A concise introduction to the basics of open access, describing what it is (and isn't) and showing that it is easy, fast, inexpensive, legal, and beneficial. The Internet lets us share perfect copies of our work with a worldwide audience at virtually no cost. We take advantage of this revolutionary opportunity when we make our work "open access": digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions. Open access is made possible by the Internet and copyright-holder consent, and many authors, musicians, filmmakers, and other creators who depend on royalties are understandably unwilling to give their consent. But for 350 years, scholars have written peer-reviewed journal articles for impact, not for money, and are free to consent to open access without losing revenue. In this concise introduction, Peter Suber tells us what open access is and isn't, how it benefits authors and readers of research, how we pay for it, how it avoids copyright problems, how it has moved from the periphery to the mainstream, and what its future may hold. Distilling a decade of Suber's influential writing and thinking about open access, this is the indispensable book on the subject for researchers, librarians, administrators, funders, publishers, and policy makers.

Open access publishing can be used as a strategic tool to avail access to information and achieve universal literacy. Open access has gained importance over the past 15 years by making knowledge available to all, without any barrier of affordability or restrictions on using this knowledge to inform and develop. Open access contributes to scientific research excellence, disseminates research results to a wider community, and promotes multi-disciplinary and collaborative research. Issues of sustainable development and open access are major concerns in librarianship and information management, particularly as the international library and information management community is focusing on how to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals. Open Access Implications for Sustainable Social, Political, and Economic Development is a pivotal reference source that provides an understanding of the concept of open access within the context of social, political, and economic development and deliberates the critical issues and challenges that face the implementation of open access and its impact on the global economy and sustainable development. While highlighting a broad range of topics including digital scholarship, open data, and ethics, this book is ideally designed for librarians, information science professionals, government officials, policymakers, academicians, researchers, and students.

Academic libraries routinely struggle to afford access to expensive journals, and patrons may not be able to obtain every scholarly paper they need. Is Open Access (OA) the answer?

Plan S for shock: the open access initiative that changed the face of global research This is the story of open access publishing - why it matters now, and for the future. In a world where information has never been so accessible, and answers are available at the touch of a fingertip, we are hungrier for the facts than ever before - something the Covid-19 crisis has brought to light. And yet, paywalls put in place by multi-billion dollar publishing houses are still preventing millions from accessing quality, scientific knowledge - and public trust in science is under threat. On 4 September 2018, a bold new initiative known as 'Plan S' was unveiled, kickstarting a world-wide shift in attitudes towards open access research. For the first time, funding agencies across continents joined forces to impose new rules on the publication of research, with the aim of one day making all research free and available to all. What followed was a debate of global proportions, as stakeholders asked: Who has the right to access publicly-funded research? Will it ever be possible to enforce change on a multi-billion dollar market dominated by five major players? Here, the scheme's founder, Robert-Jan Smits, makes a compelling case for Open Access, and reveals for the first time how he set about turning his controversial plan into reality - as well as some of the challenges faced along the way. In telling his story, Smits argues that the Covid-19 crisis has exposed the traditional academic publishing system as unsustainable.