Open Access is the free and immediate access to online scholarly research outputs. It encourages the free exchange of knowledge and resources in order to widen access and stimulate creativity. Open Access supports the free availability of publicly funded research. One of the themes of Ireland's National Action Plan for Open Research is to "aim for the implementation of a sustainable and inclusive course for achieving 100% open access to research publications by 2030" (National Action Plan for Open Research 2022 - 2030)
Green open access or self archiving means publishing in a traditional journal and depositing a shareable version of the document in a subject or institutional repository such as ATU's shared institutional repository Research@THEA. Most publishers allow the author's post print version of the article without the publishers formatting, typesetting, logos and pagination.
Gold open access means immediate access to an article in an online journal. Some journals contain only open access articles while others may offer a mixture of open and subscription content. The costs of publishing Gold open access are typically paid through article processing charges (APCs). This can be met by the author or authors' funding body or institution. Since the publication costs are covered, anyone may read the article without requiring a subscription.
DOAJ is a unique and extensive index of diverse open access journals from around the world, driven by a growing community, committed to ensuring quality content is freely available online for everyone.
Sherpa Romeo is an online resource that aggregates and presents publisher and journal open access policies from around the world. Every registered publisher or journal held in Romeo is carefully reviewed and analysed by our specialist team who provide summaries of self-archiving permissions and conditions of rights given to authors on a journal-by-journal basis where possible.
♦Diamond |
Immediate Open Access publication by the journal or book publisher without payment of a fee. Copyright may be retained by the author and permission barriers to share, or reuse are removed (generally a CC BY license) |
♦Bronze |
The content is free to read and/or download on the publisher’s website, but it is not published under an open license that permits sharing or reuse. The publisher can withdraw access at any time. This form of so-called ‘Open’ Access is often used to make content free to read for only a brief period, perhaps immediately after publication or in response to a catastrophic event such as the COVID-19 pandemic. However, since there is no open license, it is not, in fact, Open Access at all. |
♦Gold |
Gold open access means immediate access to an article in an online journal. Some journals contain only open access articles while others may offer a mixture of open and subscription content. The costs of publishing Gold open access are typically paid through article processing charges (APCs). This can be met by the author or authors' funding body or institution. Since the publication costs are covered, anyone may read the article without requiring a subscription.. |
♦Green |
Green open access or self archiving means publishing in a traditional journal and depositing a shareable version of the document in a subject or institutional repository such as ATU's shared institutional repository Research@THEA. Most publishers allow the author's post print version of the article without the publishers formatting, typesetting, logos and pagination. |
♦Black |
A publication that is not openly licensed, or for which reuse rights have not been granted, which is shared online illegally (e.g., via Sci-Hub) |
♦Hybrid |
'Hybrid' is usually applied to journals. A hybrid journal is a subscription journal in which some articles are made Open Access on payment of a fee. This model has attracted particular criticism for its expense and its vulnerability to abuses such as 'double-dipping'. Some book publishers offer chapter-level Open Access, particularly for collected and edited volumes. These are sometimes referred to as ‘hybrid books.’ |
Barnes.Lucy (2018)'Green, Gold, Diamond, Black - What does it all mean? OpenBook Publishers blog 22 October 2018. Available at:https://blogs.openbookpublishers.com/green-gold-diamond-black-what-does-it-all-mean/(Accessed 17 February 2023)
Creative Commons is an non profit organisation that offers an alternative system of licensing from the traditional form of copyright protection. It provides a free, simple and standardized way to grant copyright permissions for creative and academic publications. A Creative Commons license ensures proper attribution, and can allow others to copy, distribute and make use of those works.
"The Creative Commons copyright licenses and tools forge a balance inside the traditional “all rights reserved” setting that copyright law creates. Our tools give everyone from individual creators to large companies and institutions a simple, standardized way to grant copyright permissions to their creative work."
Read about licenses at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
Content from: http://libguides.st-andrews.ac.uk/openaccess/oalicences
