Open Access is the immediate, online, free availability of research outputs without restrictions on use commonly imposed by publisher copyright agreements. Open Access includes the outputs that scholars normally give away for free for publication; it includes peer-reviewed journal articles, conference papers and datasets of various kinds. Open Access provides the means to maximise the visibility and availability, and thus the uptake and use, of research outputs.

OpenAIRE aims to support the implementation of Open Access in Europe. It provides the means to promote and realize the widespread adoption of the Open Access Policy, as set out by the ERC Scientific Council Guidelines for Open Access and the Open Access pilot launched by the European Commission. OpenAIRE, a three-year project, will establish the infrastructure for researchers to support them in complying with the EC OA pilot and the ERC Guidelines on Open Access. It will provide an extensive European Helpdesk System, based on a distributed network of national and regional liaison offices in 27 countries, to ensure localized help to researchers within their own context. It will build an OpenAIRE portal and e-Infrastructure for the repository networks and explore scientific data management services together with 5 disciplinary communities. It will also provide a repository facility for researchers who do not have access to an institutional or discipline-specific repository.

OpenAIRE’s three main objectives are to

1. build support structures for researchers in depositing FP7 research publications through the establishment of the European Helpdesk and the outreach to all European member states through the operation and collaboration of 27 National Open Access Liaison Offices;

2. establish and operate an electronic infrastructure for handling peer-reviewed articles as well as other important forms of publications (pre-prints or conference publications). This is achieved through  a portal that is the gateway to all user-level services offered by the e-Infrastructure established, including access (search and browse) to scientific publications and other value-added functionality (post authoring tools, monitoring tools through analysis of document and usage statistics);

3. work with several subject communities to explore the requirements, practices, incentives, workflows, data models, and technologies to deposit, access, and otherwise manipulate research datasets of various forms in combination with research publications.

View OpenAIRE guidelines

Self-archiving or "Green Open Access" does not infringe on the copyright of the author or publisher. Authors own the original copyright to papers they write, and publishers need their permission to publish the paper. Publishers often ask for transfer of the copyright, sometimes even when the paper is first submitted to the journal. However, authors can choose to retain their copyright and provide the publisher with a licence to publish. Authors should in any case avoid signing any agreements with publishers that do not allow them to fulfill the EC Open Access requirements.

 If you want to know more about copyright in relation to open access:

Good starting points are the JISC/SURF Copyright toolbox site and the Creative Commons site. Many countries have a dedicated national open access site that usually contains copyright information as well. The EC, too, provides information and help, e.g. via the European IPR Helpdesk. 

One way of providing Open Access is to publish in an Open Access Journal. These journals make their articles available for free by charging for the publication services before publication, rather than after publication through subscriptions. Open Access publication charges can often be included in the costs of research funding, so the money for access comes through the research funder, rather than through the library budget. Of course, the initial source of the money is often the same (from government funding).

There is a growing number of Open Access Journals; most disciplines are now represented. A comprehensive list of the journals is provided by the Directory of Open Access Journals, DOAJ.

Open Access Repositories are databases specifically designed for the deposit, digital dissemination and curration of academic output like scientific articles and make them freely available. Open Access Repositories can be either linked to an institution or department or linked to a research field or subject, i.e. Institutional or Subject Repositories.

When using the OpenAIRE deposit service you will be guided through the steps of deposition and also if possible guided to a relevant repository. OpenAIRE uses data from the Directory of Open Access Repositories, OpenDOAR.

!!! OpenDOAR and thus OpenAIRE may not be comprehensive. Go to the OpenAIRE helpdesk ”Ask a question” if you are having trouble finding the best suited repository for you. If you do not have a repository to deposit your article in then you should use the OpenAIRE Orphan Repository.

If you have no access to an OpenAIRE compliant repository, an institutional repository or a subject repository, the orphan repository, hosted by CERN, will enable you to deposit your article, according to the EC OA pilot and ERC mandate.

The National Open Access Desks connect researchers, research institutions, and policy makers at a national level on the one end, and the OpenAIRE project services on the other. The focus of the National Open Access Desks activities is on support for compliance with the EC Open Access Pilot.

The National Open Access Desk can help you find the appropriate repository in your country, and can answer your questions concerning Open Access, the EC Open Access Pilot, copyright issues, any special national rules and regulations concerning Open Access, and so on.

In principle each National Open Access Desk can provide the necessary information with respect to OpenAIRE, Open Access in general and the EC Open Access Pilot. They will redirect questions if necessary, especially when national issues, like copyright, are involved.