The current digital age has opened up unprecedented opportunities for the dissemination of knowledge. One much debated way of sharing information, and in particular peer-reviewed academic publications, is open access. “Open Access” refers to free access to scientific and, increasingly, other academic publications over the internet.
This handbook aims to inform stakeholders and the society-at-large of the opportunities and challenges surrounding open access, and to promote a broad and inclusive debate on the future of scientific and academic publishing.
Topics covered include:
- definition and origin of open access;
- an introduction to three publication models;
- implementing open access models;
- political perspectives;
- international contexts.
