Open Access
New publication paradigma: Gold Open Access
Open access to literature requires that new business models are found and implemented: in the absence of license fees for readers or their institutions the simplest alternative is to ask authors (or their institutions) to pay for the production of literature.
Journal models
Two distinctively different versions exist for such author fees:
- The journal sticks to the customary license model but authors may opt to pay a fee and thereby open their individual article for all readers (hybrid model).
- The journal's content is open for all readers and the production costs are covered by publication fees levied from the authors or rather from their institutions (Gold Open Access journals).
The hybrid model (1) is contentious as it comes close to double charging some institutions: once for licensing a journal and then again for opening articles for other, non-paying institutions.
The other model (2) however realizes the golden road to Open Access and merits support by anyone who favours free access to publications from publicly funded research.
There are three main ways to publish in Open Access:
- The so-called “Golden Way” (Gold OA)
- This is a publication in a purely open access journal with a peer-review process.
- The publication may be downloaded, copied and redistributed (of course with “proper” citation).
- This incurs the so-called APCs (Article Processing Charges), which must be borne by the author or the center.
- The so-called “green route” (Green OA)
- This is the so-called secondary publication of a publication subject to license (simultaneously or with an embargo period) on a repository (such as OceanRep) after publication with closed access by a publisher.
- „Hybrid Open Access“
- This is a publication in a traditional paid journal - with a surcharge for open access
- Usually called “Open Choice” or “Open Content”, authors in subscription-based journals are offered the opportunity to make their article Open Access for an additional charge
- The costs for this are usually higher than the APCs in pure Open Access journals
Journal Checker Tool to easily check your Open Access options
When selecting the journal for publication, please use the Journal Checker Tool to fulfil your obligations to the financiers.
A list of recognized open access journals can be found in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).
Dubious journals...:
... Trusted journals:
Check the publishing policies of various journals and publishers:
Important links
- Open Access Net (Official page about Open Access in Germany)
- Cost Effectiveness for Opean Access Journals
- Open Access Guideline of the Helmholtz Association
- Berlin declaration for Open Access
If you have any questions, please contact bibliotheksleitung(at)geomar.de
