In order to make the changes and opportunities in scholarly communication work, it is vital that the material is available on the Internet; digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.

What does Open Access mean?

Open Access provides the means to maximise the visibility, and thus the uptake and use, of research outputs. Open Access is the immediate, online, free availability of research outputs without the severe restrictions on use commonly imposed by publisher copyright agreements. It concerns the outputs that scholars normally give away free to be published – peer-reviewed journal articles, conference papers and datasets of various kinds.

There are two main roads to provide Open Access:

• Green road to Open Access through repositories and/or Self-archiving
• Golden road to Open Access with Open Access jounals. Read more...

Open Access to data
Because the organisation and use of data via data centres and data sharing is becoming more and more important for research, it is essential that not only publications but also research data be openly accessible. Read more...

Pros and cons of Open Access
Overview of the pros and cons of Open Access and the many misunderstandings. Read more...

Business models
It still costs money to publish Open Access content and make it available online. New business models are necessary. Read more...

Copyright issues
As in traditonal scholarly publishing, there are numerous copyright issues to consider when implementing Open Access. But practical tools have developed. Read more...