Open Access Resources

Self-Archiving and Open Access Repositories: Authors can self-archive their work by uploading a copy of their manuscript to a personal website or depositing a copy in an open repository. Open access repositories are digital platforms that provide free access to scholarly publications, research data, and other academic resources. They allow authors to make their work openly accessible to the public, without the traditional barriers of cost and subscription fees. They can be discipline-specific or multi-disciplinary, and can be managed by academic institutions, scholarly societies, or commercial entities. See, for example, OpenDOAR for a list of open access repositories, searchable by locale, content, and other measures.

Open Access Publishers: Many publishers, of both books and journals, offer some or all of their content open access. Some publishers charge authors fees to cover the costs of publishing and making the content freely available, while others may not charge fees but instead rely on other sources of funding. There are a number of factors to consider when choosing a publisher including your rights as an author, the peer-review process, submission guidelines, archiving and preservation practices, and visibility and impact.

Scholarly Networking Sites: These are online platforms that allow researchers, scholars, and academics to connect, collaborate, and share their research and expertise with others in their field. Some of these sites, like ResearchGate and Academia.edu, though ostensibly free, are run by for-profit companies who may or may not sell your private data. As such, sharing your work on their sites may be a violation of your publication agreement. Others sites, such as Humanities Commons or ScholarlyHub, are nonprofit groups run by and for scholars. In addition, many of these nonprofit organizations have an explicit mission to support the open dissemination of scholarship through open access.

To help find the right publishing platform for you, consider the checklist and other resources provided by Think. Check. Submit.

As the creator of a work, you own the copyright to that work. US copyright law grants you several exclusive rights as the copyright holder, including:

1. The right to reproduce the work
2. The right to prepare derivative works based on the original work
3. The right to distribute copies of the work
4. The right to publicly display the work
5. The right to publicly perform the work

However, there are a number of factors you should keep in mind when making decisions about how and where to publish.

Copyright ownership: Authors should be aware that when they sign a publishing agreement, they are transferring their copyright ownership to the publisher. This means that the publisher will have the exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, and make their work available to the public. However, some publishers may allow authors to retain certain rights, such as the right to self-archive their work or to reuse parts of it in future publications.

Article processing charges (APCs): Some open access publishers charge authors an APC to cover the cost of publication and peer review. Authors should be aware of any APCs associated with the journal they are considering and seek funding support if needed.

Embargo periods: Some publishers may require an embargo period before authors can self-archive their work or make it publicly available through other means. Authors should be aware of any embargo periods associated with the journal they are considering and decide whether it aligns with their goals for open access publishing.

Retraction and corrections: Authors should also understand the publisher's policies for retraction and corrections, in case there are any issues with the published work.

For more information about your rights as an author, check out this list of helpful resources compiled by SPARC*, or this useful guide.

Publishing agreements can vary depending on the publisher and the type of work being published, but they typically include provisions for copyright, licensing, and attribution. For example, the agreement might specify that the author retains copyright in the work and grants the publisher a non-exclusive license to distribute it as open access. The agreement might also require the author to provide attribution for any third-party content used in the work.

It's important for authors to carefully review any open access publishing agreement before signing, to ensure that they understand the terms and conditions and are comfortable with them. In some cases, authors may wish to negotiate certain aspects of the agreement, such as the length of the embargo period (if any) before the work can be made open access, or the scope of the license granted to the publisher. 

Publisher Copyright Policies

Use SHERPA/RoMEO to find out about particular publishers’ policies on self-archiving and other rights given to authors in their standard publication agreements. 

You can view some sample author agreements here: 

• Elsevier author agreement

• Taylor & Francis author agreement

• Duke University Press author agreement

Publishing Agreement Addendums

The Scholar's Copyright Addendum Engine will help you generate a PDF form that you can attach to a journal publisher's agreement to ensure that you retain certain rights. Similarly, the SPARC Author Addendum is a pre-form addendum that can be filled in and attached to a publishing agreement to allow you to retain copyright and other intellectual rights to your work.

Right of Termination

Even if you transfer all rights to a publisher in your agreement, that transfer does not have to be unending, regardless of the wording of the contract. Under section 203 of the Copyright Act, you have the right to “terminate” the grant of rights to a publisher after a period of time and have the intellectual rights in your work transferred back to you.

This termination right would go into effect during a 5-year period beginning 35 years after the grant of rights to the publisher, or if you have granted publication rights, beginning either 35 years after publication or 40 years after the grant of rights, whichever comes first.

Rights Reversion

Another option for regaining rights that have been transferred to a publisher is through rights reversion. Many publishing contracts, particularly for books, contain a reversion clause allowing the author to request that rights be reverted back to them once the book has been out of print or otherwise unavailable on the market for a period of time. Even if you have a contract that lacks a reversion clause, it is possible to negotiate rights reversion with a publisher if you find that your work is currently out of circulation. For more information about regaining rights to published work through reversion, the Authors Alliance provides comprehensive resources in its Rights Reversion Portal.

(Adapted from NYU Libraries’ “Copyright” Research Guide)

Get involved! By joining the growing Open Access community, you’ll be part of a global movement that promotes the free, immediate, and unrestricted access to scholarly research and knowledge. 

There are a number of organizations that advocate for Open Access, including the Authors Alliance, the Coalition for Open Access Policy Institutions (COAPI), the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC*), the Open Knowledge Foundation, and the Open Access Scholarly Publishing Association (OASPA). 

You can become a member of these organizations, participate by attending conferences, workshops, and webinars, or contribute to working groups and committees.

And be sure to celebrate International Open Access Week!