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Definitions

Open Access

  • "Open access": as a publishing option refers both to reading and citing published works.
    • If a text is openly accessible, it is free to read.
    • Depending on how it is made available (See Creative Commons licenses), it may also be free to reuse.
    • Every piece of original, fixed expression is subject to copyright unless the author intentionally dedicates it to the Public Domain (See our copyright guide and our tab on Creative Commons licensing for more information on copyright and sharing your work).
  • "Open access" may not mean free (as in $$$) to publish. There are four leading models of Open Access publishing (see the neighboring box for more on each model):
    • Green
    • Gold
    • Diamond/Platinum
    • Hybrid
  • Journals can be completely open access--all articles are free to read (PLOS, e-life, Bryn Mawr Classical Reviews). Some of these journals
    • Charge a fee to authors (or to their research grants),
    • Charge subscriptions to libraries, but are free to read, (also called "subscribe to open"); and some
    • Are free in all senses of the term--free to authors, free to readers, free to libraries (although sometimes sponsored by libraries or academic departments).
  • Journals can be subscription based but offer the option of open access for a fee. These journals are often referred to as "hybrid" journals.
  • Journals can be subscription based but allow authors to post their pre-prints publicly.
  •  "Open access" does NOT mean that there is no peer review. You should be able to find this information at the journal's website.
    • Whether you are looking to publish in a subscription based or open access journal, always check peer review
    • Ask your mentors and colleagues about a journal if you are unfamiliar with it
    • Please take a look at our tab for evaluating journal platforms to learn more about determining journal quality.

Open Science

2023 definition from the OSTP and the National Science and Technology Council: “The principle and practice of making research products and processes available to all, while respecting diverse cultures, maintaining security and privacy, and fostering collaborations, reproducibility, and equity.” 

Types of Open Access

Green, Gold, and Diamond are all OA publishing models.  Each describes a way to make your scholarship openly accessible.

Open Access publications may be accessed through a journal or publisher, through an author's personal website, or through other openly accessible platforms.

The Sherpa Romeo database and the Directory of Open Access Journals platform provide information about the type of open access provided by individual journals.

  • Green Open Access

    • There is no fee for you to publish or for your audience to read. Green includes
      •  Free-to-publish in and read journals
      • Posting a copy of your scholarship in an institutional repository (Penn's repository is called ScholarlyCommons),
      • Posting to your own website
      • Posting to one of the many preprint platforms.
    • Publishers will vary on where, what and whether they allow authors to post (preprints or version of record; immediately or after an embargo).
      • This is something to keep in mind when you are signing contracts or reviewing your existing contracts.

  • Gold Open Access

    • This designation is used when a journal funds its open access model by charging the author a fee.
      • This fee is often referred to as an APC or "article processing charge."
      • Authors whose work is grant-funded may have the open-access publishing fee covered as part of the grant.
      • Although GOLD Open Access exists across all disciplines, it is more typical in STEM fields than in Humanities or Social Science fields.

  • Diamond or Platinum Open Access

    • These newer OA models receive funding from grants, institutions, professional societies, or foundations
    • Diamond OA journals are free to publish and free to read. 
    • Many libraries work with scholarly societies and not-for-profit publishers to help support Diamond open access

  • Hybrid

    • This term is used when a subscription based journal (libraries or individuals subscribe to the journal for a fee) offers publishing behind a paywall or openly accessible in the same journal

Open Access Journals Receiving Subscription or Membership Support from the Penn Libraries

VISIT OUR GUIDE TO NAVIGATING OUR OPEN ACCESS AGREEMENTS WITH MAJOR PUBLISHERS

The Penn Libraries is supporting access through negotiated agreements with publishers and individual journals. Most of these agreements waive Penn corresponding author's APC charges or provide a free to publish environment.  With both models, Penn scholarship is opened up to the world. You'll want to look for these opportunities as you publish.  Please contact your subject librarian for more information, review the list below, and visit our Open Access Agreements site. This list will continue to evolve: 

Open Access Zine

Check out our Quick Guide to Publishing Open Access at Penn zine, published spring 2025 by Penn Libraries:

Links within the zine:

Elsevier Agreement 2022

The Penn Libraries have partnered with libraries to establish a three year pilot through which authors who have published with many Elsevier journals and who were affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania at the time of publication will retroactively have their articles made open access. For each year of the agreement, Elsevier will flip five years of publications. 

By the end of the pilot, 15 years of published work, constituting tens of thousands of articles authored by leading researchers, will be newly available to everyone at no cost to them and regardless of institutional affiliation.  

  • The pilot includes all Elsevier owned journals. 
  • Eligible articles are those in which the corresponding author is (or was at the time) affiliated with Penn*
  • Eligible articles will be opened each year following a timetable of 1 year forward and 4 years back: 
    • Year 1 (2022): 1998 and 1994-1997 (inclusive) by April 1, 2022 
    • Year 2 (2023): 1999 and 1990-1993 (inclusive) by January 1, 2023 
    • Year 3 (2024): 2000 and 1986-1989 (inclusive) by January 1, 2024

For more information visit our Elsevier FAQ

*Or another Institution connected with the NERL negotiated agreement.

Preprint Servers

Pre-print platforms support Green Open Access.

  • Most pre-print platforms are STEM based but there is one significant platform for the humanities and several servers in the social sciences.
  • Often, journals allows authors to post the pre-print of their accepted (post-peer reviewed) article. In this case, you would also find a link to the published journal at the journal site
  • Check Sherpa Romeo or the journal website to find their policy on posting pre-preprints
  • Many grant funders now accept peer reviewed preprints as part of a grant proposal
  • See below for a list of pre-print platforms

Evidence for growing reliance on preprints by funding agencies

Evidence of growing support for pre-prints as evidence of successful scholarship

Pre prints and Peer Review

Peer Community In -- peercommunityin.org​

  • Nonprofit organization of researchers offering peer review​
  • Reviewers provide full peer review and revision​
  • A successful review makes the paper a “complete, reliable and citable article,” without the need for publication in ‘traditional’ journals.​
  • Post in Peer Community Journal or submit to one of 100 Peer Community In friendly journals or with another journal, maintaining your Peer Community In recommendation 

PreReview – prereview.org​

  • Audience = early career and historically excluded scholars  ​
  • Addresses lack of transparency and inequitable access in traditional closed model  ​
  • Provides a positive and constructive peer review process​
  • Trains researchers in giving and receiving feedback, provides mentoring ​
  • Goal of equal access​
  • Furthers the building of connections and collaborations, creates a rewarding peer review experience  ​
  • Programs of “live review sessions”  ​
  • Reviews published on prereview.org

Review Commons -- https://www.reviewcommons.org ​

  • Connected with EMBO, a not for profit active since 1964​
  • Journal independent peer review ​
  • Allow reviewers to focus on the science, not specific journal fit.​
  • Enrich the value of preprints.​
  • Reduce re-reviewing at multiple journals.​
  • Accelerate the publishing process by providing journals with high-quality refereed reports.​
  • Refereed preprints are posted to BioRxiv.
  • Submit refereed preprint sequentially to the 21+ affiliated journals 

OAPEN OA books toolkit

Open Monographs

OAPEN promotes the transition to open access for academic books working together with libraries, publishers, and research funders to  host, disseminate, and preserve digital books. 

See OAPEN's OA Books Toolkit if you are considering publishing your book open access.

Chapters include the glossary and Why publish an open access book 

Peer Review and OA monographs

Most publishers are publishing some open access monographs. They will go through the same peer review process as the non-open-access titles.

Directory of Open Access Books works with publisher to make their peer review process transparent. Look for the PRISM designation. PRISM logo for publisher peer review transparency

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