Since 2021, the Graduate Institute has agreements with major publishers that make it easier for researchers to publish open access (OA) articles. They have taken advantage of this opportunity and the proportion of OA articles has risen sharply. But a detailed analysis shows that the path taken may be unsustainable, and that most researchers are still neglecting simple ways to make their research accessible.

Something that makes our colleague Catherine Brendow cringe as an open access publication librarian: researchers contacting her because their SNF-funded article has just been published behind a paywall and asking me “What can I do now?” Unfortunately, we don’t have a magic wand. If you plan ahead (and sometimes opt for an alternative journal), the process will be much smoother.