Open Access Funding by the University Library Bayreuth

Just before the holidays, the University Library received excellent news from the German Research Foundation (DFG): The application submitted by the UB in spring under the “Open Access Publication Costs” funding programme was successful. As a result, publication funding of up to €590,400 (for articles: €575,400; for monographs: €15,000) will be available to Bayreuth researchers from 2025 to 2027. Additionally, 22% overhead will be provided for operational and personnel costs to support the necessary infrastructure. With a total of €720,288, this is the highest funding amount the UB has ever secured from the DFG for Open Access support for researchers.

Thanks to this DFG funding, the publication of both open-access articles and books can be financially supported in the coming years. To qualify for funding, the respective works must have been created as part of DFG-funded research, published between 01/01/2025 and 31/12/2027, and meet the formal criteria set by the DFG. In addition to financial support, the UB will also advance its substantive work programme described in the application. This programme focuses on objectives outlined in the “Open Access Publication Costs” funding initiative, particularly in areas such as monitoring, invoice processing, compliance with

 DFG-Funding Acknowledgements, and ensuring equitable distribution of resources.

Open Access Activity of the UB

DFor over ten years, the UB Bayreuth has actively supported members of the University of Bayreuth in Open Access publishing through financial, infrastructural, informational, and advisory services. Since 2012, a publication fund has been in place to support Gold Open Access articles, which was expanded in autumn 2021 to include funding for Gold Open Access books. That same year, Open Access publications by Bayreuth researchers were first financially supported by the DFG. Over time, eight successful DFG applications have been submitted under the “Open Access Publishing” programme and its successor, “Open Access Publication Costs.”

In 2019, the UB established a dedicated Open Access Team to reflect the central importance of Open Access to the university and to address the growing complexity of tasks in consulting, monitoring, and invoice processing. Organisationally, the team is part of the central department for "Electronic Publishing," which reports directly to the UB Directorate. Staff in this department, coordinated by the two Open Access Officers, also manage the university bibliography ERef Bayreuth, the institutional repository EPub Bayreuth, and the OJS Bayreuth platform for managing and publishing academic Open Access journals.