Open Access Models
There are three types of Open Access models: Green, Gold, and Diamond. Each are explained in depth here. Many of these models employ Creative Commons (CC) Licenses to grant specific permissions for reuse and distribution of content. You can find out more about CC Licenses at this online guide.
Three Levels of Access
Green Open Access
Green OA is a self-archiving model where the author deposits a version of their manuscript in a repository (institutional or subject-based), often after publication.
This means that the work is free for the author to publish and free for the reader to access BUT...
- It may be embargoed (restricted from access) for up to 3 years.
- The version of the work shared publicly may be the preprint or post-print, not the final published PDF put out by the journal.
Your contract with your publisher will determine how/if your article is subject to an embargo and what version you can legally post publicly.
Think of Green OA as traditional publishing AND THEN sharing a version of your article in a public archive later.
Wondering if your author contract allows you to take the Green OA path? Look up the journal or publisher below.
Not sure what your Open Access options are after you publish? Talk to your librarian!
Gold Open Access
Gold OA is when an article is published in an Open or hybrid journal and made freely available by the publisher immediately upon publication, when an Author Processing Charge (APC) is paid.
Gold OA can be thought of as “free to all ... except the author.”
What you should know about APCs:
- An APC is a fee that some publishers charge authors to cover the editorial and publishing costs of Gold OA articles.
- An APC can range from a few hundred to several thousand dollars based on the journal's prestige and business model.
- Paying an APC does not guarantee quality and should be evaluated alongside other factors like peer review policies and journal reputation.
Are you working with a journal that charges an APC? Contact the library about their ongoing Transformative Agreements (TAs) with publishers, to see if you can waive your APC. Read this primer to learn more about TAs.
Hy
brid Journals - scholarly publications where some articles are OA because of author APCs, while the rest require subscription access. This gives authors no-cost and for-cost options for publishing in the same outlet but it does pose some challenges to the larger goals of the OA movement.
Diamond Open Access
Diamond OA is a fully open access model where neither readers nor authors pay.
In a Diamond OA journal, articles are openly available online, without paywalls; there is no cost to publish, and there is no cost to access the work. These journals are typically supported by academic institutions, libraries, or scholarly societies and funded by government agencies or large grants.
Basically, Diamond OA is open for ALL.
Below are some public lists of Diamond OA journals, organized by publisher, organization, and discipline. But, there are many more!
Library Support for Open Access
The library offers grant opportunities for instructors to support the creation of open educational resources.
Explore Grants →
You can find a list of all registered Diamond OA journals in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) by filtering by “Without fees.”