Bielefeld University Library joins OLH LPS model

We are extremely pleased to announce that Bielefeld University Library has joined the Open Library of Humanities’ Library Partnership Subsidy system. Bielefeld University was founded in 1969 with an explicit research assignment and a mission to provide high-quality research-oriented teaching. Today it encompasses 13 faculties covering a broad spectrum of disciplines in the humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, and technology.

The Open Library of Humanities is an academic-led, gold open-access publisher with no author-facing charges. With funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the platform covers its costs by payments from an international library consortium, rather than any kind of author fee.

Professor Martin Paul Eve, a founder and academic project director of the OLH, welcomed Bielefeld University Library: “It is fantastic to have the support of Bielefeld University Library for the OLH model. It is clear that open access is of help to researchers around the world who cannot access the material they need. It is also clear that open-access models that require authors to pay are problematic. With the help of institutions such as Bielefeld, we will continue to expand our way of providing open access in the humanities, with no author fees.”

Dirk Pieper, deputy director of Bielefeld University Library, says: “Supporting Open Access in various ways is an important concern of Bielefeld University Library since many years. With joining the OHL, we hope to promote Open Access in the humanities of Bielefeld University even more intensively.”

Libraries outside the US, UK, EU or Canada interested in joining the OLH Library Partnership Subsidy model should contact Professor Martin Paul Eve: martin.eve@openlibhums.org. UK-based libraries can join through Jisc Collections at http://www.jisc-collections.ac.uk/Catalogue/Overview/Index/2120. US-based libraries can join through LYRASIS at https://lyrasis.openlibhums.org. European libraries can sign up at https://lps.openlibhums.org.