Article on Open Access in E-LIS

http://eprints.rclis.org/archive/00006887

Graf, Klaus (2004) Wissenschaftliches Publizieren mit “Open Access” – Initiativen und Widerstände, in Gersmann, Gudrun and Mruck, Katja, Eds. Historical Social Research, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 64-75. Center for Historical Social Research.

Abstract

In the sense of an “Open Access” movement this article is an appeal for making scientific publications accessible in Internet free-of-charge and worldwide without any restrictive “permission barriers.” It presents projects and initiatives in both the United States and Germany and advocates a stronger reception of American approaches here in Germany. According to this article, “Open Access” is the answer to the crisis scientific literature is facing, which is not only reflected in the professional journal prices, but also means that an anthology is maybe subsidized four times by local authorities, and the state then has to buy back its own research findings from commercial publishing houses. There are also thoughts about providing “Open Access” not only for books and articles. The article closes by dealing with the resistance and barriers to this idea and deliberating possible solutions, with an emphasis on the legal framework.

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