This book brings together many of the worlds leading open access experts to provide an analysis of the key strategic, technical and economic aspects on the topic of open access. Open access to research papers is perhaps a defining debate for publishers, librarians, university managers and many researchers within the international academic community. Starting with a description of the current situation and its shortcomings, this book then defines the varieties of open access and addresses some of the many misunderstandings to which the term sometimes gives rise. There are chapters on the technologies involved, researchers, perspectives, and the business models of key players. These issues are then illustrated in a series of case studies from around the world, including the USA, UK, Netherlands, Australia and India. Open access is a far-reaching shift in scholarly communication, and the book concludes by going beyond todays debate and looking at the kind of research world that would be possible with open access to research outputs. Chapters by leading experts in the field, including Professor Jean-Claude Gu餯n, Clifford Lynch, Stevan Harnad, Peter Suber, Charles Bailey, Jr., Alma Swan, Fred Friend, John Shipp and Leo Waaijers Discussion of open access from a wide range of perspectives Country case studies, summarising open access in the USA, UK Netherlands, Australia and India

This book contains a plethora of different viewpoints and research results from all over the world, bringing them together to provide a global perspectiveon the various issues that comprise "open access". Topics include copyright, best practices and management, open access and society, repositories, journals, publications and publishing, services and technology, quality andevaluation. The book offers a holistic focus on open access and can serve as a useful learning tool for students and professionals.

Open Access and the Humanities is essential reading for all who work in the humanities. It gives a clear summary of the histories of open, online access to research, the specific challenges and benefits to the humanities, and the controversies that have raged about scholarly communication in a digital age. This title is also available as Open Access via Cambridge Books Online.

Libraries are places of learning and knowledge creation. Over the last two decades, digital technology—and the changes that came with it—have accelerated this transformation to a point where evolution starts to become a revolution. The wider Open Science movement, and Open Access in particular, is one of these changes and is already having a profound impact. Under the subscription model, the role of libraries was to buy or license content on behalf of their users and then act as gatekeepers to regulate access on behalf of rights holders. In a world where all research is open, the role of the library is shifting from licensing and disseminating to facilitating and supporting the publishing process itself. This requires a fundamental shift in terms of structures, tasks, and skills. It also changes the idea of a library’s collection. Under the subscription model, contemporary collections largely equal content bought from publishers. Under an open model, the collection is more likely to be the content created by the users of the library (researchers, staff, students, etc.), content that is now curated by the library. Instead of selecting external content, libraries have to understand the content created by their own users and help them to make it publicly available—be it through a local repository, payment of article processing charges, or through advice and guidance. Arguably, this is an overly simplified model that leaves aside special collections and other areas. Even so, it highlights the changes that research libraries are undergoing, changes that are likely to accelerate as a result of initiatives such as Plan S. This Special Issue investigates some of the changes in today’s library services that relate to open access.

In an information and knowledge society, access to information and knowledge is a basic human right, making equitable and fair access to information and knowledge paramount. Open Access (OA) plays a huge role in addressing inequities as well as broad-based and inclusive scientific progress. On the surface, the number of publications discussing OA issues from various angles are on the rise. However, what is missing is a comprehensive assessment of the extent of OA implementation and a discussion of how to proceed in integrating OA issues from various perspectives. The Handbook of Research on the Global View of Open Access and Scholarly Communications articulates OA concepts and issues while demystifying the state-of-the-art knowledge domain in the areas of OA and scholarly communications from diverse perspectives as well as implications for the information and knowledge society. Covering topics such as ethics, copyright challenges, and open access initiatives, this book is a dynamic resource for publishers, librarians, higher education administrators, policymakers, students and educators of higher education, researchers, and academicians.