Open Access Fundamentals: definitions, formats, licenses and costs

Open access to academic publications has been around for quite many years by now. Opinions about its current state seem to differ depending on whom you ask – for example, due to differing disciplinary traditions and speeds of uptake, due to differing roles and stakes in the academic publishing system or also due to differing political positions when it comes to shaping the flow of information in a digital knowledge society. While our introductory talk surely won’t be able cover all these topics in full detail, we will try to outline some of the fundamental principles of Open Access. The following questions will be discussed What is Open Access? What are its benefits? Are there also challenges? Which publications venues are available for Open Access (Green, Gold, Diamond, ...)? Why should I care about licenses? What does/should open access cost and how can I secure its funding? Who is there to guide me through the intricacies of publishing open access?