An Introduction to Open Access

Timothy PetersDirector of Information ServicesCMU Libraries

What is Open Access?

“OA literature is digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.”

See Peter Suber’s overview is at http://legacy.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/overview.htm

What is the Purpose ofOpen Access?

The purpose of OA is to leverage the power of digital technology in the name of wider dissemination of information. Its purpose is not to punish or undermine traditional journals.

The Aims of Open Access

• Providing greater access to scholarly output and research results

• Leveraging technology to allow for wider dissemination of information

• Easier access for researchers and readers• Increased audience and greater

impact for authors• Lowering financial barriers to access

Factors Driving Open Access

• A desire to increase access to information• Slowness of information dissemination• Rising journal costs and flat library funding• A belief in public access to publicly funded

research• Dissatisfaction with the current

copyright model• Moral imperative

Green vs Gold OA

OA repositories ("green OA")•Typically a repository, either institutional or disciplinary•Authors archive their preprints and/or post-prints; a majority of journals permit this•Do not perform peer review, but simply make their contents freely available to the world•A form of self-archiving•Generally free of charge

Green vs Gold OA

OA journals ("gold OA") •Typically a journal•Perform peer review and then make the approved contents freely available to the world•Many charge publication fees (APCs)•Those with an interest in disseminating the content pay the production costs up front so access to readers is free of charge•Sometimes the author pays but many timesthe hosting institution or scholarlysociety pays the APC

A Changed Model of Publishing

Accepts submissions based on scientific rigor and the consistency of the argumentAppeal to audience, novelty not consideredPublish first, filter laterPost-publication peer review

A Changed Model of Publishing

Disciplinary repositories:

A Changed Model of Publishing

Self-archiving:

Benefits of Open Access

• Information is disseminated more quickly• Greater discoverability and access• Studies show a citation advantage over

articles behind paywalls• OA articles more frequently

viewed and downloaded

Benefits of Open Access

• Pushes against the negative economics of current scholarly publishing

• Retention of the author’s copyright

Myths About Open Access

• It is free• OA journals are predatory• Access to information is not a problem for

researchers, so why do we need OA?• OA journals are not peer reviewed• OA journals are less respected, prestigious• OA content is difficult to discover

Concerns About Open Access

• Do OA journals count toward tenure?• Hybrid model: double dipping?

Creative Commons

• A nonprofit organization that enables the sharing and use of creativity and knowledge

• Their copyright licenses provide a simple, standardized way to give the public permission to share and use your creative work

Research Grants and OA

Publicly funded research may have an OA mandate (Sherpa/Juliet)

How Can You “Go OA”?

• Post your preprints whenever possible• Use a Creative Commons license • Submit to open access journals• Don’t submit to or do editorial work for

toll-access journals• Learn more about open access• Learn more about alt-metrics

Thanks for Attending!

peter1t@cmich.edu