Library Orientation for Nursing

Overview of Open Access Publishing 

Open Access (OA) literature is digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions. What makes it possible is the internet and the consent of the author or copyright-holder.

Some characteristics of open access journals:

• Free of charge
• Free of most copyright and licensing restrictions
• Author or copyright-holder gives consent to share works; this may allow you to retain copyright more than traditional publishing would
• Need internet to access to view articles
• article is often available online quicker than traditional publishing
• there is often a charge to the article's authors.  Often called APC (Author Processing Charges) this can cost thousands of dollars.  Check the journals "Information for Authors" page for details.

Author Rights

Authors that publish in an open access journal  may retain the full copyrights. As the author, you may be able to decide what rights you want to keep and give away when you complete the copyright transfer form.

Keeping the copyright to your work allows you to:

• use your work in a course pack;
• place copies on print or electronic reserves;
• upload a copy to your website;
• or distribute a copy to your colleagues.

Creative Commons Licenses

Creative Commons copyright licenses give authors an easy way to grant others permission to use their work. For more information on Creative Common Licenses visit their website at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/