Open Access Policy

Open access refers to the unlimited, free access to academic research on the internet. Through the elimination of technical, financial and legal barriers, open access contributes to accelerating processes of scientific and academic innovation as well as improving the visibility of research findings. It thereby supports scholars in their research and publishing, maximising the benefits of publicly funded research. As a member of the Leibniz Association, the Leibniz Institute for Educational Media is a strong advocate of open access. It adheres to the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities and the Guidelines on Open Access within the Leibniz Association.

The Leibniz Institute for Educational Media recommends that its researchers publish their findings according to the open access principle. Where possible the Institute publishes directly in open access publications and makes printed publications available simultaneously online or as soon as possible after their release, depending on the relevant legal conditions.

When negotiating contracts with publishers, researchers at the Institute are encouraged – if possible – to avoid handing over exclusive usage rights to the publisher and instead retain the long-term copyright to their publications, providing the Leibniz Institute for Educational Media with simple usage rights. This is the only way to ensure free access in addition to any commercial use by the publisher. Furthermore, the Leibniz Institute for Educational Media recommends that when writing project-based grant applications, its researchers should apply for funding to cover the costs of open access publication. The Institute also has its own financial resources in the form of an open access publication fund.

The Leibniz Institute for Educational Media supports open access in the following ways:

• Pursuing and providing funding possibilities to cover the costs of open access publications, (publication fund).
• Publishing its own series such as: Eckert. Die Schriftenreihe and Eckert. Expertise as open-access publications (gold open access) and ensuring that one volume of the Palgrave Studies in Educational Media is published open access each year.
• Informing and advising its researchers on the topic of open access and assisting them in the clarification of legal matters related to open access publication of research results. To this end the Leibniz Institute for Educational Media has appointed an open access advisor.
• Making publications by its researchers available, where legally permitted, through the library's catalogue and the education portal Fachportal Pädagogik.
• Providing access, through the library’s catalogue, to open access publications from the field of educational research.