Open Access Publication Services

Open Access activities of the ZBW

One of the basic requirements of efficient research is the optimal availability and instant dissemination of relevant publications. This aim can be achieved best by providing publications according to the principles of Open Access. As an infrastructure institution of the Leibniz Association, the ZBW expressly supports the call for free and broad access to quality-controlled results of publicly-funded research as stated in the Berlin declaration. The Leibniz Association was among the first to sign the declaration and actively promotes it.

Open Access is implemented at the ZBW on various levels. The ZBW provides publishing infrastructure for the entire economic research community, supports an Open Access policy and inhouse facilities for the publications of its employees, participates in national and international bodies and joins actively in the current Open Access debate in order to foster and enhance the idea of free dissemination for research findings.

Implementing Open Access at the ZBW

Infrastructure services for researchers in economics

The ZBW offers support in the field of “electronic publishing” for researchers, faculties and institutes in economics. The dissemination of research output according to Open Access principles is the main focus of these activities. Our publication services encompass the following:

 

EconStor is the subject repository of the ZBW for economic literature, providing permanent, safe and citable archiving for the publications of German research institutions and individual researchers and making them available to the public. EconStor also ensures optimal dissemination of the documents through various databases and portals such as RePEc, Economists Online, EconBiz and Google Scholar. Publishing as well as using documents on EconStor is free of charge. The ZBW acts as a national library for economics in Germany and thus guarantees long-term free availability and stable linking.

 

Economists Online is an international Open Access portal managed by leading research institutions in economics. The concept is based on the institutional repositories of the project partners which are bundled in the joint portal through subject-specific harvesting. The portal offers a search interface and browsing for the complete publications lists of the participating scholars. The ZBW participated in the portal’s inception and shares in its development within the framework of the library network NEREUS.

 

EconBizOpen is the Open Access search engine of the ZBW portal EconBiz which searches among EconStor, RePEc and the economics section of the Open Access database BASE.

 

LeibnizOpen is the central online portal for Open Access publications from the Leibniz Association. It is based on the subject repositories of the information institutions archiving full-texts. The ZBW participates in LeibnizOpen through Econstor and contributes publications of the German economic research institutes (DIW, ifo, IfW, IWH, RWI, ZEW) and the economic research units of the Leibniz institutions (ARL, GIGA, IAMO und WZB). The technical platform of LeibnizOpen is operated by the headquarters of the Leibniz Association in cooperation with GESIS.

 

"Economics – the Open Access, Open Assessment E-Journa" is an interactive electronic journal based on the principles of Open Access and operating as a classical peer review journal. Internationally renowned scholars, including several Nobel prize winners, participate in the peer review process in parallel with an open review by registered users. The journal is edited by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy whereas the ZBW provides technical publication services, including the maintenance of the web presence, the storage of articles on EconStor and the bibliographic referencing through databases and search engines.

> Open Access policy for ZBW authors

Active participation in lobbies and public debate

The ZBW actively participates in national and international bodies that promote the idea of free dissemination of research findings. In particular, the ZBW is active in the following groups:

• Open Access working group of the Allianz Initiative
• Open Access working group of the Leibniz Association
• Electronic Publishing working group at DINI
• NEREUS Steering Committee
• Confederation of Open Access Repositories (COAR)

The ZBW contributes to the Open Access debate with lectures and publications, by sitting on the programme committees of dedicated events (such as the Open Access days) and through statements in the media and opinion polls.