Within the Open Science movement, UKB is mainly concerned with promoting Open Scholarly Communication. This is one of our priorities for 2024.
Since 2015, the University Libraries and the National Library of the Netherlands (KB) have successfully enhanced the open accessibility of scientific article publications. Dutch scientists now publish more than 92% of their research results in Open Access.

Why we continue to innovate

The world of scientific publishing is constantly evolving. Rising publication costs, a lack of sovereignty and equality, and changes in the recognition system and reward structures call for a critical review of our publication strategy without losing the results achieved.

Our goal

We strive to make our knowledge widely accessible through our publications. We achieve this by being as open as possible and only imposing restrictions if necessary, so that our publications have a greater social impact.

Our approach

• Full (Gold) Open Access
  

  We are continuing to collaborate with various stakeholders to achieve full Open Access. Over the past few years, UKB has made quite a few big deals with publishers. Through these ‘Read & Publish’ agreements, scientists can publish their research in Open Access in scientific journals either free of charge or at minimal cost (APCs). In addition, UKB strives to ensure that researchers and students have unlimited access to these journals.

• Green Open Access
  

  We will continue to make publications openly accessible through our repositories. Authors of a short scientific work that has been financed wholly or in part by Dutch public funds have the right to make that work freely available to the public after a reasonable period of time following the initial publication, provided that the source is clearly indicated. According to the Taverne Amendment, publishers’ versions of short scientific publications will be made available via the university repository after six months. Since 2020, universities and university medical centres have applied this amendment broadly, although implementation varies from institution to institution. More information about the Taverne Amendment can be found here.

• Diamond Open Access
  

  The Diamond Open Access project in The Netherlands supports academic communities in publishing articles and books without financial barriers. Diamond Open Access (DOA) refers to publication models in which the academic community has ownership, such as scholarly-led or library-led models. DOA ensures that articles and books are immediately available in Open Access without any embargo, at no cost to readers or authors, while the copyrights remain in the hands of the academics. DOA promotes a more diverse publishing system by allowing researchers with limited financial resources to publish, and by supporting topics and languages that are often overlooked by commercial publishers.
  Despite these benefits, DOA journals and publishers face significant challenges. They often have limited or no budgets, and they rely heavily on volunteers. In addition, DOA is under pressure due to an evaluation culture that focuses largely on impact factors. Through the ‘Strengthening Diamond Open Access in the Netherlands’ project, UKB intends to support, sustain and further stimulate DOA journals and publishers.

• Copyright and open licences
  

  We continue to raise awareness about retaining copyright and open licences (CC-BY). This is one of topics of the Copyright working group.

• Open metadata
  

  We promote the use of open metadata. UKB supports the principle that research information should be openly accessible as much as possible, under the guidance and ownership of the academic community. This is why we are investing in a high-quality data hub with reliable and comprehensive information about Dutch publications.
  In addition, UKB has developed and implemented the Journal Browser for all Dutch universities. This allows all Dutch researchers to quickly find where they can publish in Open Access.
  UKB has also invested in the replacement of NARCIS as a national portal (working title Netherlands Research Portal in OpenAIRE). In the coming years, this should lead to a sustainable infrastructure in which well-functioning initiatives are strengthened and maintained in a coherent manner.

• Public platform for presenting scientific works
  

  UKB has initiated a preliminary study (in Dutch) into the access options to paid and Open Access publications that can provide a solution for people who cannot benefit from the licences of university libraries. According to the NPOS Rolling Agenda, by 2030 everyone in the Netherlands should have access to scientific literature, so that it can be used for personal, professional and societal purposes. The preparatory work done by UKB supports the effective development of the national research into a public platform.

• Leo Waaijers Award
  

  The Leo Waaijers Award was initiated in 2024 and is intended for people or groups that have taken bold, innovative and/or impactful initiatives in the field of Open Science in recent years. UKB wants to put Open Science initiatives in the spotlight and in this way aims to stimulate and inspire others. The new Award will be handed out periodically.