What is Open Access?
Open Access refers to the international and academic movement that strives for free and online access to scientific information, such as publications and data. The traditional subscription model, which required readers or libraries to pay a monthly or yearly subscription in order to access academic publications, is taken over by the Open Access-model.
Benefits of Open Access publishing
Open Access publishing has various benefits for researchers and society:
Open access to publicly funded research. Research that is paid for by the government should be available for everyone. Society should not need to pay for access to the research that they fund.
Increased visibility. When research output is published openly and free of charge, it has the potential to reach more people in the scholarly community and the larger public than that published behind a paywall.
Wider readership and citations. Open access publications are more likely to be cited, leading to increased recognition and impact for researchers and their work.
Helps to disseminate knowledge. New knowledge is discovered faster when it is openly available. Removal of copyright barriers makes it easier for society to build on this knowledge.
Promotes equality and inclusivity. Open access eliminates financial barriers, making scholarly resources accessible to individuals from diverse backgrounds and institutions, promoting equality in education and research.
Ensures access in the future. Publications that are archived and made available in secure open repositories will be accessible also on the future.
Allows authors keep the rights to their own work. When publishing open access authors usually keep the rights to use their own work.
Sources:
Open Access (Hanze Library). https://libguides.hanze.nl/open-access-ENG
Open Access – what, why and how (University of Bergen Library). https://www.uib.no/en/ub/79535/open-access-what-why-and-how#quality-controlled-open-access-journals
Last updated: 13/02/2024
