To overcome the problem of restricted access to journals, it is time to for a new model- it’s time for OPEN ACCESS. Here, instead of locking information behind price barriers, research can be made accessible to anyone who needs it, regardless of university affiliation, geographic location, or ability to pay.
This will ensure that the results of scholarly research are made available online immediately upon publication freely and removing barriers to scholarly and educational re-use. It recognises that while there are legitimate costs associated with formal publication, these can be effectively covered in ways that do not require toll barriers for users to access an article.
Open Access is made possible in a number of ways, including:
- Open-access journals that make their articles freely available at the time of publication
- Open digital repositories, where articles are deposited and can be indexed and accessed by anyone with an Internet connection
- Effectively managed copyright – authors are retaining the rights they need to ensure their articles can be accessed and used by the widest possible audience, and be published in the most prestigious venue
- Local, national and international policies that support Open Access to scholarly research results
To date, millions of articles are currently being made available via open-access repositories; and dozens of proposed and established policies from universities (the most recent University of California) and research funders are in play in support of Open Access. Notably, much more can still be done.
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References:
[1] The Directory of Open Access Journals
[2] “Dramatic Growth of Open Access,” Heather Morrison, 06/30/10
[3] Registry of Open Access Repository Material Archiving Policies (ROARMAP),
"Access Denied?" 