As scholars and researchers look toward new methods of sharing their information, Open Access allows them a free method of promoting that research. (Keep in mind that some publishers still charge a fee)
Open Access (OA) literature is digital, online, free of charge, and free of most licensing restrictions.(Paul Suber, "Open Access Review" http://legacy.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/overview.htm) Unlike traditional publisher platforms, Open Access scholarly literature is free of charge and in most cases, carrier less restrictive licensing barriers for authors and patrons.
Many OA journals and platforms comply with well-established peer-review processes and maintain top-quality publishing standards.
The Open Access Movement started in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1971, Michael Hart launched Project Gutenberg. But OA didn't gain popularity until the rise of the digital era beginning in the 1990s as the internet created new possibilities for disseminating information. The internet gave way for the scholarly community to collaborate online and share research openly. Through a partnership between Johns Hopkins University Press and Milton S. Eisenhower Library, Project MUSE was created. Although not free access, the creators allow authors to retain their copyright. By the early 2000s, the emergence of PubMed Central with full-text articles in OA and PLoS (Public Library of Science) paved the way to new possibilities for OA. Then in 2008. Congress passed a spending bill mandating that OA to research funded by the US National Institute of Health (NIH). As of February 2019, over 4,500 institutional and cross-institutional repositories have been registered in the Registry of Open Access Repositories. With the landscape of scholarly publishing changes, the demand for OA has increased.
The Brandeis Library provides guidance and support to the greater Brandeis community wishing to publish their works in Open Access journals, platforms, etc.
The purpose of the Brandeis University Library Open Access Fund is to extend the Library’s support of scholarly publishing to faculty, staff, and students in established scholarly journals that are not supported through subscriptions. Providing the requirements are met, the library will provide 100% of the funding per article.
For more information about the Brandeis Open Access Fund, Requirements and Submission Process, please visit the Publishing Support section of the Brandeis Library website.
Brandeis Open Access Fund Recipients Include:
| Community Member | Department |
| Dolores Acevedo-Garcia | Heller School |
| Lee Bloch | Anthropology/American Studies |
| Xuewen Du | Chemistry |
| Charles Golden | Anthropology |
| Laura Goldin | Environmental Studies |
| Steve Goldstein | Biochemistry |
| Angela Gutchess | Psychology/Neuroscience |
| Brandon Hager | Psychology |
| James Harber | Biology |
| Lizbeth Hedstrom | Biology |
| Pengyu Hong | Computer Science |
| Jytte Klausen | Politics |
| Andrew Koh | Classical Studies |
| John Ksander | Psychology |
| James Lackner | Psychology |
| Nelson Lau | Biology |
| Susan Lovett | Biology |
| Sophia Malamud | Linguistics/Computer Science |
| Paul Miller | Biology |
| Thomas Pochapsky | Chemistry |
| Linda Pololi | WSRC |
| Aimee Slater | Brandeis Library |
| Lacey Smith | Genetic Counseling |
| Alycia Sullivan | Psychology |
| Stephen Van Hooser | Biology |
| Wu Zeng | Heller School) |
| Rong Zhou | Chemistry |
Here are some helpful links to Open Access Journals and directories:
We salute these Brandeis authors who have recently published Open Access:
| Community Member |
|---|
| Jeff Gelles -- Aron and Imre Tauber Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology |
| Ricardo A. Godoy -- Professor of International Development |
| Leslie Griffith -- Professor of Biology and Director of the Volen National Center for Complex Systems |
| James E. Haber -- Abraham and Etta Goodman Professor of Biology and Director of the Rosenstiel Basic Medical Sciences Research Center |
| K.C. Hayes -- Professor Emeritus of Biology (Nutrition) |
| Sebastian Kadener -- Associate Professor of Biology |
| Susan Lovett - - Abraham S. and Gertrude Burg Professor of Microbiology |
| Eve Marder -- University Professor and the Victor and Gwendolyn Beinfield Professor of Neuroscience |
| Rebecca Schoer -- Department of Biology |
| Robert Sekuler -- Louis and Frances Salvage Professor of Psychology and Professor of Neuroscience |
| Arthur H. Reis Jr. -- Visiting Scholar in the Department of Chemistry and a Senior Research Scientist in the Department of Biology |
| Michael Rosbash -- Peter Gruber Endowed Chair in Neuroscience, Professor of Biology, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator |
| Douglas Theobald -- Associate Professor of Biochemistry |
| Lawrence J. Wangh -- Professor Emeritus - Biology |
| Kalpana White -- Professor Emerita of Biology |