OpenCitations

OpenCitations provides access to global scholarly bibliographic and citation data for open scholarship. It publishes accurate and comprehensive metadata describing the world’s academic publications and the scholarly citations that link them, and preserves ongoing access by secure archiving. OpenCitations data is published under a Creative Commons CC0 Public Domain Waiver, and may be freely reused for any purpose, including commercial purposes.

OpenCitations services include:

• Datasets, the default search page
• Download, discover the data dumps of OpenCitations’ datasets
• Query data, use OpenCitations’ API to query its data

OpenCitations has been deemed essential open science infrastructure by the Global Sustainability Coalition for Open Science Services (SCOSS).

Accessibility statement

The Accessibility Statement for this database is not available yet - it is planned to be released in 2026. Further information on accessibility for this resource is below.

WCAG 3.0 / 2.2 / 2.1 compliant? Level of compliance (rating) AAA / AA?

Not yet. OpenCitations website has not been formally assessed or certified as compliant with the WCAG 2.1, 2.2, or 3.0. It follows some accessibility best practices which are consistent with the principles of WCAG 2.1 Level A or partial Level AA. However, several accessibility features are currently missing so, while the site has partial alignment with WCAG 2.1, it cannot be considered fully compliant at Level AA and Level AAA.

What is the maximum font size and does text re-flow when you enlarge the font?

The OpenCitations website uses a responsive web design and standard HTML text. When users enlarge the page using browser zoom (up to 200–400%), the text reflows correctly, and the layout adapts without significant loss of content or overlap. There is no built-in feature within the site to adjust the font size, but the browser’s native zoom and text enlargement tools work effectively.

Can a user change background/foreground colours or contrasts? How?

Yes. The website does not provide an internal option to change background or foreground colours, nor a “high contrast” or “dark mode” toggle. However, users can change colour and contrast settings through their browser or operating system accessibility settings. Extensions such as High Contrast or Dark Reader also work well.

Are there keyboard-only equivalents for all mouse actions? Where could I find a list? Are there short cut keys to reduce tabbing round links?

Basic keyboard navigation works, though it could be improved for full accessibility. Not all interactive components display a clear visual focus indicator, and some drop-down or dynamic sections may be less accessible by keyboard alone. No list is provided, and no shortcut keys are implemented to reduce tabbing.

Is text marked up so it can be navigated in a meaningful way (for example by heading level?

Yes.

Can text be selected and read by text-to-speech tools?

Yes, the website’s text can be selected and is compatible with standard text-to-speech and screen reader tools, although technical content may require additional formatting for full accessibility.

Are text descriptions available for all relevant graphics and images?

Not yet