Open Library of Humanities makes high-standard academic research material in the humanities available to everybody
20 March 2018
The Open Library of Humanities (OLH) 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 Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU): "Open access in the humanities will not necessarily be achieved by the same author-pays system as that in the sciences. OLH journals admit material solely based on quality through peer review. With the support of institutions such as Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, we will expand this model so that high-standard academic research material in the humanities is available to anyone who wishes to read it."
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, originally founded in 1477, strives to emulate the innovational spirit of its namesake. It was among the first universities to sign the OA2020 Mission, the international initiative for a complete conversion of scholarly journals to open access. Dr. Andreas Brandtner, director of the Mainz University Library, states: "Open access is a major factor of success in the digital transformation of science."
JGU is one of the largest and most diverse universities in Germany and unites almost all academic disciplines under one roof, including the Mainz University Medical Center, the Academy of Arts, the School of Music, and the Faculty of Translation Studies, Linguistics and Cultural Studies. With 75 fields of study and more than 260 degree courses, the university offers its 32,000 students a broad range of courses.