Getting Scientists Ready for Open Access: The Approaches of Forschungszentrum Julich

Many scientific institutions are faced with the question of how they should inform their scientists and scientific coordinators about the option of publishing open access. This task is one that libraries have taken upon themselves: libraries are familiar with the market participants and have years of experience in teaching information and publication literacy. This case report looks at two approaches taken by the Central Library of Forschungszentrum Julich in 2017. It highlights the motivation, strategy, resources and implementation, as well as the first evaluation of both approaches. The first approach was a redesign of the training courses offered by the Central Library with a focus on the target groups and new contents. The second approach was implemented as part of International Open Access Week and involved offering an information event tailored to each scientific institute. The event was customized to meet the needs of the target group defined by each institute, the institute itself, and was organized individually. As a result of these efforts, the open access rate increased over the last few months and at 48% open access in 2017, Forschungszentrum Julich is well on its way to achieving the open access goals set by the Helmholtz Association.