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This study aims to investigate the role of the Finnish university libraries in facilitating open access (OA). Empirical data was collected during autumn of 2015 by interviewing employees responsible for activities related to open access in academic libraries. The interviews give a very clear picture of the role and the tasks of the Finnish university libraries in supporting open access. Firstly, the academic libraries operate as experts and consultants in open access practices. Secondly, work related to open access in the university libraries is strongly related to self-archiving (green OA) and institutional repositories maintained by the libraries. Thirdly, the university libraries could participate more actively in supporting open access but their potential to promote open access is tied to other actors – this describes the limited power of the academic libraries as actors in enabling open access. Through their services libraries are credible open access advocates but they need backing from open access decision-makers, in particular public authorities and research funders.