Open access (publishing)

Open access (publishing) is a set of principles and practices through which research outputs are distributed online, free of cost or other access barriers. It enables unrestricted access to and reuse of scholarly journal articles, theses, book chapters, and other academic works. This model contrasts with traditional subscription-based publishing, aiming to accelerate the dissemination of knowledge and increase its societal impact. The movement is supported by many research funders, academic institutions, and governmental bodies worldwide.

Definition and models

Open access is primarily defined by the removal of price and permission barriers to scholarly literature. The Budapest Open Access Initiative, a foundational declaration, outlines this principle. Common models include gold open access, where the final published version is freely available on the publisher's platform, often involving an article processing charge paid by the author or their institution. In the green open access model, authors self-archive a version of their work in an institutional repository or a subject-based repository like arXiv or PubMed Central. Other variants include diamond or platinum open access, where journals publish without charging fees to readers or authors, and hybrid open access, where individual articles in a subscription journal are made open access for a fee.

History and development

The concept gained formal traction with the launch of the arXiv preprint server at Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1991 by Paul Ginsparg. The pivotal Budapest Open Access Initiative in 2002, followed by the Bethesda Statement on Open Access Publishing and the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities, established core definitions and goals. Early pioneering open access publishers include the Public Library of Science, founded in 2000, and BioMed Central, established in 2000. The development of the Open Archives Initiative and its Protocol for Metadata Harvesting was crucial for enabling interoperability between digital repositories.

Motivations and benefits

Proponents argue that open access maximizes the return on public investment in research by ensuring findings funded by agencies like the National Institutes of Health or the European Research Council are publicly accessible. It aims to increase the visibility, readership, and potential citation impact of research, particularly benefiting scholars in the Global South and at institutions with limited library budgets. Other key motivations include accelerating the pace of scientific discovery, supporting text and data mining for innovation, and fulfilling the ethical imperative that knowledge derived from public funding should be a public good.

Funding and sustainability

A central challenge is developing sustainable business models for open access journals. The prevalent model for gold open access involves article processing charges, often covered by research grants or institutional funds. Organizations like the Wellcome Trust and Research Councils UK often include such costs in their grants. Alternative models include institutional subsidies, membership schemes like the one used by the Open Library of the Humanities, and crowdfunding. Concerns about "double-dipping," where publishers receive income from both subscriptions and open access fees, are associated with the hybrid model. The sustainability of diamond open access often relies on volunteer labor, institutional hosting, or support from organizations like OPERAS.

Policies and mandates

Many research funders and universities have implemented open access policies requiring grantees and faculty to make their publications openly available. Prominent mandates include the policy from the National Institutes of Health and the Plan S initiative cOAlition S, a consortium of national funders including Science Europe. Universities like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California system have strong institutional policies. These mandates often specify embargo periods for green open access or require publication in compliant journals. Registry services like the SHERPA/RoMEO database track publisher policies regarding self-archiving.

Impact and reception

Studies, including those by Steven Harnad, have suggested a citation advantage for open access articles, though the magnitude is debated. The model has been widely adopted in disciplines like particle physics, astronomy, and sections of the life sciences. Reception has been mixed; while supported by many librarians, activists like Peter Suber, and organizations such as SPARC, it has faced criticism from some traditional publishers and learned societies concerned about revenue. Critiques also focus on the potential for article processing charges to create new barriers for authors from less-well-funded institutions and the rise of predatory publishers exploiting the author-pays model.

Category:Academic publishing Category:Open access (publishing)