This is reflected in the latest data from the WUR Library Open Access Support. The numbers have doubled over the past five years. When we look at the data for all articles for which a WUR researcher is the contact person, the numbers are even higher. These publications make up some 40 per cent of the total, and 84 per cent of these articles were open access in the last year alone.
Big Deals
Dutch science should have been fully open access in 2020; however, this deadline was not met. Nonetheless, librarian Hubert Krekels is delighted with the numbers. ‘We have achieved much. By striking so-called big deals with publishers in collaboration with the VSNU (Association of Dutch Universities), we have managed to get far.’ But these deals don’t nearly cover all the journals.
I wonder if we will ever reach 100 per cent
Hubert Krekels, librarian
‘Many articles are published in journals produced by smaller publishers, with whom we don’t have agreements’, Krekels says. ‘Or, by publishers unwilling to shift to open access.’ This makes achieving open access within a reasonable budget very difficult. The so-called green open access has been developed as an alternative.
Upload yourself
The ‘green’ option allows the author to invoke the Dutch copyright law (the Taverne-amendment) and publish the article themselves after observing a three-to-six-month embargo. WUR does this through its proprietary database Research@WUR. The library will soon launch a campaign to draw attention to this option.
With the help of this possibility, Krekels hopes to come nearer the 100 per cent mark. ‘However, I wonder if we will ever reach 100 per cent.’ Open Access Support will host an online Q&A on 8 April from 09.00-09.45 AM with the latest information. For WUR employees, there is an Open Access Publishing intranet group.
