By the Libraries Scholarly Communications Committee

The University of Minnesota is committed to ensuring the greatest possible scholarly and public access to research and scholarship produced by the University community.

One way we achieve that is by ensuring broad access to research publications: Open Access publications can be read by anyone with an internet connection — free of any fee for the reader. This creates obvious public benefits, but also increases the reach and impact of particular research publications.

At the Libraries, we have been providing infrastructure for open access projects, investing in collaborative projects on national and international scales, and supporting the University’s information needs on these topics for well over a decade.

Each year in late October, we mark Open Access Week — an international event to raise awareness of issues around access to scholarly publications, and to inspire wider participation in open access publishing and projects.

Below are some options for you when considering open access:

Make your articles open access

• Publish in a fully open access journal
  You can find open access journals at DOAJ.org  Many of these journals do not charge author fees. Prevalence of fees (and their costs) varies by discipline.
• Create an all-open journal
  The Libraries Publishing Services office hosts open access journals and other innovative dynamic content
• Publish in a subscription journal that allows you to post a version online
  Publications have widely varying rules about which versions of articles may be shared. Check sherpa.ac.uk/romeo to see which version you can post.
• Publish in your favorite journal and retain rights to share publicly
  You can negotiate your publication agreement, or use an authors’ addendum to retain the right to share your work (and reuse without further permission in your own future works). Find more information and links to resources at z.umn.edu/knowyourrights.
• Share your articles online in a scholarly repository
  UMN authors are welcome to share their work through the Libraries at the University Digital Conservancy, but many scholars also post their works in disciplinary repositories such as arxiv.org or AgEcon Search.
• Learn about the UMN Open Access policy
  This policy encourages authors to make their works openly available and creates some additional options that authors may invoke for sharing.

Make your books open access

• Publish your book open access
  Many established University press and independent scholarly publishers are exploring options for open access books and monographs. See the innovations of the University of Minnesota Press. CLA authors can apply for funding for open access monographs through TOME.
• Publish your book or textbook open access with the Libraries
  University Libraries Publishing Services publish open monographs and open textbooks.
• Reclaim rights and republish your older monographs
  Open republication can often extend the reach and impact of an existing book, especially those that have gone out of print. Authors often have a few options to reclaim their rights and make older books available to new or expanded audiences through open publishing. Learn more from the Authors’ Alliance. The Libraries Publishing Services office welcomes republication discussions with UMN authors who are interested in reclaiming rights.

We can help if you have questions

For further information on any of these subjects, visit our Open Access Week website, or write us at openaccess@umn.edu or contact your subject librarian.

Hear from 2 UMN faculty members