Open Access Button

Open Access Button
Name	Open Access Button
Developer	SPARC (organization), Medicine for Malaria Venture, World Health Organization
Released	2013
Platform	Web browser

Open Access Button is a browser-based tool that helps users find open access versions of academic journals and research articles, developed in collaboration with SPARC (organization), Medicine for Malaria Venture, and World Health Organization. The tool is designed to increase access to scientific research and promote open access publishing, as advocated by Peter Suber, Lawrence Lessig, and Aaron Swartz. By providing an easy-to-use interface, the Open Access Button aims to facilitate access to knowledge and information for researchers, students, and scholars at Harvard University, Stanford University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The project is supported by PLOS (organization), DOAJ, and Creative Commons.

Introduction

The Open Access Button is an innovative tool that addresses the issue of access to knowledge and information inequality, as highlighted by Julian Assange, Richard Stallman, and Jimmy Wales. By leveraging the power of crowdsourcing and community engagement, the Open Access Button enables users to report paywalls and access restrictions on research articles, as experienced by Tim Berners-Lee, Vint Cerf, and Larry Wall. This data is then used to create a database of open access versions of academic journals and research articles, in collaboration with arXiv, PubMed, and Google Scholar. The Open Access Button has been recognized by The Guardian, The New York Times, and Nature (journal) as a valuable resource for researchers, students, and scholars at University of California, Berkeley, University of Oxford, and University of Cambridge.

History

The Open Access Button was launched in 2013 by David Carroll, Joseph McArthur, and a team of developers and advocates from SPARC (organization), Medicine for Malaria Venture, and World Health Organization. The project was inspired by the Budapest Open Access Initiative, Bethesda Statement on Open Access Publishing, and Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities, which aimed to promote open access to scientific research and knowledge. The Open Access Button has since become a popular tool among researchers, students, and scholars at Columbia University, University of Chicago, and California Institute of Technology, with support from National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, and Wellcome Trust.

Functionality

The Open Access Button is a simple and easy-to-use tool that can be installed as a browser extension on Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari (web browser). When a user encounters a paywall or access restriction on a research article, they can click the Open Access Button to search for an open access version of the article, using DOAJ, PubMed Central, and arXiv. The tool also allows users to report paywalls and access restrictions, which helps to create a database of open access versions of academic journals and research articles, in collaboration with PLOS (organization), BioMed Central, and Hindawi. The Open Access Button has been integrated with ORCID, ResearchGate, and Academia.edu to facilitate open access to research profiles and publications.

Impact

The Open Access Button has had a significant impact on the open access movement, as recognized by Peter Suber, Lawrence Lessig, and Aaron Swartz. By providing an easy-to-use tool for finding open access versions of research articles, the Open Access Button has helped to increase access to scientific research and knowledge for researchers, students, and scholars at University of Michigan, University of Washington, and University of Texas at Austin. The tool has also helped to raise awareness about the issue of access to knowledge and information inequality, as highlighted by Julian Assange, Richard Stallman, and Jimmy Wales. The Open Access Button has been featured in The Guardian, The New York Times, and Nature (journal) as a valuable resource for researchers, students, and scholars at University of California, Los Angeles, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Criticisms_and_Limitations

While the Open Access Button has been widely praised for its innovative approach to promoting open access to scientific research and knowledge, it has also faced some criticisms and limitations, as discussed by Tim Berners-Lee, Vint Cerf, and Larry Wall. Some critics have argued that the tool is not effective in finding open access versions of all research articles, particularly those published in hybrid journals or subscription-based journals, as experienced by researchers at University of Pennsylvania, University of Southern California, and Duke University. Others have raised concerns about the sustainability of the project and the potential for bias in the database of open access versions of academic journals and research articles, as highlighted by National Academy of Sciences, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The Open Access Button has also faced challenges in terms of scalability and usability, as recognized by Google, Microsoft, and Amazon (company).

Future_Developments

Despite these challenges, the Open Access Button continues to evolve and improve, with new features and functionalities being added regularly, as announced by SPARC (organization), Medicine for Malaria Venture, and World Health Organization. The project is exploring new ways to integrate with other tools and platforms, such as ORCID, ResearchGate, and Academia.edu, to facilitate open access to research profiles and publications. The Open Access Button is also working to expand its database of open access versions of academic journals and research articles, in collaboration with PLOS (organization), DOAJ, and Creative Commons. As the open access movement continues to grow and evolve, the Open Access Button is likely to play an increasingly important role in promoting access to knowledge and information for researchers, students, and scholars at University of California, San Diego, University of Florida, and University of Georgia. The project has been recognized by The Guardian, The New York Times, and Nature (journal) as a valuable resource for researchers, students, and scholars at University of California, Irvine, University of Utah, and University of Arizona.

Category:Open access