Making the full range of research articles accessible to all without the need to pay: it’s a long-held ambition in the world of science. The Dutch Research Council (NWO), the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) and the Association of Universities in the Netherlands (VSNU) are keen for all research financed with public money to be published in open access from this year.

Helping hand

That goal has now come one step closer with the launch of OpenJournals. On this new platform, Dutch-based journals can publish their articles without disappearing behind a paywall.

When it comes to the topic of open access in the academic world, the focus often lies on the top international titles by major publishers such as Elsevier and Springer. But this new platform is primarily intended as a helping hand for independent Dutch journals in the field of the social sciences and humanities, the Dutch Research Council writes. For them, the transition to open access can be a difficult process.

But other journals that embrace the principles of open access are also very welcome to join the platform. Visitors can browse seven academic journals from today. The Dutch Research Council hopes to expand the collection to at least forty titles within three years.

Subsidies

The project will receive a three-year subsidy from the Dutch Research Council, with technical support from the KNAW’s Humanities Cluster. In line with the rules of the diamond open access model, no publication costs will be charged to the authors.

The scientific journals do have to dig into their pockets to keep the platform going: they pay an annual subscription of 2,500 euros (excluding VAT). That said, OpenJournals can help them in the search for subsidies, as the platform’s FAQ section explains.