Free and Open Access Links: Open Access readings

This page describes and links to resources about the Open Access movement.

Open Access Directory
Open Access Information
Open Access Overview
Open Access Scholarly Information Sourcebook (OASIS)
Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA)
Open Access to Knowledge and Information: Scholarly Literature and Digital Library Initiatives
Open-Access.net
Open Access Week
Open Access - Opportunities and Challenges, a Handbook (2008)
Science Dissemination using Open Access
SPARC Open Access Newsletter
Current discussions

Open Access Directory
The Open Access Directory (OAD) is a compendium of simple factual lists about open access (OA) to science and scholarship, maintained by the OA community at large. By bringing many OA-related lists together in one place, OAD makes it easier for everyone to discover them and use them for reference.

Open Access Information
A project group consisting of experts from 6 Swedish universities and university colleges manage this website, aimed at researchers. It contains a number of education and information objects in English dealing with different aspects of Open Access. It's a good source of Open Access publishing information for those wanting to find out more about various issues in this area. It contains a number of training or information resources that partners (particularly libraries but not exclusively) could use in delivering services e.g. training sessions on Open Access information online.

Open Access Overview
This is an introduction to open access (OA) for those who are new to the concept. The author, Peter Suber,  hopes it's short enough to read, long enough to be useful, and organized to let you skip around and dive into detail only where you want detail. It doesn't cover every nuance or answer every objection. But for those who read it, it should cover enough territory to prevent the misunderstandings that delayed progress in the early days of Open Access.

Open Access Scholarly Information Sourcebook (OASIS)
OASIS aims to provide an authoritative ‘sourcebook' on Open Access, covering the concept, principles, advantages, approaches and means to achieving it. The site highlights developments and initiatives from around the world, with links to diverse additional resources and case studies. As such, it is a community-building as much as a resource-building exercise. Users are encouraged to share and download the resources provided, and to modify and customize them for local use. Open Access is evolving, and we invite the growing world-wide community to take part in this exciting global movement.

Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA)
OASPA offers a forum for bringing together the entire community of Open Access journal publishers.  Their mission is to represent the interests of Open Access (OA) journal publishers globally in all scientific, technical and scholarly disciplines. This mission will be carried out through exchanging information, setting standards, advancing models, advocacy, education, and the promotion of innovation.  Through a shared interest in developing appropriate business models, tools and standards to support OA publishing, OASPA can ensure a prosperous and sustainable future to the benefit of their members and the scholarly communities they serve.

Open Access to Knowledge and Information : Scholarly Literature and Digital Library Initiatives  (pdf 7.03MB)
The South Asia sub-region is now in the forefront of the Open Access movement within developing countries in the world, with India being the most prominent partner in terms of its successful Open Access and Digital Library initiatives. Institutional and policy frameworks in India also facilitate innovative solutions for increasing international visibility and accessibility of scholarly literature and documentary heritage in this country. This publication has its genesis in the recommendations and proceedings of UNESCO-supported international conferences and workshops.

open-access.net
The open-access.net platform aims to meet the growing demand for information on the subject of Open Access (OA). Our editorial team gathers information which is scattered across many sources and bundles it thematically for presentation to various target groups.

Open Access Week 18-24th October
Open Access WeekA global event, now in its 4th year, promoting Open Access as a new norm in scholarship and research.

Learn more about Open Access Week. Please join-up via the website to find out more about the Open Access movement, ask questions and share ideas. Use the following link to download promotional resources.

Join the INASP Open Access Group! A group to share Open Access activities organized by the INASP community and kindred organisations. We welcome contributions from any members interested in Open Access in developing and emerging countries.

Open Access - Opportunities and Challenges, a Handbook (2008)
A joint publication by the European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and the German Commission for UNESCO Science, Economy and Society (EUR 23459) This handbook presents the various views of major stakeholders and covers a wide range of issues relevant to open access, a very useful and timely contribution to the debate on open access.

Science Dissemination using Open Access
Difusion cientifica y las iniciativas de Acceso Abierto
This is an online compendium of selected literature on Open Access presented to increase the awareness of the potential of open publishing in general. The book aims to encourage decision makers in academia and research centres to adopt institutional and regional Open Access Journals and Archives to make their own scientific results public and fully searchable on the net. A collaborative effort between CERN (Switzerland) and ICTP (Italy) enabled by the support of INASP (UK), it has specific relevance to developing countries. It is available free to download in English (6.1MB) and Spanish (4.5MB).

SPARC Open Access Newsletter
The SPARC Open Access Newsletter (SOAN) is a monthly newsletter authored by Peter Suber and offering news and analysis of the open access movement the worldwide movement to disseminate scientific and scholarly research literature online, free of charge, and free of unnecessary licensing restrictions.

Current discussions
LibLicense List serv sometimes has discussion on Open Access issues.  Browse their archives at http://www.liblicense.org/discussion-forum/archives/