There are many arguments for the necessity of open access, scholarship that is freely available online; however, many of these arguments do not apply to art scholarship – is it then still necessary to change the publishing model? I argue that it is; the high price of access to traditional publications closes art scholarship to all but privileged Western academics. Open access is key to creating a globally integrated community of art scholars and reengaging the public in art discourse. Librarians can help facilitate a scholarship that is accessible to all.

Broadening access to the wealth of material held within the archives of galleries and museums has been a long-term goal for many arts institutions, with large-scale digitization projects gathering pace. Concerns regarding copyright, however, have often been cited1 as a barrier to sharing and reuse, and a point of confl ict between user and creator communities. Tate is currently embarked upon the digitization and public release of 52,000 items within its archives including, where possible, releasing material under a Creative Commons licence. What makes the project's scope unique is that the vast majority of the material is still within copyright, providing valuable insights into how the law, Creative Commons and differing community agendas can interact productively to secure public access whilst still respecting rights holders. The article seeks to demonstrate that, for all the importance of legal considerations, relationship management is key not only to best practice but to securing the goals of Open Access.

Since 2006 Heidelberg University Library has been encouraging the idea of Open Access in the field of art history. Today, as part of the Specialized Information Service for Art it offers art historians from all over the world, through the platform arthistoricum.net, three different services for e-publishing in Open Access: (1) ARTDok – a digital repository for single publications and review articles, (2) ARTJournals – a publication management platform for e-journals and (3) ART-Books – a platform for monographs and edited volumes. Apart from providing scholars with software to help them publish professional peer-reviewed open access articles, the library also supports art historians in the transition from print to e-publications by offering them the technical infrastructure as well as organisational support. The service at Heidelberg University Library has shifted towards engaging more closely with academics and setting into practice their individual needs, leaving them to focus on research and contents. These newly developed processes based on a collaborative effort of art librarians and scholars place an important emphasis on the accessibility and provision of art historical research data in Open Access.

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have transformed the Higher Education sector world-wide, educating diverse audiences through Open Access content and resources. Very few have been integrated into the museum experience; however there is signifi cant potential for MOOCs to revolutionise access to the collections of art museums and galleries. This article presents empirical evidence drawing from a review of literature, and provides a case study into copyright challenges encountered using art images and video in a MOOC environment. Specific examples have been selected from the FutureLearn/ Monash University Creative Coding MOOC launched in June 2014, discussing the role that an Art Librarian plays in this process. This will be of interest to a broader museum and gallery audience, embarking on provision of online educative programs for users.

How is artistic research and practice output within academia to be quality assessed and made available open access on the internet? Is it possible to integrate artistic research within a framework of bibliometrics, to allocate research funding at an institution? At the University of Gothenburg, a model for addressing these questions has been implemented at the Faculty of Fine, Applied and Performing Arts, through close collaboration between faculty representatives and the University library. The institutional repository of the university now holds a growing collection of openly available output from artistic research and practice.

Although there is a lot of digitised cultural heritage content online, it is still incredibly difficult to source good material to reuse, or material that you are allowed to reuse, in creative projects. What can institutions do to help people who want to invest their time in making and creating using digitised historical items as inspiration and source material?