Open access publishing

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Open access publishing is the publication of material in such a way that it is available to all potential users without financial or other barrier. An open access publisher is a publisher producing such material. Many types of material can be published in this manner: scholarly journals, known specifically as open access journals, magazines and newsletters, e-text or other e-books–learned, literary, or recreational), music, fine arts, or any product of intellectual activity. Open access publishing is the most general term: Open access, when used without any qualification, generally refers to the content of scholarly research articles; in this context, non-open access distribution is called Toll access, or subscription access

1 manner of distribution
2 methods of financing
3 open access publishers
4 References
5 See also:
6 External links

[edit] manner of distribution

Almost always this material is provided over the Internet, and the appropriate definition of open access then becomes ...without financial or other barrier, other than access to the internet itself." but other forms of distribution are possible.The physical distribution of printed leaflets or newspapers is a form of open access publishing, although such material is only available locally. Similarly, ordinary commercial television and radio broadcasts can be considered such a form. There is a need for receiving equipment, but the necessary radios and televisions are found almost universally.

[edit] methods of financing

The most basic form of financing is by the individual producer of the material, who can pay for the printing of leaflet or the hosting of material on the Internet. The practicality of this depends on the nature of the material, but even in the past it has always been possibly for the wealthy to purchase the necessary printing services.

An alternative means of financing is through subsidy by a governmental or private institution. Common examples of these are public television, or the PubMed search service of the U.S. National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). Almost all small and large membership organizations have a newsletter of some sort, which is distributed without charge to the member, in print, electronically, or both. If the potential audience can be considered to be only these members, this can be considered open access; if it is of wider interest it is not, unless available free over the Internet.

Much open access material is supported by advertising, as with Google and similar information providers.

With respect to scholarly materials, there is a special arrangement where the production and distribution of the material is financed by the funder of the research being distributed.

[edit] open access publishers

Open access can be provided by traditionally-organized publishers, or under other arrangements. With respect to scholarly material, some distribution is carried out by locally organized and subsidized publishers; an example is the production of Annals of mathematics, produced and supported by the Princeton University Department of Mathematics and the Institute for Advanced Study. More normally it is a specialized publisher. Some open access publishers publish only open access material, such as PLoS; some publish open access journals as well as subscription-based material, such as BioMed Central (BMC). The term is also used to describe publishers that permit or encourage authors archiving of their work,