The main concept behind Open Access is providing free, unrestricted access to scholarly research online. This means patients can access quality information about their medical issues and treatments, that students have access to the research they need to get a quality information. It means researchers can access the best scholarship in the field as soon as it is available. Providing Open Access to scholarly research makes it more inclusive, rather than excluding access to those who can’t pay.
Additionally, Open Access encourages the dissemination of scholarly research. A recent study published in the PLoS ONE found a distinct citation advantage for authors whose articles were open access, either through open access journals or open access repositories. This is beneficial to authors since it makes their scholarship more widely read, but also increases the reach and impact of scholarship.
ASU Libraries support Open Access through a variety of ways. For example:
- We are members of BioMed Central, SpringerOpen, the Public Library of Science, and Nucleic Acids Research. Our membership provides discounts to ASU authors whose articles are accepted by these publishers.
- We’re a member of the SCOAP3 Consortium
- We provide assistance for compliance with the NIH Public Access Policy
- We’ve compiled a LibGuide about Open Access and other Scholarly Communication issues, including information about author’s rights and publishing agreements.
- We’re creating a digital repository and partnering with other departments on campus to provide open access to their materials, such as ASU Theses & Dissertations, and The Digital Archaeological Record (tDAR).
Want more information about Open Access?
- Listen to last year’s podcast: Open Access @ ASU
- Videos
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