JGU Mainz adopts open access to knowledge in the sciences and humanities

Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz

Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) has adopted the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities. University President Professor Dr. Georg Krausch signed the declaration in January 2013, signaling a clear commitment to open access.

The Berlin Declaration of October 2003 is considered one of the milestones of the open access movement and a benchmark for the way in which research literature and data is to be handled. The declaration was initiated by the Max Planck Society. The primary goal of its signatories is to promote academic discussion through online publications and to make these available to the broadest possible public.

The Mainz University Library now issued a statement indicating that researchers at JGU and the Mainz University Medical Center can now apply for grants from the 2013 publication fund. The fund has been established to support open access publications and receives financial support from the German Research Foundation (DFG). A total of EUR 85,000 has been budgeted.

The Mainz University Library has expressed its clear support for open access publication of academic texts and is encouraging young researchers in particular to pursue this publication path by applying for funds to cover publication costs. Open access publications are made available on the internet and can be read in full, downloaded, and replicated at no cost to users.

However, the act of publishing in open access journals can involve costs in the form of article processing fees. In many cases these costs have to be covered by the authors themselves. These costs can be now financed with support from the JGU publication fund.