How do I "become" Open Access?

© International Open Access Week, created by Nick Shockey (CC BY 4.0)

It is absolutely easy to become Open Access!

  • First of all: Inform yourself!
    Open access depends on the commitment of authors and users. They are the determining actors within this culture! This requires a change in awareness.
    Open access is still a relatively young form of publishing and receiving. Naturally, therefore, much is still in flux. What is clear, however, is that open access and digital publishing are revolutionizing many areas of the publication cycle, as it has been established since Gutenberg's time.
  • Find out about repositories at your university!
    With the publication server miami, the ULB Münster maintains an institutional publication server. Digital and multimedia content – articles, monographs, dissertations, postdoctoral theses, journals, publication series, research reports, etc. – can be made available, researched and archived here.
  • Make specific use of the repositories in your field!
    OpenDOAR lists Open Access repositories from all over the world. Just have a browse!
  • Find out about Open Access journals, books and publishers in your field!
    The central database forOpen Access journals is the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). Open Access books can be found in the Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB) and at OAPEN.
    Many Open Access publishers have joined together in the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA).
  • Consciously consult open access publications for your research project!
    Use BASE, for example, one of the largest search engines for scientific texts for research.
  • Be aware of your copyright and author's rights when signing contracts with publishers!
    When signing a publishing contract, be sure to secure the right to deposit at least the digital copy of your work in an institutional repository after publication.
    More information