Funds for book processing charges

The following criteria apply to members of the LUH, the TIB as well as to NiedersachsenOPEN.

Researchers affiliated to an institute of the Leibniz Association should access the Leibniz Open Access Publishing Funds.

General information

At the time of application or before funding is approved, a signed publishing contract must not yet exist. Binding terms and conditions of the publisher must also not yet have been accepted (e.g. by confirming terms and conditions when sending the manuscript).

Funds are available for publishing services linked to the production and distribution of open access books (quality assurance, creating the digital version, distributing the open access publication). The fund does not cover other costs such as colour charges, print or binding.

We will reimburse book processing charges (BPC) according to the actual services provided by the publisher and up to a maximum of the actual costs incurred.

Authors may combine the funding with additional funding sources.

Publication Requirements

• Funds are provided for previously unpublished monographs, edited volumes, and scientific editions as well as chapters in open access books.
• The manuscript has passed a system of quality management approved within its discipline (peer-review, editors review, editorial work etc.)
• Outstanding doctoral theses qualify for funding from NiedersachsenOPEN (requirements: “summa cum laude” or a written recommendation from the faculty or department.)
• Doctoral theses originating from LUH must be graded at least "magna cum laude".
• Publications must acknowledge funding from NiedersachsenOPEN upon publication: "We acknowledge the financial support of NiedersachsenOPEN, the Open Access Publishing Fund of Lower Saxony."
• The institutional affiliation of the authors or editors must be clearly indicated in the publication. Please check the publication guidelines of your institute.

Open Access

• All components of the funded work must be permanently accessible worldwide at no cost to readers and without any legal or technical restrictions or barriers.
• The open access book must be published at the same time as or prior to any parallel version. The publication will be clearly marked as an open access publication, both on the publisher’s website and in the print version.

Rights

• Authors and editors give licenses to the publisher on a non-exclusive basis. Authors retain their copyright.
• The book must be published under the Creative Commons License CC BY or CC-BY-SA.

Requirements for the publisher

• The publisher should be listed in the Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB).
• The publisher should follow the "Quality standards for Open Access books" (german) of AG Universitätsverlage.
• The publisher provides detailed information on services and rights transfer and a transparent calculation of costs.
• The publisher’s website provides detailed information on the quality assurance process.

Funding Application

• Eligible for funding are members of Leibniz Universität Hannover (LUH), Technische Informationsbibliothek (TIB) as well as researchers affiliated to one of Lower Saxony’s universities, research institutes, archives or museums. Scientists publishing on topics with strong connection to Lower Saxony (i. e. history, society, economy) are eligible likewise. 
• The applying author / editor is responsible for the payment of the book processing charge and has an ORCiD (Open Researcher and Contributor ID).
• Accepted funds are available for 12 months. If the book has not been published within this period, a new application for funding must be submitted.

Application form

Please use the online form to apply for funding.