The Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities, published in October of 2003, states: “Our mission of disseminating knowledge is only half complete if the information is not made widely and readily available to society. New possibilities of knowledge dissemination not only through the classical form but also and increasingly through the open access paradigm via the Internet have to be supported.” WU has signed the Berlin Declaration in December 2016.

WU sees it as part of its responsibility to society to provide the public with unlimited and long-term access to academic literature and research results.

Therfore WU aims to make academic work published by its researchers available online following the principle of "Open Access". On that score WU has adopted its Open Access Policy that was approved by the Rectorate on November 23rd, 2016.

Open Access publishing is a complex topic, so we have compiled an overview for you on the following pages. If you have specific questions in your day-to-day work, the Electronic Publishing and Open Access team at the University library will be happy to help. 

WU Open Access Policy