Open access (OA) refers to the ability to freely access a scholarly article from anywhere in the world, without the need for a journal subscription or payment by the reader. OA materials are hosted in various places including: institutional, disciplinary and government repositories; pre-print archives; non-profit and for-profit journals that are either entirely OA or hybrid (some articles OA, others behind a paywall). Open access is not an indication of information quality; OA is fully compatible with peer-review, high quality editing and publishing.
Open Access variations See "Open Access colours: green, gold, diamond, hybrid and more" for brief explanations of each.
Mandates exist from some governmental and other entities that require results of research they fund to be published open access.
Open Access (OA) Fee Waivers or No Fee ("Read & Publish" Agreements, S2O, memberships funded by Waidner-Spahr Library)
The library subscriptions to these journal publisher packages include waivers of open access publication fees for most types of articles. A Dickinson faculty/staff member must be the corresponding/submitting author (please use your Dickinson email address when submitting your article), and the article must be accepted through the journal's established peer-review and editorial process. You should be prompted during the online submission process to confirm that you wish to publish OA and claim your fee waiver, or in some cases this will be offered to you in your notification of acceptance.
The "S2O" journals are those which charge no open access fees or fees to readers, and instead are funded by collective library subscription or support fees, including those paid by the Waidner-Spahr Library.
We will add to this list if more such agreements become available.
Questions? Contact Theresa Arndt, Assoc. Dean for Collections and Discovery (arndtt@dickinson.edu).
