An Open Access Strategy for Berlin
Subscription fees for scientific journals are rising faster than inflation. Even well funded research library budgets are straining under the weight – for example the MDC library will spend around €450,000 on journal subscriptions in 2014 –, let alone research facilities in less wealthy countries or those outside of academia. More than this, there is a clear and moral argument that papers based on publicly funded research should be free for the public to read, rather than locked behind a paywall. It’s clear that we are due for a change in the system.
Open access is the concept of unrestricted online access to scientific publications, without financial, technical or legal barriers. In recent years the open access movement has won increasing support at the political level. Whilst Germany still lacks a nation-wide open access strategy (unlike the US and UK), the federal states (for example in Baden-Württemberg and North Rhein-Westphalia) are increasingly turning their attention to securing free public access to scientific literature. The latest to join their ranks is Berlin as, in May earlier this year, the Abgeordnetenhaus Berlin (Berlin House of Representatives), showed their support by approving the formulation of an “Open Access strategy for Berlin: Making Scientific Publications Accessible and Usable for Everyone”.
Prompted by this, open access representatives of the various universities and research institutes of Berlin – including the MDC – have formed a network in order to assist the Berlin Senate to implement this strategy. The process will call on the scientific institutions of Berlin “to develop their own Open Access strategies in order to ensure that scientific publications and other digital objects, such as research data and scientific software, that are generated within the framework of scientific endeavour are made accessible and re-usable for everyone.” Whilst the MDC’s open access repository puts us in good position, relatively few of our publications eligible for self-archiving are submitted — certainly something for us to think about!
As a prelude to Open Access Week (20−26th October), the Berlin universities – HU-Berlin, FU-Berlin and TU-Berlin – have co-organised a kick-off event, “Open-Access-Strategie für Berlin” in collaboration with the Fraunhofer, Helmholtz Association, Leibniz Association, and Max-Planck-Society. This high-profile event will highlight the importance of open access to the future of science in Berlin, share experience and best practice examples from the state and federal level, and offer a forum for discussing the transition to an open access system of publishing. Attendance is free and all are welcome to attend
Event: Open-Access-Strategie für Berlin
13th October 2014, 15:00 — 20:00
Hörsaal D, Henry-Ford-Bau der Freien Universität Berlin
Garystraße 35, 14195 Berlin-Dahlem (Directions)
Featured Image: Berlin. View from Berliner Dom in the direction of Potsdamer Platz.
