For more open access
The University of Konstanz advocates for more open access to scientific information in two new projects - funded by the Ministry of Education and Research
There are many facets to open access (OA), the free and unrestricted access to scientific information on the internet. The two new projects launched by the Communication, Information, Media Centre (KIM) at the University of Konstanz are funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and mainly focus on the subject-specific promotion of open access.
One project in cooperation with the Open Library of Humanities (OHL-DE) aims at promoting that German humanities journals change over to an open access model. The Open Library of Humanities (OLH) is a non-profit open-access publisher for the humanities and social sciences, founded by academics in Great Britain. The special feature is the financing concept: A consortium of more than 230 libraries worldwide finances the journals, among them the University of Konstanz and US-American universities such as Harvard, Princeton and Yale. For authors and readers, this model is free of charge. The OLH-model is an innovative, high-quality and sustainable way to more open access.
"We intend to significantly increase the number of the so far 23 journals that are financed via OLH. We wish to especially include German- and multi-lingual journals, too," says Dr Anja Oberländer, who heads both projects at the University of Konstanz. A bridge fund provides co-funding so that journals can transition to an open-access model. One goal is to make the model well-known in the German-speaking area and to raise the number of German libraries supporting the model.
The second project aims at expanding the internet platform ‘open-access.net’ via OA-workshops and the provision of OA-materials. It will be funded for two years. Open-access.net is the most prominent and renowned resource for open-access information on the German-language internet. It was developed by the University of Konstanz in coordination with, among others, the University of Göttingen, which will be responsible for the technical support of the new project. The platform has been continuously expanded since its foundation and will be supported by the University of Kiel in the new project.
An important goal is to attract researchers who act as multipliers for the spread of open access. To motivate them, a special gamification method is being developed at the University of Kiel. Gamification is the application of game-design elements such as scores, top-score lists and achievement levels as an incentive system.
Facts:
- University of Konstanz project: Promotion of German humanities journals changing over to an open access model in cooperation with the Open Library of Humanities (OHL-DE)
- Cooperation project: Includes subject-specific workshops and the provision of OA materials
- Project partners: University of Konstanz with its Communication, Information, Media Centre (KIM, project lead); Göttingen State and University Library (SUB Göttingen); Christian Albrecht University of Kiel (CAU)
- Funding period: 2018 to 2020
- Contact person: Dr Anja Oberländer, University of Konstanz
- BMBF funding amounting to 600,000 euros for both projects