What is Open Access?
Open access seeks to make scholarly materials such as published and unpublished articles, manuscripts, working papers, conference proceedings, datasets, and creative works available to the public.
Open access literature is usually defined as "digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions" (Suber, 2008).
It's made possible by the distribution power of the internet and the consent of the author or copyright-holder (Suber, 2008).
Open access materials have been reported to be downloaded more than traditionally published materials (Davis et al, 2008), and provide more opportunities for easier collaboration among researchers. In some disciplines, material is cited more than restricted (non-open access) materials (Lawrence, 2001).
Beginning in October 2012 Johnson & Wales Library will participate in the International Open Access Week program. Visit the Open Access Week event page for more details.
OA Resources
- A Very Brief Introduction to Open AccessBy one of the foremost experts on the subject, Peter Suber.
- Create ChangeOffers practical ways to look out for your own interests as a researcher.
- National Institutes of Health (NIH) Public Access Policy MandateIncludes "how to" guide, information on author rights.
- Open Access DirectoryFacts, FAQs, models, policies, blogs, resources, and more relating to open access.
- SPARC Open Access NewsletterA monthly newsletter on open access issues.
- Students for Free Culture (SFC)International student organization promoting public interest in intellectual property and communications technology policy.
- The Open Access Scholarly Information Sourcebook (OASIS)Concepts, principles, approaches, and practicalities of implementing open access.
- The Right to ResearchInformation from SPARC for student advocates of open access.
Open Access Options at JWU
ScholarsArchive@JWU is an open access digital repository for scholarly materials and creative works. ScholarsArchive@JWU provides many tools for open access scholarly communication, including support for:
- Open access, peer reviewed e-journal creation and publishing
- Conference and symposium content management and archiving, including online "Call for Papers" and peer review functionalities
- Open access publishing for JWU schools, colleges, research centers, departments, and libraries
- Digital copies of JWU Graduate School Dissertations and Thesis
The ScholarsArchive@JWU coordinator and subject specialist librarians strive to build new partnerships with faculty, departments, research centers, and staff to collect and publish new content. Please visit ScholarsArchive@JWU to find out more.
Current Literature: Open Access and the Citation Advantage
Donovan, James M., and Watson, Carol A. "Citation Advantage of Open Access Legal Scholarship" Law Library Journal 103.4 (2011): 553-573.
Fister, B. (2011). The value of doing research – and sharing it. Inside Higher Ed. [Blog]. Retrieved from http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/value-doing-research-and-sharing-it
Gargouri Y, Hajjem C, Larivière V, Gingras Y, Carr L, et al. (2010) Self-Selected or Mandated, Open Access Increases Citation Impact for Higher Quality Research. PLoS ONE 5(10): e13636. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0013636
Xia, J., and Nakanishi, K. (2012). Self-selection and the citation advantage of open access articles. Online Information Review 36(1), 40- 41. Retrieved from http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=17004555
