What is open access?

Open Access is broadly understood as scholarly literature, largely based on the work that is published in peer-reviewed journals, that is digital, online, and free of charge for anyone with an internet connection to use.

Open access seeks to take advantage of the reduced distribution costs associated with online publishing, while shifting the remaining costs away from the end user by using one or more alternative ways to finance the considerable costs of production.

Why open access?

The rationale for open access to scholarly material is grounded in the belief that university based research and scholarship represent a public good which freely draws on the work of others for its production and will in turn be freely used by others to build upon that knowledge. This is especially the case for work produced with public funds, where there is a legitimate expectation that having underwritten the majority of the research costs, the public should freely access its results.

Open access maximizes the scholar's readership and research impact since open access literature is more highly cited. It also democratizes the diffusion of knowledge, particularly for researchers and students working in developing countries. By removing the particular financial barriers associated with journal subscriptions, electronic information can fulfill the promise it holds to make knowledge more accessible throughout the world, helping to reduce the digital divide between rich and poor countries.

In March 2006, the general assembly of the members of the Federation adopted a position on open access which features the following principles:

• The Federation supports the principle of open access.
• Open access must be promoted, incremental and flexible, not mandated.
• The scholarly contribution of open access and self-archived research must be better measured and recognized.
• The Federation will undertake education and resource development to assist scholars and associations in adopting best practices for open access.
• The financial viability of associations and journals must be assured in the transition toward open access.
• The Federation will encourage publishers to adopt policies that support self archiving.
• Digitization is necessary for greater access to scholarship.
• The Federation supports the development of international standards for metadata.