"There's no question, open access truly expands shared knowledge across scientific fields—it is the best path for accelerating multi-disciplinary breakthroughs in research."
— An open letter to the U.S. Congress signed by 25 Nobel Prize winners
A journal or article labeled "open access" in a Primo (catalog) search result or at an open-access site is intended to be freely accessible on the web for viewing and sharing, with no cost incurred by the viewer. However, that does not mean the item is necessarily copyright-free.
Authors and publishers can retain some rights to their open-access works. For instance, authors will often retain control over the integrity of their completed work and the right to be properly acknowledged and cited.
As with other open-access items or content objects, authors can choose to indicate more specifically what rights they retain or choose to give up. Sometimes they do this by using a Creative Commons license when publishing an open-access item. If the item displays no Creative Commons license or other such indicator, assume that the author or publisher still retains copyright, even if the item is allowed to be accessed for free.
Some open-access sites mandate that all contributors adopt specific open-access usage policies for consistency. For example, the DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals) requires all contributors to allow viewers to "read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of these articles," making clear the usage permissions.
The Public Library of Science (PLOS), a not-for-profit organization, was founded and built to advance science by transforming how scientific knowledge is shared and accessed. This includes a goal to be a catalytic publisher, focusing on openness throughout the research cycle and encouraging adoption of new practices by others.
PLOS journals in a variety of subject areas.
The Open Library of Humanities (OLH) is an award-winning publisher of humanities scholarship based at Birkbeck, University of London. They play a leading role within a growing ecosystem of scholar-led digital publishing that combines cutting-edge technology with community governance and not-for-profit principles. This has become known as diamond open access.
OLH journal - Accepting journal articles that fit into their Special Issues themes.
Open Library of Humanities (OLH) is an award-winning publisher of humanities scholarship based at Birkbeck, University of London. They play a leading role within a growTheing ecosystem of scholar-led digital publishing that combines cutting-edge technology with community governance and not-for-profit principles. This has become known as diamond open access.- Accepting journal articles that fit into their Special Issues themes.
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