposes either that the author has reserved the right to make the work available in a repository, or that the work is covered by the relevant provisions of copyright law (in Germany, e.g., the so-called Zweitveröffentlichungsrecht ). The publisher’s open access policy might provide for the option that the work will be covered by the open access provisions of the German Alliance licences . The infographic at the bottom of this page provides brief information on self-archiving formally published works in repositories. Rights in the Case of Gold Open Access The rights situation is much simpler when repositories are used to pub­lish scholarly works for the first time ( gold open access ) – for example, to publish conference proceedings, series, or other texts that are not pub­lished in parallel with a publisher. In this case, the authors usually hold the exclusive rights in the content of the works, and are therefore completely free to choose the conditions under which they are made available. Hence, they can be licensed under one of the aforementioned content licences, or they can simply be made available in accordance with the provisions of copyright law. Works that are first published in reposito­ries, which are often known as preprints , can be found, for example, on the document servers arXiv or Zenodo . Because the documents found in repositories often vary in terms of content or subject matter, it is expedient when searching for documents to use a specialised search engine, such as the Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (BASE), which accesses full texts in repositories. Legal issues Find an introduction here. Video über das Zeitveröffentlichungsrecht Quelle: Brehm, E. (2021). Zweitveröffentlichungsrecht für Wissenschaftler*innen, open-access.network. https://doi.org/10.5446/51789 ( CC BY 3.0 DE ) Content and Added Value of Repositories The designs and functionalities of repositories are varied and extensive. Besides the classical differentiation between institutional and disciplinary repositories, repositories also vary in terms of the content provided, additional services, and their technical configuration. Many document servers provide for the archiving of all types of electronic (text) documents – for example, preprints and post-prints of journal articles, working papers, books and contributions to books, theses, and teaching and learning materials – whereas others exclude some document types. Via their interfaces and indexing services, networked repositories offer numerous value-added services: the virtual aggregation of thematically related documents from different document servers, thereby avoiding the need for time-consuming searches on numerous different servers and allowing the easiest possible access to scholarly texts personalisation functions, for example, the creation of profiles by means of which readers can be informed about new documents on a particular subject the automatic creation of publication lists or bibliographies of authors or working groups that can be dynamically integrated into personal websites or other online profiles, for example, research information systems services such as Unpaywall , INSPIRE , or Google Scholar that allow different versions of the same document to be identified, thereby possibly enabling users who do not have access to a formal closed access publication to find an open access version on a document server Repositories often allow the downloading of bibliographic data, which can then be imported into reference administration programs, thereby enabling comfortable use of the information in future publications. Services such as INSPIRE and Google Scholar make it possible to access citation data for works on document servers and thus to identify their citation impact. Statistical data show the dissemination and impact of documents in repositories. This information can be obtained in the form of download statistics (e.g., by using the data of the DFG project Open-Access-Statistik (OAS) or another statistics solution). Altmetrics capture the circulation of scholarly information in scholarly and public networks and media. Via mutual linking between related objects, such as texts and research data or software, scientists can make the entire output of a research project available in an integrated way. Document servers enable authors to comply easily with the funding guidelines of research funders, whereby project-related publications are to be made available in open access. Many repositories even enable publications to be assigned to a specific research project. For example, anyone who imports a document into Zenodo or another OpenAIRE -compatible repository can add the EU grant ID via the metadata. The aim of the above-mentioned value-added services and functions is to increase the visibility and dissemination of the publications in the repositories. In this pursuit, the repositories rely mainly on networking and cooperation with other information services or search engines. Of equal importance is the linking of personal or institute websites, annual bibliographies, or current research information systems (CRIS). Findability of the Documents The fact that most repositories use the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH) immensely facilitates the search for scholarly documents. Moreover, it ensures the aforementioned dissemination of openly accessible information. The OAI-PMH allows the metadata of documents in distributed repositories to be aggregated in one database. Technically speaking, the OAI-PMH is an XML-based protocol that serves to request and transmit metadata. An OAI service provider (e.g. OAIster or BASE) supports the search by using the OAI-PMH. The service provider harvests metadata from the individual repositories (the content providers), processes them, and makes them available for search queries. This guarantees the findability as well as the maximum dissemination, and thus the visibility, of the scholarly texts. Quality Standards The Deutsche Initiative für Netzwerkinformation e. V. (German Initiative for Network Information, DINI) seeks to improve information and communication services and to promote and support the necessary developments. The DINI Certificate for Open Access Publication Services enables the standardised assessment of the reviewed document servers and the services they provide. DINI sees the certificate as quality control for document and publication services. The criteria on which certification is based include the visibility of the overall service; author support; the security, authenticity, and integrity of the technical system; and the long-term availability and findability of the archived documents. To date (as of November 2021), 469 repositories have been certified by DINI. In October 2019, the sixth edition of the DINI Certificate was released. Overview Lists of Repositories The Directory of Open Access Repositories (OpenDOAR) German Repositories in OpenDOAR Austrian Repositories in OpenDOAR Swiss Repositories in OpenDOAR Registry of Open Access Repositories (ROAR) Search Engines for Repositories OAIster BASE Google Scholar References Further Reading Demetres, M. R., Delgado, D., & Wright, D. N. (2020). The Impact of Institutional Repositories: A Systematic Review. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 108 (2), 177–184. https://doi.org/10.5195/jmla.2020.856 ....

  3. Open Access Talk
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    oa.talk is our online event series dedicated to Open Access. The series features webinars covering a variety of Open Access topics. In these webinars, experts are invited to share information and insights from the field. If you have suggestions for specific topics, we would be glad to hear from you by email . 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next 2026 July 09 CC-Lizenzen nutzen und verstehen 9. July 2026 2026 June 11 Open Book Collective, Open Journals Collective, and Thoth: Collaborating for a sustainable Diamond OA future 11. June 2026 2026 May 05 Umsetzung von Open Access in der angewandten Forschung: Ein Institutsbericht aus dem INP Greifswald 5. May 2026 Umsetzung von Open Access in der angewandten Forschung: Ein Institutsbericht aus dem INP Greifswald 2026 Jan 30 Answers to the increasingly concentrated use of research results as training data for artificial intelligence 30. January 2026 Answers to the increasingly concentrated use of research results as training data for artificial intelligence 2025 Nov 25 Diamond Open Access: ein Aufgabenfeld für Fachinformationsdienste 25. November 2025 2025 Oct 13 Leichter gemeinsam Diamond OA unterstützen: Konsortialangebote im Blick mit dem Diamond Funding Navigator 13. October 2025 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next...

  4. Open Access Train the Trainer
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    Train-the-Trainer-Workshop für Open-Access-Multiplikator*innen Die Online-Veranstaltung richtet sich im Besonderen an Open-Access-Beauftragte und Berufsgruppen, die den wissenschaftlichen Publikationsprozess unterstützen bzw. im direkten Austausch mit den Wissenschaftler*innen stehen. Ziel des Workshops ist die Vermittlung von Trainingsmethoden und didaktischen Kompetenzen. Künftigen Multiplikator*innen in Bibliotheken und anderen publikationsunterstützenden Bereichen sollen Fertigkeiten für eigene Trainingseinheiten vermittelt und eine Community of Practice aufgebaut und gestärkt werden. Grundkenntnisse zu Open Access sind von Vorteil. Ziele des Workshops Teilnehmer*innen… werden didaktisch geschult, um das eigene Training mit ihren Zielgruppen, unter Verständnis der eigenen Rolle, künftig umzusetzen. Von Relevanz sind hierbei auch die Wege des Lernens und die Möglichkeiten zur Motivation. werden Ideen zur methodischen Umsetzung eigener Veranstaltungen vermittelt. nutzen im Rahmen des Online-Formats Tools, die helfen können, das eigene Training online durchzuführen. werden für verschiedene Bereiche von Open Access sensibilisiert. erhalten die Möglichkeit sich auszutauschen und zu vernetzen. Alle Teilnehmer*innen erhalten im Nachgang der Veranstaltung Zugang zu den Workshop-Unterlagen. Organisation Die Veranstaltungsreihe ist abgeschlossen. Materialien zu Train-the-Trainer-Workshops Hier finden Sie die Materialien zu den vergangenen Train-the-Trainer-Workshops. Vergangene Veranstaltungen 1 2 3 Next 2022 Nov 30 12. Train-the-Trainer-Workshop: Open Access für Fachreferent*innen und Open-Access-Beauftrage – Multiplikator*innen für eine offene Wissenschaft 30. November 2022 2022 Nov 25 11. Train-the-Trainer-Workshop: Open Access für Fachreferent*innen und Open-Access-Beauftrage – Multiplikator*innen für eine offene Wissenschaft 25. November 2022 2022 May 11 Train-the-Trainer-Workshop für Fachreferent*innen der STM-Fächer 11. May 2022 until 12. May 2022 2022 Mar 30 Train-the-Trainer-Workshop: Open Access für Fachreferenten*innen der Geistes-, Sozial- und Rechtswissenschaften 30. March 2022 until 31. March 2022 2022 Feb 22 Train the Trainer Workshop für Fachhochschulen und Hochschulen für Angewandte Wissenschaften 22. February 2022 until 23. February 2022 2021 Sep 21 Train-the-Trainer-Workshop für Open-Access-Multiplikator*innen an außeruniversitären Forschungseinrichtungen 21. September 2021 until 22. September 2021 Die Online-Veranstaltung richtet sich im Besonderen an Open-Access-Beauftragte und Berufsgruppen, die den wissenschaftlichen Publikationsprozess unterstützen bzw. im direkten Austausch mit den Wissenschaftler*innen stehen. Ziel des Workshops ist die Vermittlung von Trainingsmethoden und didaktischen Kompetenzen. Künftigen Multiplikator*innen in Bibliotheken und anderen publikationsunterstützenden Bereichen sollen Fertigkeiten für eigene Trainingseinheiten vermittelt und eine Community of Practice aufgebaut und gestärkt werden. Grundkenntnisse zu Open Access sind von Vorteil. 1 2 3 Next...

  5. Open Access and funding organisations
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    Intro Open-Access-Vorgaben in EU-Projekten Quelle: Dreher, L. (2020). Open-Access-Vorgaben in EU-Projekten, open-access.network. https://doi.org/10.5446/48698 ( CC BY 3.0 DE ) The Key Takeaways from This Article are 1 Many research funding organisations now oblige grant recipients to provide open access to the published results of the research that they fund, and in some cases lay down very concrete guidelines for the implementation of this mandate. 2 Numerous funding organisations provide researchers with financial support for publication costs that may arise when publishing works open access. 3 There are also programmes that promote open access in a targeted manner. Funders and Their Requirements Research funding organisations play a key role in science and academia. In many disciplines, research would be practically impossible without their support. Whereas in Germany, research funders do not mandate open access , some funding organisations in other countries lay down compulsory guidelines for the provision of open access to published outputs that arise from their funding. Pioneers in this regard include, for example, Wellcome Trust (UK) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH; USA). Where research funders mandate that open access must be provided to research results and publications arising from their funding, they may: mandate that research data or scientific publications resulting from funded projects be made freely available to the public (if applicable, subject to an embargo period ), at least in a repository ; set maximum limits for embargo periods, or mandate that embargo periods should not be observed. Most public-sector research funders expect grant holders to publish outputs that arise from the research that they fund in gold open access venues, or to self-archive the publications in open access repositories after an embargo period ( green open access ). They frequently require that open licences be used. Researchers are advised to compare the guidelines of the funding organisation with those of the publisher, and, in the event of uncertainties, to make enquiries as soon as possible. Many funders have open access policies in which they adopt a clear position. As a rule, these policies also specify concrete funding conditions. Useful information about research funders’ open access policies is provided by Open Policy Finder . In the case of minor discrepancies between the open access policies of the funder and the publisher, authors should contact the publisher. In the case of major discrepancies, alternative publication venues should be considered. In the following, the open access guidelines and funding programmes of leading research funders are outlined. Policy positions on open access at the (supra-)national level can be found on our Policy Frameworks page . Practical Tips Here you will find the slides from the Open Access Talk Fördererauflagen zu Open Access – was gilt es zu beachten? (in German) Here you will find the guide Open Access in die Förderpraxis integrieren – Empfehlungen für Stiftungen und private Förderer (in German) Financing Find an introduction here. Open Policy Finder On this website, you can find information on research funders' open access policies. re3data Here you can find repositories for research data. Helpdesk Our Helpdesk is happy to help with all questions open access. cOAlition S & Plan S Video zu Plan S und Förderung Quelle: Rooryck, J. (2020). Plan S and Funding. What is going to change?, open-access.network. https://doi.org/10.5446/49702 ( CC BY 3.0 DE ) Launched in 2018, cOAlition S pursues with Plan S a strategy of ensuring open access to scholarly publications arising from publicly funded research. With effect from 2021, scholarly publications resulting from research funded by organisations participating in cOAlition S must be published in open access journals or on open access platforms, or made immediately available without embargo through open access repositories ( Rücknagel, 2021 ). Plan S Principles The initiative is built around the 10 Principles of Plan S , which are binding for all projects funded by organisations participating in cOAlition S. The main principles are ( Rücknagel, 2021 ): Authors or their institutions retain the rights in their publications. Publications must be made openly available immediately and under an open licence, preferably a Creative Commons Attribution licence (CC BY). Where applicable, the open access publication fees are covered by the research institutions or funding organisations, not by the authors. Publishers’ pricing is fair and transparent. Hybrid publishing is not financially supported unless transformative arrangements exist. Funders shall assess the intrinsic merit of the research work, not the reputation of the publication channel. The cOAlition S Journal Checker Tool can be used to check whether an open access journal is compliant with Plan S. Members of cOAlition S The most well-known organisations participating in cOAlition S are: European Commission Austrian Science Fund (FWF) Agence nationale de la recherche (ANR) Research Council of Norway (RCN) World Health Organization (WHO) The German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) have declared their support for cOAlition S but have not adopted Plan S. European Commission In the EU framework programme for research and innovation Horizon 2020 (2014–2020), the European Commission already required funding recipients to ensure open access to research outputs resulting from funded projects. This stipulation has been retained by the successor programme, Horizon Europe (2021–2027). The European Commission offers funding beneficiaries an open access publishing service, Open Research Europe (ORE) , at no cost to them. Preprints submitted to ORE undergo comprehensive prepublication checks to ensure that all policies and ethical standards have been adhered to. After publication, the articles undergo open peer review . The post-prints of articles that pass peer review are sent to major indexing databases and repositories. Further details of the procedure can be found here . Conditions An overview of Horizon Europe’s framework conditions in relation to open access can be found in the programme's factsheet on open science . Besides ensuring immediate open access to scientific publica­tions, funding recipients are required to manage research data as far as possible in line with the FAIR Principles – under certain circumstances some degree of closed access will be tolerated. Within the framework of the Model Grant Agreement ( European Commission, 2021, pp. 108–109 ), the following requirements apply to peer-reviewed scientific publications relating to the results of funded research: At the latest at the time of publication, a machine-readable electronic copy of the published version or the final manuscript accepted for publication must be deposited in a trusted repository (see OpenDOAR ). Immediate open access must be provided to publications under a CC BY licence or a licence with equivalent rights. For monographs and other long-text formats, the licence may exclude commercial uses and derivative works (e.g. CC BY-NC, CC BY-ND). Information must be given via the repository about any research output or any other tools needed to validate the conclusions of the scientific publication. Moreover, funding beneficiaries (or authors) must retain sufficient intel­lectual property rights. Metadata of deposited publications must be made openly accessible under a CC 0 licence or a licence with equivalent rights. Further information on this topic – and on the framework condi­tions for research data management – can be found on pages 108–109 of the Model Grant Agreement ( European Commission, 2021 ). Support for Publication Costs Publication fees will be reimbursed under the following conditions ( European Commission, 2021, p. 109 ): The work must be published in a fully open access publication venue. The publication venue must fulfil open access publication standards (licensing, peer review). Projects for the Promotion of Open Access The European Commission supports several projects on open access and open science, such as OpenAIRE, the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) , and HIRMEOS . The catch-all data repository Zenodo , among other things, was created within the framework of OpenAIRE . Click on the picture to watch the video. Open Research Europe: The new EU open access publishing platform. Source: EU Science & Innovation (2021). Open Research Europe: The new EU open access publishing platform. YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7bW2_xX3iU Practical Tip Here you can find the slides of the Open Access Talk Open Access requirements in EU projects (in German) German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) With its guideline for the promotion of projects to accelerate the transformation to open access ( BMBF, 2020 ), the BMFTR (formerly BMBF) has strengthened the establishment of open access as a standard model of scholarly publishing in Germany. The aim is to accelerate the transition to open access within the framework of a national open access strategy , and to ensure that, by 2025, 70% of all newly published scholarly publications will be exclusively published open access or additionally made available to the public in open access. Open access is not mandatory – the decision remains in the hands of the BMFTR-funded researchers. However, funding recipients are encouraged to provide gold or green open access to the results of BMFTR-funded research. Support for Publication Costs Publication costs that arise when publishing works open access may be covered from project funds or included in the project proposal. Thus, for publications during the lifetime of the project, the financing of publica­tion costs that arise when publishing works open access is assured. The Post-Grant Fund reimburses publication costs incurred when publishing results of completed BMBF-funded projects ( BMBF, 2017 ). The approval period may not date back more than three years. Moreover, con­tributions must be published under a licence that grants at least a cost-free, worldwide right to read the work in electronic form and to re­produce, disseminate, and make it available to the public ( Rücknagel, 2021 ). Projects for the Promotion of Open Access The former BMBF has supported 20 projects related to the transition to open access . German Research Foundation (DFG) The DFG signed the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities in 2003. For the purpose of scientifically adequate communication, the DFG requests researchers in receipt of DFG funding to either publish project results directly in peer-reviewed and/or renowned open access journals or on open access platforms, or to deposit their articles in disciplinary or institutional open access repositories, if possible without delay, in addition to traditional publication by a publisher ( German Research Foundation, 2021, pp. 42–43 ). Although the DFG supports cOAlition S, it has not made open access mandatory to date. Programmes Providing Support for Publication Costs The DFG offers the following funding options to support the financing of publication costs: The funding programme Open Access Publication Funding is the successor of the long-standing programme Open Access Publishing . It grants research institutions a fixed open access allowance. Individual researchers may use project-related publication expenses for open access publications. However, to avoid double funding, they should check with their library or central service units. The Publication Grants programme supports inter alia the publication of fee-based e-books and open access e-books. According to the Guidelines for Publication Grants , the decision not to publish open access requires explicit justification. Programmes for the Promotion of Open Access Within the framework of the funding programme Infrastructures for Scholarly Publishing , the DFG supports projects relating to open access. The funding programme has three focus areas: Structures for Transitioning to Open Access Open Access Infrastructures Digital Publishing Moreover, within the framework of this programme, proposals may be sub­mitted for projects that aim to set up or further develop an individu­al open access journal or to convert an existing journal to open access. Austrian Science Fund (FWF) The Austrian Science Fund (FWF) is also a signatory of the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities. Moreover, it is a participant in cOAlition S. Hence, researchers are required to provide open access to peer-reviewed research outputs that result in part or in full from projects funded by the FWF. Conditions Three open access publishing options are available ( Rücknagel, 2021 ): Publication in an open access publication venue Publication in a transformative open access publication venue Self-archiving of the accepted manuscript under a CC BY licence or an equivalent open licence on the date of publication. In exceptional cases, a CC BY-ND licence may be used, but this must be approved by the FWF. Up to three years after completion of a project, applications can be sub­mitted for funding to cover the costs of of peer-reviewed publications. The publication venue must fulfil the following requirements ( Rücknagel, 2021 ): According to Plan S, publication in hybrid journals is not sufficient unless a transformative arrangement exists. The cOAlition S Journal Checker Tool can be used to check whether an open access journal is compliant with Plan S. The quality of the publication venue must be appropriate: journals must be listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) , book publishers must be listed in the Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB) , and repositories must be listed in OpenDOAR . Pricing and quality assurance ( peer-review ) must be transparent. Since 2019, the FWF expects research data on which scholarly publica­tions resulting from FWF-funded projects are based to be made available in open access in line with the FAIR Principles. In the case of all other research data, the provision of open access is at the discretion of the principal investigator. Where open access is mandatory, the research data should be published under a CC BY licence or an equivalent open licence as soon as possible – at the latest, together with the correspon­ding scholarly publication. Should open access to research data not be possible, this must be justified. Programme for the Promotion of Open Access The FWF promotes stand-alone publications , including "new formats such as apps, wiki-based publications, annotated scientific databases". The establishment or modernisation of scholarly journals is promoted with the aim of meeting the minimum requirements of Plan S. Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) is a signatory of the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities and supports Plan S ( Philipp, 2018 ). It requires grantees to provide open access to the results of SNSF-funded research because "research findings funded with public money belong to the public". Therefore, "everyone should be able to access them electronically and free of charge". Conditions Researchers may choose between green or gold open access . Hybrid publications also fulfil the SNSF’s open access requirement. However, in contrast to gold open access publications, the costs of publishing in hybrid journals are not covered by the SNSF. Funding Guidelines describe the various options and the procedure for complying with the SNSF’s open access mandate. Via the SNSF’s open access platform (mySNF) , authors can apply for funding to cover the costs of gold open access publishing. In this connection, the SNSF recommends that authors check whether their journal of choice is listed in the DOAJ. If this is the case, the SNSF’s open access requirement is automatically fulfilled. If authors choose green open access, journal articles must be made avail­able to the public in a repository six months at the latest after publica­tion; for books and book chapters, the maximum embargo period is 12 months. The self-archived version should be at least the author’s accep­ted manuscript (with the changes made after peer review but without the publisher’s layout). It must be deposited in a repository that allows permanent, cost-free access. In the event that the publisher stipulates a longer embargo period than that permitted by the SNSF, the above-mentioned Guidelines suggest a standard email for contacting publi­shers. The Guidelines also include the requirements that repositories must fulfil, and a list of approved institutional repositories. Programme for the Promotion of Open Access The SNSF also has a programme that finances the publication of open access books . Volkswagen Foundation The Volkswagen Foundation supports open access in principle and "expects the research results funded by it not only to be published in the traditional print media but also to be made available on the internet via open access" ( Volkswagen Foundation, 2021, p. 7 ). Embargo periods of between six and 12 months are possible ( Rücknagel, 2021 ). Support for Publication Costs Researchers can apply for earmarked funds to cover article processing charges (APCs) or book processing charges (BPC). With regard to the quality requirements that journals and book publishers must fulfil, it should be noted that ( Volkswagen Foundation, 2018 ): journals must be listed in the DOAJ; in the case of monographs, the chosen publisher should be listed in the DOAB or be an OASPA member . A further prerequisite for the reimbursement of publication costs is that persistent identifiers (e.g. DOIs ) and metadata should be assigned and the most open CC licence possible should be granted. Moreover, the Volkswagen Foundation recommends that authors retain their rights to exploit their works ( Volkswagen Foundation, 2018 ). The Foundation supports the sustainable storage of research data from the projects that it funds and the provision of open access to these data in line with the FAIR Principles. Funding applicants are requested to submit a data management plan together with their proposals. Further information on research data, as well as on open source programmes that arise in the context of projects funded by the Foundation, can be found in the Foundation guidelines ( Volkswagen Foundation, 2018 ). References Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung. (2017, August 28). Richtlinie zur Förderung von Open Access-Publikationen aus abgeschlossenen BMBF-geförderten Projekten (Post-Grant-Fund), Bundesanzeiger vom 01.09.2017 . BMBF.de. https://www.bmbf.de/bmbf/shareddocs/bekanntmachungen/de/2017/09/1404_bekanntmachung Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung. (2020, May 18). Richtlinie zur Förderung von Projekten zur Beschleunigung der Transformation zu Open Access, Bundesanzeiger vom 17.06.2020 . BMBF.de. https://www.bmbf.de/bmbf/shareddocs/bekanntmachungen/de/2020/06/3044_bekanntmachung Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. (2021). Verwendungsrichtlinien. Allgemeine Bedingungen für Förderverträge mit der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft e.V. (DFG) . https://www.dfg.de/formulare/2_00/v/dfg_2_00_de_v0121.pdf Europäische Kommission. (2021). Horizon Europe (HORIZON) Euratom Research and Training Programme (EURATOM). General Model Grant Agreement EIC Accelerator Contract. https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/common/agr-contr/general-mga_horizon-euratom_en.pdf Philipp, T. (2018, September 4). Freier Zugang zu Publikationen: Der SNF unterstützt den europäischen Plan S . SNF.Ch. https://www.snf.ch/de/0pAC5oBtDJQ10ABP/news/news-180904-freier-zugang-der-snf-unterstuetzt-plan-s Rücknagel, J. (2021, April 15). Fördererauflagen zu Open Access - was gilt es zu beachten? OpenAccessTalk. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4694320 Volkswagenstiftung. (2018). Information Open Access - Open Data - Open Source . https://www.volkswagenstiftung.de/sites/default/files/downloads/OpenAccessOpenDataOpenSource-Hinweise_10_2018.pdf VolkswagenStiftung. (2021). Bewilligungsgrundsätze . https://www.volkswagenstiftung.de/sites/default/files/downloads/Bewilligungsgrunds%C3%A4tze%2002_2021.pdf Further Reading Dreher, L. (2021). Open-Access-Vorgaben in EU-Projekten. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5223006 Europäische Kommission. (2017). H2020 Programme. Guidelines to the Rules on Open Access to Scientific Publications and Open Access to Research Data in Horizon 2020. (Version 3.2.). https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/grants_manual/hi/oa_pilot/h2020-hi-oa-pilot-guide_en.pdf Rooryck, J. (2020). Plan S and funding - what is going to change?. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4159203...

  6. Open Access and share your knowledge! Publishing in African Studies

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  7. Open Access business models for books
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    Intro Finanzierung von Open-Access-Monographien Quelle: Brinken, H. (2020). Finanzierung von Open-Access-Monographien, open-access.network. https://doi.org/10.5446/49535 ( CC BY 3.0 DE ) The key takeaways from this article are 1 There are numerous business and funding models for open access books. 2 The individual models have specific advantages and disadvantages; some models can be combined with each other. 3 Besides book processing charges (BPCs), which are widely used in the German-speaking area, the parallel sale of print editions, the institutional funding of open access, and consortial models are of particular importance. Multifaceted Change Open access means free access to and reuse of scientific information. Because open access books are available to readers free of charge, the publication costs can no longer be covered by sales of the books, but rather must be financed through alternative business models. In recent years, the importance of open access has increased enormously in the humanities and social sciences. As a result, a variety of business and funding models for open access books have developed. Although there are both commonalities and differences between these models and the common models for open access journals, the models for open access books are by comparison more varied and more experimental. In practice, different approaches are often combined with each other. In what follows, the main funding models for open access books in the German-speaking area are briefly introduced. The overview draws on existing typologies with different degrees of complexity that can be highly recommended as further reading (Collins et al., 2015; Speicher et al., 2018; Penier et al., 2020). Moreover, for the selection presented here, the brief overview provided by the Open Access Books Toolkit (OAPEN, 2020) proved helpful. Open Access Books Find an introduction here. Practical Tip Useful tips for implementation can be found in the guide ‘How to Begin the OA Transition’ ( Estelle et al., 2025 ). Video zum Publizieren von Open-Access-Büchern Quelle: Stern, N. (2020). Publishing your book in Open Access?, open-access.network. https://doi.org/10.5446/52108 ( CC BY 3.0 DE ) Book Processing Charges (BPCs) Advantages BPCs enable the recognition and assumption of the costs associated with the publication of high-quality open access book publications. Because, for many years now, research funding organisations, foundations, and authors in the German speaking area have also funded conventional book publications via so-called printing cost allowances, the hurdle for paying BPCs is lower here than in other countries. Disadvantages The BPC model reinforces injustices in the academic system by giving an advantage to authors who work in secure positions at financially strong institutions or on well-resourced third-party-funded projects. Authors who work at less well-resourced institutions are disadvantaged, as are those who are not affiliated with an institution. At the international level, the model disadvantages authors in the Global South. Moreover, there is also criticism of the fact that commercial publishers do not clearly present their actual costs and services, which is why the reimbursement of BPCs is increasingly contingent upon compliance with standards relating to quality and transparency. Practical Tip Here you can find helpful recommendations and checklists on quality standards for OA books: Arbeitsgemeinschaft Universitätsverlage Nationaler Open-Access-Kontaktpunkt OGeSoMo Focus Group on Open Access Books Discuss current developments in OA books with other experts. Fokus Group on Open Access Monograph Funds Discuss the funding conditions and amounts of existing monograph funds with other experts. Publication fees for books, also known as book processing charges (BPCs), are levied by publishers to cover the costs that arise during the publication process. They are the counterparts of the well-known article processing charges (APCs) used in the journals area. The level of the BPCs varies from publisher to publi­sher; they range from a few hundred to several thousand euros. There are a number of reasons for this. First, the services and licensing options offered by the publishers differ, as do the books that are published. Second, differences in the costs and revenue structures of the publishers also play an important role. And finally, third, there are publishers who, besides their actual costs, also include estimates of lost sale proceeds in the calculation of BPCs. However, it is a matter of debate whether parallel open access publication has any effect at all on the sales figures of the printed edition. Various studies have shown that publishers’ fears of serious sales shortfalls are unfounded (Collins et al., 2015; Ferwerda et al., 2018; Snijder, 2019; Graf et al., 2020). Publication fees are very widespread in the case of open access books (see Penier et al., 2020, pp. 46–52). The model is used both by commercial publishers and by scholar-led publishers and university presses. As a rule, BPCs are paid by research funding organisations or by the authors’ institutions. By now, nume­rous institutions have established publication funds for this purpose – in Ger­many, often with support from the German Research Foundation (DFG). How­ever, particularly authors who are not affiliated with an institution, or who work at financially weaker institutions, have to bear the costs themselves. Because BPCs are author-side fees, the model is also referred to as the author-pays model . Sale of Print Editions The parallel publication of digital and print editions of books, sometimes known as dual publishing, is a hybrid model whereby revenues are generated from sales of the print edition. These revenues do not usually completely replace the BPCs, but rather are intended merely to supplement them. In contrast to the journals area, the sale of books in printed form is still very widespread both in the case of commercial publishers and of scholar-led publishers and university presses. In the past, commercial publishers often relied on embargo periods and restrictive licensing models. However, also due to research funders’ requirements, a clear trend towards gold open access and Creative Commons (CC) licences is apparent. Advantages The sale of print editions (paperbacks, hardcover books) can be an im­portant source of revenue for publishers. Thanks to digital technologies and lean distribution structures, the additional effort required for this has decreased noticeably in recent years. As long as there is still a corresponding demand on the part of libraries and readers, it makes sense for publishers to continue to offer scholarly books in printed form and to also use the existing channels of the book trade for this purpose. Disadvantages Despite the savings achieved by using procedures such as print on demand, the production and sale of print editions is associated with a certain level of costs and administrative effort. Should the demand for scholarly books in printed form (continue to) decline in the future, this model, too, will become less attractive. Research Funders and Open Access Find an introduction here. Institutional Support Advantages For institutions and their libraries, it may be expedient to invest part of the budgetary funds earmarked for financing (open access) publications in the establishment of their own publication services. In this way, they can grant their own (and possibly also other) researchers attractive conditions, use existing infrastructures and know-how, and enhance the reputation of their own institutions. Disadvantages In order to be able to offer authors and editors an attractive publishing environment, a considerable level of commitment is required. The institutional-support model can develop its full potential only if activities are long term and sustainable Association of European University Presses Click here to find out more about the AEUP. Within the framework of their promotion of open access, universities and non-university research organisations provide their own publication services for open access books. These can range from the creation of a repository or a publication platform to the operation of a university press. Institutional support can be provided on a financial, personnel, or infrastructural level. Libraries often play a key role in this regard. institutional support enables university presses either to keep BPCs low or to dispense with them completely. The fact that university presses operate on a non-profit basis also has a positive effect on pricing. The use of the services may be restricted to members of the university or be open also to researchers at other institutions. In particular, institutions in which the humanities and social sciences are strongly represented, now provide book publishing services of their own. The majority of German-language university presses have come together in the Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Universitätsverlage (Consortium of University Presses). The most well known of these are Göttingen University Press , Heidelberg University Publishing , and KIT Scientific Publishing . Library Consortia Within the framework of library consortia, libraries pledge a fee towards making collections of books open access. These bundles, or packages, may either be thematically grouped or may relate to titles published by one or more publi­shers. As soon as enough libraries have agreed to participate, and the pledging target has been reached, a pre-agreed fee is paid to the publishers, and the books are then made available in open access. This revenue model is similar to the well-known crowdfunding models in other areas. In the present case, the crowd is made up of libraries. Consortial models are already widespread in the area of journals. For the humanities, the Open Library of Humanities’ (OLH) crowdfunding model is of particular importance. In the area of books, Knowledge Unlatched plays a pioneering role; as of November 2021, over 3,000 books had been unlatched – that is, made available in open access. Within the framework of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) Guidelines for Promoting Projects to Accelerate the Transition to Open Access , several projects are currently being funded that are developing consortial models for book series (KOALA, OAdine, TOAA). At the international level, the project COPIM is working on the (further) development of alternative business models. Advantages Consortial models render it possible to dispense with BPCs and all their disadvantages. For this reason, they can be very attractive for authors. Moreover, they offer publishers a low-threshold way of converting their own programmes to open access. And finally, for the libraries, they can considerably reduce the processing efforts associated with the procurement of books. Disadvantages There is no guarantee that a sufficient number of libraries will always be found to raise enough money to unlatch a package of titles. Moreover, there is a danger that, in view of budget shortages, libraries will speculate that the pledging target will be reached without their participation (free rider problem). Moreover, commercially oriented models may cause libraries to be sceptical, and may contribute to their reticence. Other Models The models outlined above are merely a selection. Among the numerous other models, many of which have not been tested on a large scale, two should be mentioned at least briefly: the freemium model and the institutional membership model. Freemium Under the freemium model, a publisher or a service provider publishes one edition of a book open access without charging the authors a publi­cation fee. This open access publication is financed via other revenue sources – for example, from the sale of digital editions with additional functionalities and in other formats (enhanced HTML, EPUB/Mobi, etc.). Although some publishers and platforms, such as OpenEdition und Open Book Publishers, are already successfully using the model, it remains to be seen whether it will prove its worth. Institutional Memberships Institutional memberships are another model that can be used to fund open access books. Often within the framework of consortial agree­ments, libraries and other institutions pay an annual membership fee to a publisher, who in turn assumes part of the costs of publishing books. Moreover, member institutions and their authors can obtain further dis­counts. The model is widespread especially in the area of journals, but it is also used by scholarly book publishers, such as Open Book Publishers and Punctum Books, and it can make an important contribution to the simplification and debureaucratisation of open access publishing. References Collins, E., Milloy, C., & Stone, G. (2015). Guide to open access monograph publishing for arts, humanities and social science researchers. Helping researchers to understand the opportunities and challenges of publishing a scholarly monograph in open access. AHRC/Jisc Collections. eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/25391/ http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/25391/1/Guide-to-open-access-monograph-publishing-for-researchers-final.pdf Estelle, L., Jago, D., Jones, R., Laakso, M., Snijder, R., & Wise, A. (2025). How to begin the OA transition: a guide for smaller and specialist publishers. Commissioned by UKRI, in partnership with the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP), the British Academy, and Open Access Scholarly Publishing Association (OASPA) . Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14679094 Ferwerda, E., Snijder, R., Arpagaus, B., Graf, R., Krämer, D., & Moser, E. (2018). OAPEN-CH - Auswirkungen von Open Access auf wissenschaftliche Monographien in der Schweiz. Ein Projekt des Schweizerischen Nationalfonds . Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1219172 Graf, D., Fadeeva, Y., & Falkenstein-Feldhoff, K. (Eds.). (2020). Bücher im Open Access: Ein Zukunftsmodell für die Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaften? Verlag Barbara Budrich. https://doi.org/10.17185/DUEPUBLICO/72237 OAPEN. (2020). Open Access Books Toolkit: Business models for open access book publishing . https://oabooks-toolkit.org/lifecycle/10944589-planning-funding/article/10432084-business-models-for-open-access-book-publishing Penier, I., Eve, M. P., & Grady, T. (2020). COPIM – Revenue Models for Open Access Monographs 2020 . Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4011836 Snijder, R. (2019). The deliverance of open access books : Examining usage and dissemination . Amsterdam University Press. https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/25287 Speicher, L., Armando, L., Bargheer, M., Eve, P. M., Fund, S., Leão, D., Mosterd, M., Pinter, F., & Souyioultzoglou, I. (2018). OPERAS Open Access Business Models [White Paper] . Zenodo. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1323708 Further Reading Arning, U., Bargheer, M., Meinecke, I., Schobert, D., & Tobias, R. (2022). Open-Access-Transformation für Bücher: Die Rolle von institutionellen Verlagen und Publikationsdiensten . Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6346234 Barnes, L., & Gatti, R. (2018, May 22). The cost of Open Access books: a publisher writes. Open Book Publishers . blogs.openbookpublishers.com/the-cost-of-open-access-books-a-publisher-writes/ Böhm, D., Grossmann, A., Reiche, M. & Schrader, A. (2020). Open-Access-Publikationsworkflow für akademische Bücher. Ein Handbuch für Hochschulen und Universitäten. http://doi.org/10.33968/9783966270175-00 Hanneken et al. (2020). Die transcript OPEN Library Politikwissenschaften. Ein Modell für Open-Access-eBooks in den Geistes- & Sozialwissenschaften . https://doi.org/10.11588/ip.2020.1.66637 Pinter, F. (2018). Why Book Processing Charges (BPCs) Vary So Much. JEP. the Journal of Electronic Publishing , 21 (1). https://doi.org/10.3998/3336451.0021.101 Springer Open. (2018). Guide to Open Access Books for SpringerOpen Authors . https://media.springernature.com/full/springer-cms-preview/rest/v1/content/16216776/data/v2 van Gerven Oei, V. W. J., Joy, E., & Rudmann, D. (2020, July 7). We Got the Receipts: The Punctum Books Financial and Activity Report 2016–2019 . Punctum Books. https://punctumbooks.pubpub.org/pub/punctum-books-financial-activity-report-2016-2019/release/5...

  8. Open Access business models for journals
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    Intro Video on the Funding of Open Access Articles Source: Becklas Dorow, C., Hauss, J. (2026). Funding Open Access Articles – What Are the Options?. Technische Informationsbibliothek (TIB), open-access.network. https://doi.org/10.5446/73596 ( CC BY 3.0 DE ) KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS ARTICLE 1 There are various business and funding models for open access journals. 2 Three basic types of funding models can be distinguished: APC-based, institutional, and consortial models. 3 Within the framework of the open access transformation, efficient, transparent, and fair models should preferably be used. Journal Costs Open access means free access to and reuse of scientific information. Because open access journals can be accessed by readers free of charge, the production costs ( Borrego 2023 ) cannot be recovered through subscriptions but rather must be funded through alternative business models. The serials crisis and the associated large profits earned by scholarly publishers from public funds were key reasons for the emergence of the open access movement . When discussing business models, it is therefore meaningful to distinguish between covering costs and making a profit, especially in cases where it is a matter of reallocating costs for the purpose of converting journals to open access . In all cases, the operating and personnel costs required to receive, manage, publish, and distribute works must be financed. In addition, there are infrastructural costs, for example for server capacities and websites. Added to this are new cost demands for the publication of research data or multimedia content. In the area of gold open access , there are a number of different business models ( Keller, 2017 ; Russell, 2019 ; Waidlein et al., 2021 ). Basically, open access journals can be financed through article processing charges ( APCs ), by institutions, or by consortia. Models that manage entirely without APCs are referred to as diamond open access . Practical Tip Here you can find the slides of the open access talk Open-Access-Finanzierung: Fragen und Probleme (Funding Open Access: Issues and Problems). Source: based on Oberländer, A. (2020). Open Access – Es ist nicht alles Gold, was glänzt. In: Open Science. Von Daten zu Publikationen. Zenodo. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4018594 ( CC BY 4.0 International ) Alternative Business Models for Open Access Publications Source: Strauß, H., Rücknagel, J., & Hauss, J. (2022). Alternative Geschäftsmodelle für Open-Access-Publikationen. https://doi.org/10.5446/60353 ( CC BY 3.0 DE ) Author-Pays Model Article Processing Charges (APCs) The central feature of the author-pays model is that in the interval between manuscript acceptance and article publication, APCs are payable by the authors or their institutions. The availability of funds for and the acceptance of such payments depends also on the publication culture of the discipline in question. Other factors include access to third-party funding and the authors’ professional status. APCs are therefore often viewed critically . It is feared that they create access barriers, especially for authors from countries in the Global South or for early career researchers. On the other hand, many commercial open access journals offer fee waivers in individual cases (e.g. for authors from low- and medium-income countries; Lawson, 2015) and pass on these costs to APC-paying authors. Many research funding organisations require that publications resulting from the projects they fund be published open access; in return, they cover the cost of APCs. However, the spread of APC models may lead to a burden on research budgets. Publication Funds Publication funds are one instrument for the institutional support of authors in paying APCs. Many universities and non-university research organisations have such publication funds, from which they pay APCs on their authors’ behalf ( Bruch et al., 2014 ; see the overview in the Open Access Directory). In many cases, funds earmarked for the procurement of literature, and especially for journal subscriptions, also flow into the publication funds. In this way, although the research organisations still pay for the publications, they are now freely accessible worldwide. In Germany, the establishment of publication funds has long been associated with institutional funding programmes of the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft , DFG) . Since 2020, higher education institutions and non-university research organisations can apply for a fixed allowance for the open access publication of research results from the realigned DFG funding programme Open Access Publication Funding . With this partial funding of individual publications, the operation of publication funds continues to be supported. Subsidies for open access publication fees are possible inter alia for journal articles, including articles published under transformative agreements such as those negotiated by Projekt Deal . Some German federal states, for example Schleswig-Holstein (until 2024), provide state support for open access by making funding available for publication funds. Furthermore, agreements concluded between open access publishers and research organisations can regulate the payment of APCs and possible discounts. Hybrid Journals: Open Access as an Exception Fee-based open access options for individual articles in subscription journals (which are then often known as hybrid journals ) are a very controversial business model,as the journal not only earns revenue from subscriptions but also from articles that are made open access against payment of APCs. The costs per article are generally much higher than in the case of gold open access journals, although revenue is obtained from two sources. Often referred to as double dipping , this double financing is practised mainly by commercial journals and applied to existing journals that are not earmarked for conversion to open access . Other reservations against hybrid models relate to the fact that they do not contribute to the transformation of the scholarly publishing market to open access, that costing is not transparent, and that individual open access articles in closed access journals do not achieve adequate visibility.In negotiations with publishers (e.g. in the case of individual subscriptions, but also in the case of national licences and consortial models), public institutions usually urge publishers to take measures to counter double dipping, for example by offsetting APCs for open access articles against subscription fees. In Germany, the DEAL Konsortium has concluded transformative agreements with the scholarly publishers Springer Nature, Wiley, and Elsevier to effectively address this problem. The author-pays model is now widespread and is often erroneously used as a synonym for open access business models. However, even before the emergence of the open access movement, journals required their authors to contribute to the financing. Conversely, very many open access journals do not charge their authors any fees. Of the 20,949 journals listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) as of August 2025, 13,824 did not levy any article processing charges ( APCs ). Institutional Funding Business models that rely on direct payments by authors create a large administrative burden. Moreover, it is feared that APCs give rise to unequal prerequisites for access to publishing opportunities. Hence the interest in models that rely directly on funding by institutions. Institutions can, for example, provide publishing services or fund open access journals completely, so that other authors also benefit. One traditional variant is the (partial) funding of publications via professional associations or other institutions of a discipline. Some professional associations traditionally fund their publishing activities from membership fees. Thus, their members are usually both users and authors of the articles published, so that the costs of publishing open access are shared by both groups. One example of a community-funded journal is Documenta Mathematica , which was founded by the Deutsche Mathematiker-Vereinigung (German Mathematical Society). The digital edition is open access; a print edition is available for a small fee. According to the society, the costs of producing the journal are low and are covered mainly by the society. Ultimately, many open access journals rely on the commitment of those involved, who either work on the journal as part of their employment or on a voluntary basis. Support by staff, and possibly the assumption of material costs, can be regarded as an important form of institutional support. Furthermore, nowadays, many academic institutions invest in their own publishing services, for example platforms and services for the production of journals with the help of the open source software Open Journal Systems (OJS) . In this case, the institution subsidises the costs of making the content available and may be responsible for parts of the publishing process. Practical Tips The OA Journals Toolkit provides practice-oriented tips for setting up new open access journals. In addition, the guides published [MG1] [PSM2] by the project Scholar-led Plus offer valuable support in further developing and professionalising scholar-led publishing activities at your institution and making them sustainable in the long term. Since May 2025, these offerings have been supplemented by the Servicestelle Diamond Open Access (SeDOA) . As a DFG-funded project, SeDOA is taking a coordinating role with the aim of sustainably increasing the efficiency of diamond open access (DOA) publishing in Germany through the optimisation of hitherto decentralised services, the centralised provision of relevant information, and the targeted promotion of structural and technical innovations Publishing Open Access Journals Find an introduction here. Editorial process at Open Journal Systems (OJS) Quelle: OJS-net.de Community Funding: Consortial Funding, Membership Models, and Crowdfunding Source: Wrzesinski, M. (2023). Nachhaltige Finanzierung und Organisation von Zeitschriften. https://doi.org/ 10.5446/62588 ( CC BY 3.0 DE ) KOALA – Establishing, Expanding and Anchoring Consortial Open Access Solutions The KOALA consortial model enables sustainable funding for diamond open access publications. KOALA creates bundles of thematically focused journals, which are then offered to academic institutions – especially libraries and research institutions – for community funding. The level of the contributions depends on the size and type of the institution, the number of academic staff members, and the number of students. As soon as the pledging target for a journal bundle has been reached, the titles it contains are securely funded and made freely accessible for a period of 3 years. Regular Operations at the TIB Hanover The Leibniz Information Centre for Science and Technology University Library ( TIB ) acts as a central service provider and coordinator for the KOALA model and operates the service for journals in its subject range (natural sciences and engineering) as part of its regular operations. It is responsible for hosting, consortial management, and communication with the publishers and partner institutions. This organisational framework guarantees stable, transparent, and fair funding of open access journals in the STEM fields. KOALA at the SLUB Dresden Since 2024, the KOALA model is also being piloted at the Saxon State and University Library Dresden (SLUB). Under the name KOALA-SLUB , several subject-specific journal bundles have been established. The SLUB Dresden is responsible for organising the KOALA funding solution – a role equivalent to that of the TIB Hanover. OLEcon Open Library Economics (OLEcon ) supports diamond open access journals of economics by organising consortial co-funding for journals that are either already open access, that are just getting started , or that want to flip (i.e. convert from a subscription model to open access) The OLEcon journal bundle is growing steadily. Journals can apply for funding within the framework of regular calls for applications. Already funded journals are evaluated after 3 years. In addition to the desired institutional participation, OLEcon is establishing a success monitoring system to ensure that the consortium can operate in the most stable and sustainable way possible. edu_consort_oa The project network edu_consort_oa aims to sustainably fund open access publications in educational science, educational research, and subject didactics through crowdfunding and consortial funding. In edu_consort_oa, libraries can participate in annual funding rounds for the financing of open access monographs and diamond open access journals. At present, a package of around 20 e-books, and – for the first time – up to five diamond open access journals (individually, not as part of a package) per year are currently funded for a period of 2 years. An overview of the funded e-books can be found on the Education Research Portal (Fachportal Pädagogik) website. All funded titles can be accessed via peDOCS and the German Education Index (FIS Bildung Literaturdatenbank ). OACIP The Open Access Community Investment Program (OACIP) aims to support non-commercial diamond open access journals in the long term through a consortial funding model. Academic institutions can provided targeted support for quality assured publications, which are evaluated based on standardised transparency and sustainability criteria. The funding period is 3 years. Institutions can either co-fund all the journals or individual journals in the OACIP bundle. A further option is to contribute to the OACIP General Fund, which is used to fill any funding gaps at the OACIP journals. In 2024, OACIP funded eight journals from the STEM fields and the humanities and social sciences. SCOAP³ (Sponsoring Consortium for Open Access Publishing in Particle Physics) SCOAP³ is an international consortium dedicated to funding open access in high-energy physics. It aims to make high-energy physics articles freely accessible worldwide – without article processing charges for authors. The funding is provided by over 3,000 libraries, research performing organisations, and research funding organisations from over 40 countries. SCOAP³ is coordinated by CERN (the European Organisation for Nuclear Research) in collaboration with scholarly publishers. The partners’ contributions are based on their publication output and are centrally administered. SCOAP³ transforms existing subscription models into a community-funded open access model. In the current funding phase (2025–2027), 11 high-energy physics journals are freely accessible worldwide. Community funding models for open access publications eliminate both article processing charges ( APCs ) and subscription fees ( diamond open access ). To enable researchers to publish their works free of charge, academic institutions join forces and share the costs. Various approaches exist for this. They include consortial funding, membership models, and crowdfunding. These models cannot always be clearly distinguished from one another. However, each model has certain basic characteristics. Consortial funding is a collaborative model in which several academic institutions – typically libraries, higher education institutions, or research funding organisations – jointly fund open access journals, books, or infrastructures ( Reinsfelder & Pike, 2018 ). Examples include KOALA , OLEcon , and Scoap3 . Membership models, for example the Open Library of Humanities (OLH) , enable academic institutions to fund the infrastructure, editorial work, quality assurance, and long-term archiving of diamond open access journals through a fixed annual membership fee. In the case of crowdfunding, a specific project – for example certain journal or book packages – is usually put out to tender. One well-known platform for the crowdfunding of open access publications is Knowledge Unlatched . Crowdfunding campaigns usually have a time limit. If the funding target is reached, the project can be realized. Although crowdfunding is often project related, many initiatives aim to create longer-term structures. Successful crowdfunding can, for example, lay the foundations for a membership funding model or consortial funding. Another model is Subscribe to Open (S2O) , in which open access journals are funded through existing subscriptions. Each year, libraries and other institutions are invited to renew their subscriptions on the same conditions as before, with the aim of making the content of the journal freely accessible for everyone. If the funding target is achieved, the entire volume is published in open access. If the target is not reached, access remains restricted as before. S2O thus offers a gentle transition to open access without structural changes for libraries or additional costs for researchers. Praxistipp Der Diamond Funding Navigator von der TIB bündelt Angebote für die kollektive Finanzierung von Diamond-Open-Access-Publikationen weltweit - laufende und zurückliegende. Dies soll insbesondere Personen, die in der Literaturerwerbung und Lizenzierung tätig sind, sowie Fachreferent:innen dabei unterstützen, passende Finanzierungsangebote zu finden. Further Funding Options Another way of funding open access publications is the parallel sale of content in separate (print) editions. In the area of digital publishing, there have been various attempts to implement the so-called freemium model, where the fee-based variant provides more benefits than the cost-free variant. For example, this may involve making the HTML version of an article freely available to all Internet users but making the premium version in PDF format accessible only to subscribers. One example is the OpenEdition Freemium programme for the development of open access publishing in the humanities and social sciences. OpenEdition OpenEdition is a digital publishing platform that specialises in the humanities and social sciences. It was established in France and is supported by the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS). OpenEdition offers researchers and institutions infrastructure and services for publishing scientific content open access and making it visible. The platform comprises four key offerings: OpenEdition Journals (scholarly journals) OpenEdition Books (monographs) Hypothèses (scholarly blogs) Calenda (scholarly event calendar) OpenEdition aims to promote free access to high-quality scientific information and to provide a sustainable, non-commercial publishing environment for the academic community. Transformation und Transparency In the area of business models, the transformation of a scholarly journals landscape shaped by subscriptions to a landscape oriented mainly towards open access is very challenging. In Germany, the DEAL Konsortium is trying to contribute to the transformation of journals by negotiating transformative agreements with an open access component ( publish and read ). Whereas it appears to be possible to convert journals completely to open access while covering operational costs, the high fees charged under the author-pays model may lead to an increase in research organisations’ overall costs (Mittermaier, 2025). With ESAC (Efficiency and Standards for Article Charges) , an international initiative has been established that aims to ensure that the processing of publication costs within the framework of transformative agreements is efficient and transparent. References Borrego, A. (2023). Article processing charges for open access journal publishing: A review. Learned Publishing: Volume 36 (3), 359-378. https://doi.org/10.1002/leap.1558 Bruch, C., Fournier, J., & Pampel, H. (2014). Open-Access-Publikationsfonds: Eine Handreichung (Arbeitsgruppe Open Access der Schwerpunktinitiative Digitale Information der Allianz der deutschen Wissenschaftsorganisationen, Ed.). https://doi.org/10.2312/allianzoa.006 Keller, A. (2017). Finanzierungsmodelle für Open-Access-Zeitschriften. Bibliothek Forschung und Praxis, 41(1), 22–35. https://doi.org/10.1515/bfp-2017-0012 Lawson, S. (2015). Fee waivers for open access journals. Publications, 3(3), 155–167. https://doi.org/10.3390/publications3030155 Mittermaier, B. (2025). Transformationsverträge sind eine Sackgasse. O-Bib. Das Offene Bibliotheksjournal, 12(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.5282/o-bib/6117 Reinsfelder, T. L., & Pike, C. A. (2018). Using library funds to support open access publishing through crowdfunding: Going beyond article processing charges. Collection Management, 48(3). https://doi.org/10.1080/01462679.2017.1415826 (Author’s accepted manuscript: https://hdl.handle.net/1805/15059 ) Russell, B. (2019, October 23). Guest post — The future of open access business models: APCs are not the only way. The Scholarly Kitchen Blog. https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2019/10/23/guest-post-the-future-of-open-access-business-models-apcs-are-not-the-only-way/ Waidlein, N., Wrzesinski, M., Dubois, F., & Katzenbach, C. (2021). Working with budget and funding options to make open access journals sustainable (HIIG Discussion Paper No. 2021–1). HIIG. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4558790 Links for Further Reading Bickel, L., Clasen, N., & Flohr, R. (2019, November 13). Open-Access-Tage 2019: Geschäftsmodelle und ihre finanziellen Folgen für die Open-Access-Transformation. ZBW MediaTalk. https://www.zbw-mediatalk.eu/de/2019/11/open-access-tage-2019-geschaeftsmodelle-und-ihre-finanziellen-folgen-fuer-die-open-access-transformation/ Björk, B.-C., & Korkeamäki, T. (2020). Adoption of the open access business model in scientific journal publishing: A cross-disciplinary study. College & Research Libraries, 81(7). https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.81.7.1080 Bosman, J. & Kramer, B. (2018, Mai 16). Linking impact factor to ‘open access’ charges creates more inequality in academic publishing. Times Higher Education Blog. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/linking-impact-factor-open-access-charges-creates-more-inequality-academic-publishing Budzinski, O., Grebel, T., Wolling, J., & Zhang, X. (2020). Drivers of article processing charges in open access. Scientometrics, 124(3), 2185–2206. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-020-03578-3 Demeter, M., & Istratii, R. (2020). Scrutinising what open access journals mean for global inequalities. Publishing Research Quarterly, 36(4), 505–522. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12109-020-09771-9 . Frick, C., & Kaier, C. (2020). Publikationskosten für Zeitschriftenartikel abseits von Open-Access-Publikationsfonds – Lost in Transformation? o-bib – das offene Bibliotheksjournal, 7(2), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.5282/o-bib/5586 Ginsparg , P. (2021). Lessons from arXiv’s 30 years of information sharing. Nature Review Physics, 3, 602–603. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42254-021-00360-z Grossmann, A., & Brembs, B. (2021). Current market rates for scholarly publishing services. F1000Research, 10. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.27468.2 Jahn, N., & Tullney, M. (2016). A study of institutional spending on open access publication fees in Germany. PeerJ 4. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2323 Kändler, U., & Tullney, M. (2019, October 15). Jenseits von APC: Kriterien für Geschäftsmodelle. Open-Access-Tage 2019, Hannover. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3490914 Michael, A. (2020, August 27). Sustainable open access – what’s next? The Scholarly Kitchen Blog. https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2020/08/27/sustainable-open-access-whats-next/ Oberländer, A., & Dreher, L. (2019, September 30). Jenseits von APC: Überblick über alternative Open-Access-Modelle. Open-Access-Tage 2019, Hannover. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3490737 Schönfelder, N. (2018). APCs—Mirroring the impact factor or legacy of the subscription-based model? Bielefeld University. https://doi.org/10.4119/UNIBI/2931061 Shamash, K. (2016). Article processing charges (APCs) and subscriptions: Monitoring open access costs. Jisc. https://www.jisc.ac.uk/sites/default/files/apc-and-subscriptions-report.pdf Tautz, D., Holzer, A., Schmidt, K. M., Buchner, J., Grötschel, M. & Jurburg, S. (2025). Ein neues Verfahren zur direkten Finanzierung und Evaluation wissenschaftlicher Zeitschriften. Diskussion Nr. 38, Halle (Saale): Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften Leopoldina. https://doi.org/10.26164/leopoldina_03_01261 Tobschall, E. (2021, October 27). ArXiv ist 30! TIB-Blog. https://blogs.tib.eu/wp/tib/2021/10/27/arxiv-ist-30/...

  9. Open Access in Chemical Research - A Workshop from and for scientists
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    By Dr. Janna Neumann & Linda Martin What can Open Access look like in practice and how can it be integrated into a chemist's research? This question was addressed by scientists, research officers and publishers at the online workshop organised by open-access.network and the German National Library of Science and Technology (TIB)  on 16 March. Many paths - one goal Open Access has already been relevant in atmospheric science for more than 20 years, says Dr Robert Wegener from Forschungszentrum Jülich. The first journal foundations, such as the open access journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, enable transparent peer review and have a high journal impact factor. Facilitating the transfer of knowledge between society, science and industry as well as the possibility of re-using open data are central topics for atmospheric scientists. Dr Juliane Simmchen gave an insight into the user perspective: "Publishing on preprint servers such as ChemRxiv is important for young scientists, as it enables quick feedback and exchange." The junior research group leader of a freelance fellowship at the Technical University of Dresden recommends answering two questions when choosing a preprint server: "Which servers are generally suitable for your own discipline?" and "Why does this preprint server suits best for your own paper?" Open Access publishing - But where? Professor Dr Wolfram Koch, Executive Director of the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker*innen (GDCh), pointed out the importance that Open Access has within the society. "Chemistry open" -  the project DEAL as well as the journal of the GDCh, "Angewandte Chemie" can be placed under this topic. Dr Marc Kielmann (Beilstein Institute) then reported on the advantages of publishing in a diamond open access journal under the title "Why diamonds are a chemist's best friend". The non-profit institute offers the possibility of APC-free open access publication. Free access to scientific information also means free re-use of research data. The NFDI4Chem advocates the support of various repositories and the possibility of simplifying the data flow through software and tools. Dr Nicole Jung showed how data provision in the Chemotion data repository could be realised and to what extent cooperation with publishers could be possible. If researchers are faced with the questions of where to publish and what support is needed, it makes sense to ask the open access responsible or people from the library department. Michaela Voigt from the Technical University of Berlin highlighted individual services and central open access support criteria at her institution, which can also be found at many other academic libraries. Wishes, challenges and opportunities Together, the researchers identified needs, questions and challenges: The increase in transparency stands next to the desire for uncomplicated financing of one's own publication. Some statements concerned data and Open Access publications: A quality assurance process is needed. This should be designed from within the scientific community and prevent the image of uncontrolled mass publishing. ...

  10. Open Access in der chemischen Forschung - Angebote und Herausforderungen in der Praxis

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