Croation Centre for Diamond Open Access. The Origin Story

Diamond Open Access in Croatia did not develop from a policy mandate but as a practice sustained for decades by editors, libraries, universities, and information technology experts. Building on this tradition, members of the OPERAS-HR consortium signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2025 to formalize collaboration and strengthen national coordination. The signatories include the University of Zadar (OPERAS National Node for Croatia), the University of Zagreb University Computing Centre (SRCE), the University of Zagreb Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, the Croatian Association for Scholarly Communication (ZNAK / CROASC), and the National and University Library in Zagreb (NSK). We will present the community-driven process behind the establishment of the Croatian Centre for Diamond Open Access, an initiative rooted in Croatia’s long-standing tradition of non-commercial, scholar-led publishing.