HEAL-Link (Hellenic Academic Libraries Link), through its official Scholarly Communication website, supports researchers by providing structures, tools, and services that promote open, high-quality, and reliable scholarly communication. This platform offers information and resources on open access, research data, and support services for researchers.
Through national open access agreements with publishers (transformative agreements), the development of repositories, and the promotion of open data use, the visibility and accessibility of research output are enhanced. At the same time, guidelines are provided for the proper management of research results, compliance with funder requirements (such as Horizon Europe), as well as tools for impact assessment.
The Library of the University of Macedonia, as a member of HEAL-Link, has supported Open Access (OA) since its early stages, adopting policies and practices that strengthen both the Green and Gold routes of publishing. Specifically, for the Gold route, HEAL-Link has established agreements with publishers that allow the publication of articles in OA, with HEAL-Link partially or fully covering the publication costs. At the same time, it actively participates in initiatives and programs that promote OA.
Currently, OA agreements apply exclusively to publications in scholarly electronic journals. To make use of this option, the corresponding author must be a member of the HEAL-Link community (e.g., students, faculty members, laboratory teaching staff, or researchers), must declare their institution within the publisher’s system, and must use their institutional account during submission.
It is also recommended that the following phrase be included in the article’s Acknowledgements: “The publication of the article in OA mode was financially supported by HEAL-Link.” More information can be found in the Guide to Available Open Access Options on the Scholarly Communication website.
The agreements vary by publisher, so careful review of the applicable terms in each case is advised. Authors can search for journal titles or choose from journals with full waivers or discounts through the Index of Eligible Open Access Journals.