Open access

Publishing research

Staff at the University Library will be happy to help if you have any questions regarding legal issues, reputable publishers, open access publications or services offered by FAU when it comes to publishing your research findings.

Open access stands for free digital access to academic findings, with the goal of maximum dissemination and use. Open access publications are often financed via publication fees. FAU has set up a fund for co-financing publications to promote open access. Expenses for open access should also be taken into consideration when applying for financing for third-party projects.

Please note the institutional memberships and agreements which FAU members can use to publish at a reduced rate or free of charge.

Compulsory open access publication

Open access publication is compulsory for projects which are funded by EU framework programmes for research and innovation. The project publications must also be archived in a repository for full texts of academic publications. Researchers are free to choose which repository to use. We recommend you use the University’s official repository, OPUS FAU, or established subject-specific repositories. Project publications are listed on the EU platform OpenAIRE. OPUS FAU is an OpenAIRE compliant platform, i.e. when entering the EU project number your publication is automatically deposited on OpenAIRE.

There are equivalent obligations regarding open access publication for projects funded by the European Research Council, the Wellcome Trust, and the Helmholtz Association’s Initiative and Networking Fund. Further information is available in the SHERPA/JULIET database and in our overview.

Nearly all major funding organisations have recommendations or, as in the cases described above, obligations concerning open access publications. Financing requirements for open access therefore have to be taken into consideration when applying for funding. The amount of funding required depends on the journals and proceedings in which you usually publish. The University Library can help you determine what would be an appropriate amount.

FAU University Press

FAU University Press is FAU’s in-house publishing service and is attached to the University Library. University Press publications are mainly published in digital form on the OPUS FAU repository, making them available to the academic world as open access publications. Publication in book form is possible upon the authors’ or editors’ request.

Legal issues relating to publishing

Authors of academic publications face a range of legal questions. What must be observed when preparing author contracts? Which restrictive exploitation rights are recommended and which addenda to the contract make sense? Is it possible to publish open access without a contract with a publisher? Which licence best suits my open access publication? Please contact the University Library to clarify these or related questions.