Schnell, weltweit frei zugänglich und mit zusätzlichen Daten: Die Zeitschrift Archäologische Informationen erscheint im Open Access mit Early Views

Abstract

The 2013 volume of Archäologische Informationen, the journal published by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ur- und Frühgeschichte  e. V. (DGUF), is breaking new ground - the journal is now published in Open Access with an Early-View edition in addition to the print issue; at the same time there is the option to supplement an article with archaeological data. An established, high-circulation and national specialist journal has thus taken the steps necessary as a result of the changes currently taking place in the  media, implemented the demands made by those responsible for the national and European science policy and research funding, and opened up a modern publication possibility with global impact for the discipline of prehistory and early history in Germany. As one of the first in the discipline to introduce Open Access and the option of Open Data at an early stage and across the board, the publishers provide a model for other archaeological specialist journals as well. They want to encourage broad reflection on how academic and editorial quality can be maintained and improved under the current framework conditions. Without a fundamental makeover of publication culture, the Humanities would become decoupled from the standards and internationality of the now dominating natural sciences at an even faster rate – a trend which is neither natural nor
necessary. The shift to Open Access also paves the way for archaeology in particular to again be more strongly anchored in  society, whose considerable interest in archaeology is to a large extend ignored by current academic publications. The report written by one of the editors of Archäologische Informationen explains the objectives, modalities and framework conditions of the now completed makeover.