These days, searching for scholarly literature is often convenient and easy. You simply type a search term into the search bar and skim through the available journal articles. Many of the most relevant results are just a click away, and the freely accessible text opens right away. But why isn’t this text hidden behind a paywall, like so many articles in major daily newspapers?
The answer lies in the scholarly system itself. Especially in the case of publications funded by the government, researchers are required to make the article freely accessible upon publication—meaning that they publish it as open access. Many of them hope that publishing without a paywall will allow them to reach a broader audience—whether among the general public or within the scientific community.
But who paid for the publication to be freely accessible? How did the academic publishers profit from the publication?
However, this investment in an academic career is quite costly. Researchers often have to cover the costs of publication services themselves. The fees for an open-access publication for a single article often vary widely, ranging from a few hundred euros to several thousand. A particular pitfall: The greater the journal’s reputation and the more prominent the publisher is within its own academic community, the higher the fee tends to be. Successful authors, in particular, therefore face especially high costs. How these costs are covered is also often ambiguous and involves a mix of various (public) funding sources that may or may not be available to researchers. Depending on the research institution, funding may be more readily available, but it is often also hard-won. It can be particularly difficult for researchers who are still at the beginning of their careers to cover the costs of such an article.
What funding sources are available?
On the one hand, many institutions—especially universities—have agreements with relevant publishers, often administered by the libraries. Under these agreements, funds are paid in advance for access rights as well as publication opportunities. In some cases, the terms of the contract allow affiliated researchers to publish for free; however, more often than not, researchers at least receive a discounted publication fee, also known as an Article Processing Charge (APC). The TUHH’s publication agreements are available on our website. The exact conditions under which publication is permitted are listed for each publisher.
In addition, many academic libraries provide a publication fund for university members to cover these fees. However, the conditions under which publication fees are covered vary widely. In some cases, the fund covers only a certain amount; in others, funding applies only to specific publishers or publication formats. The TUHH strives to include as many researchers as possible in the eligibility criteria for funding through the publication fund. Since January 2026, all Gold Open Access publications—which are those in purely Open Access journals—have been eligible for funding through the fund. The conditions that must be met for funding are listed in detail on our website.
It is also important to note that if a publication results from public funding, publication costs can be factored into the budget when applying for those funds.
If, for certain reasons, the article cannot be covered by a fund or another agreement, and there are no separate research funds available for publication, the costs must be paid by the institutes or research departments. In the worst-case scenario, the researchers themselves must cover the costs.
Are there alternatives to paid publication?
There certainly are, especially at universities. Often, a repository is available where publications can be made freely accessible. At the same time, these publications are indexed in other catalogs and search engines so that the full text can be made available to as large and diverse an audience as possible. At the TUHH, the TORE repository is operated and may be suitable for precisely such publications.
In addition, libraries are working to specifically promote alternatives such as Diamond Open Access. With this model, neither readers nor researchers incur publication fees. Operating costs are covered by grants, foundations, or university libraries. The journal or publisher is often sponsored by professional associations, universities, or other nonprofit organizations.
What’s next for the TUHH?
Although freely accessible articles cost readers nothing, the costs of publication are often high. These costs are financed from various sources and are usually covered by public funds provided by the universities. Before submitting an article, it is essential to clarify the financing; if in doubt, check with the university library to see if the costs can be covered by contracts or funds. In addition, you should actively consider whether a free publication option might be available.
The TUHH strives to provide an attractive funding offer for all university-affiliated researchers. In 2025, nearly 85,000 euros were funded through the University Library’s publication fund. Starting in 2026, the pool of eligible recipients was significantly expanded and the funding criteria were relaxed. For example, there is no longer a funding limit of one article per person per year. At the same time, the TUHH University Library was able to secure funding from the DFG to increase the size of the publication fund not only through the university’s own resources but also through third-party funding.
Our contributions to Open Access Week 2026
