Open access
The National Library of Sweden is tasked with promoting and coordinating open access to scholarly publications. The aim is for publications to be freely available online under an open license, so that anyone can read, reuse and disseminate research results.
Open access is important for society as a whole. When research results are made available quickly, researchers and others can validate and build on previous findings. Research takes place not only at universities, but also in industry and in the public sector at both national and regional levels – where there is also a strong need for open access.
The government's vision
The national vision for open science is that scholarly publications that are the result of publicly funded research should be made available with immediate open access. For research data, the transition should be fully implemented by 2026.
The latest government bill, Research and Innovation for the Future, Curiosity and Benefit (2024/25:60)
External link, opens in new window., states that the national vision needs to be achieved over the next four years, and that the responsibility lies with all actors in the research system.
Open access is one of the building blocks of open science, which is about transparency in all areas of research. The National Library (Kungliga biblioteket, KB) was commissioned by the government to develop national guidelines for open science. They were presented in January 2024. In the 2024 bill, the government states that the implementation of the national guidelines should be monitored regularly and in a coordinated manner, to promote a holistic approach and increase efficiency in realising the national vision.
Coordinating open access
The government's instruction to the National Library includes coordinating the work for open access to scholarly publications in Sweden. This assignment is described in the instructions as follows:
The National Library of Sweden shall coordinate, monitor and promote collaboration in the work for open access to scholarly publications and each year publish a report with a combined mapping, analysis and assessment of the national work on open access to scholarly publications.
Annual reports
The National Library regularly compiles statistics on the development of open access articles published by Swedish research organisations. The statistics show the total number of open access articles as well as the distribution by subject area and institution.
The National Library also reports to the government annually on the coordination assignment. The report provides an overall picture of the current situation regarding the transition to an open access publishing system and presents the areas that the National Library has identified as particularly prioritised in the continued national work with open access to scholarly publications.
Read the latest report (in Swedish)
More about open access and open
science from KB
- Explore Publicera - the national platform for Swedish scholarly open access journals
Opens in new window. - Search in Swepub – a single entry point to scientific publishing in Sweden
- Learn about total expenditures for open access publishing in Sweden
- Watch recordings and webinars about open science on KB Play
External link.