University of Graz Open Access policy

“Our mission of disseminating knowledge is only half complete if the information is not made widely and readily available to society. New possibilities of knowledge dissemination not only through the classical form but also and increasingly through the open access paradigm via the Internet have to be supported. We define open access as a comprehensive source of human knowledge and cultural heritage that has been approved by the scientific community.” (Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities, October 22, 2003)

The University of Graz sees it as part of its responsibility to society to ensure free and open access to its researchers' academic publications and research results, as well as to objects of cultural heritage. It therefore supports its researchers in embracing Open Access as a means of disseminating their research results more widely and as an expression of good scholarly practice.

As a signatory to the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities, in accordance with the principles set out therein, and in support of EU science policy, the University of Graz hereby adopts the following Open Access Policy:

1. The University of Graz strongly recommends that its members publish their academic work in Open Access media with quality assurance policies. Exceptions may be justified for book publications in the humanities and social sciences and (at least in the short term) the strategic placement of articles in high-impact journals. Furthermore, the University of Graz expects its members to make published work available in Open Access in the institutional repository, uni≡pub, after any applicable embargo period has expired unless significant legal or financial obstacles exist.

2. The University of Graz expressly reminds its members to pay particular attention to copyright regulations when publishing their work in any form. Exploitation rights, particularly secondary publication rights, should be contractually reserved whenever possible.

3. The University of Graz supports its members' commitment to serve as editors and reviewers for high-quality Open Access media.

4. The University of Graz supports its members in all organisational, financial or legal matters related to Open Access by

• providing information and advice from the University Library Open Access team,
• offering publication opportunities such as the institutional repository and Graz University Library Publishing,
• supporting the publication of Open Access journals,
• financially supporting selected Open Access infrastructures and publication options,
• providing a publication fund to cover authors' fees for (Gold) Open Access publications in quality-assured journals, and by
• negotiating and signing publishing contracts containing Open-Access components.

5. The University of Graz actively participates in collaborative Open Access initiatives within Austria and internationally and keeps its members informed about Open Access developments.

6. The University of Graz actively contributes to the ongoing development of standards for the recording and classification of Open Access publications.

7. Open Access publications will be identified as such in the University of Graz's research documentation.

8. Open Access publications will be recognised by the university when assessing academics' research performance, particularly in relation to the habilitation process and appointment procedures.

9. Works of significant cultural or scientific value held by the University of Graz will be systematically digitised and made available to the public in Open Access.