What is Open Access?
“Open Access” refers to the objective of making scholarly information freely accessible and available for re-use on the Internet so that interested parties may read, download, copy, distribute, search, and reference the full text and use it in any other legally appropriate fashion. Only one condition applies: to attribute the authorship correctly.
In recent years, Open Access has been anchored in the mission statements of universities and research institutions, in the terms and conditions of external funding bodies, and in proposed legislation. Open Access journals, publishers, and repositories are no longer the only players; by now, most traditional academic publishers have added Open Access options to their portfolios.
Detailed Information about Open Access
Platform open-access.network
The open-access.network platform has dealt extensively with arguments for and also reservations about Open Access. This will address authors' questions about the quality, visibility, and preservation of Open Access publications, legal aspects, financing of the author-pays model, and concerns about the distribution of publication funds and conflicts of interest.
Open Access Office Berlin
The state of Berlin adopted an Open Access strategy at the end of 2015. The Open Access Office Berlin informs Berlin's scientific and cultural institutions about the core goals of the Berlin Open Access Strategy, supports them in its implementation, and promotes networking among the various stakeholders.
German Research Foundation (German: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG)
The German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) supports Open Access, among other things by funding Open Access publication funds and the establishment of Open Access infrastructure. Detailed information can be found on the DFG website.
Federal Ministry of Education and Research (German: Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, BMBF)
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (German: Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, BMBF) adopted an Open Access strategy in 2016. The BMBF recommends open access publishing, supports numerous projects and provides comprehensive information.
