Libraries are places of learning and knowledge creation. Over the last two decades, digital technology—and the changes that came with it—have accelerated this transformation to a point where evolution starts to become a revolution. The wider Open Science movement, and Open Access in particular, is one of these changes and is already having a profound impact. Under the subscription model, the role of libraries was to buy or license content on behalf of their users and then act as gatekeepers to regulate access on behalf of rights holders. In a world where all research is open, the role of the library is shifting from licensing and disseminating to facilitating and supporting the publishing process itself. This requires a fundamental shift in terms of structures, tasks, and skills. It also changes the idea of a library’s collection. Under the subscription model, contemporary collections largely equal content bought from publishers. Under an open model, the collection is more likely to be the content created by the users of the library (researchers, staff, students, etc.), content that is now curated by the library. Instead of selecting external content, libraries have to understand the content created by their own users and help them to make it publicly available—be it through a local repository, payment of article processing charges, or through advice and guidance. Arguably, this is an overly simplified model that leaves aside special collections and other areas. Even so, it highlights the changes that research libraries are undergoing, changes that are likely to accelerate as a result of initiatives such as Plan S. This Special Issue investigates some of the changes in today’s library services that relate to open access.

It is impossible to imagine the future of academic libraries without an extensive consideration of open access—the removal of price and permission barriers from scholarly research online. As textbook and journal subscription prices continue to rise, improvements in technology make online dissemination of scholarship less expensive, and faculty recognize the practical and philosophical appeal of making their work available to wider audiences. As a consequences, libraries have begun to consider a wide variety of open access “flavors” and business models. These new possibilities have significant impact on both library services and collection policies, and the call for new skills within library staffing. Volume 9 of the series Creating the 21st-Century Academic Library is the first of two addressing the topic of open access in academic libraries and focuses on policy and infrastructure for libraries that wish to provide leadership on their campus in the transition to more open forms of scholarship. Chapters in the book discuss how to make the case for open access on campus, as well as the political and policy implications of libraries that themselves want to become publishing entities. Infrastructure issues are also addressed including metadata standards and research management services. Also considered here is how interlibrary loan, preservation and the library’s role in providing textbooks, support the concept of open access. It is hoped that this volume, and the series in general, will be a valuable and exciting addition to the discussions and planning surrounding the future directions, services, and careers in the 21st-century academic library.

This volume, the second of two in the series Creating the 21st-Century Academic Library that deals with the topic of open access in academic libraries, focuses on the implementation of open access in academic libraries. Chapters on the legalities and practicalities of open access in academic libraries address the issues associated with copyright, licensing, and intellectual property and include support for courses that require open access distribution of student work. The topic of library services in support of open access is explored, including the library’s role in providing open educational resources, and as an ally and driver of their adoption, for example, by helping defray author fees that are required for open access articles. A detailed look at open access in the context of undergraduate research is provided and considers how librarians can engage undergraduates in conversations about open access. Chapters consider ways to engage undergraduate students in the use, understanding, evaluation, and creation of open access resources. Issues that are of concern to graduate students are also given some attention and central to these are the development of Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) programs. A chapter examines the library’s role in balancing greater access to graduate student work with the consequences of openness, such as concerns about book contracts and sales, plagiarism, and changes in scholarly research and production. The book concludes with issues surrounding open data and library services in critical data librarianship, including advocacy, preservation, and instruction. It is hoped that this volume, and the series in general, will be a valuable and exciting addition to the discussions and planning surrounding the future directions, services, and careers in the 21st-century academic library.

This book is aimed at the practicing academic librarian, especially those working on the ‘front lines’ of reference, instruction, collection development, and other capacities that involve dealing directly with library patrons in a time of changing scholarly communication paradigms. The book looks at open access from the perspective of a practicing academic librarian and challenges fellow librarians to continue the dialogue about how the movement might be affecting day-to-day library work and the future of academic libraries. Written by a practicing academic librarian with many years experience in reference, as well as in collection development and faculty liaison roles Written with the “front-line academic librarian in mind from a practical point of view Contains numerous references to refer the reader to many open access resources; includes extensive footnotes for further reading

Open Access has evolved into the most complex challenge of the scholarly publishing landscape and something libraries grapple with on a regular basis. But although librarians hold increasingly positive perceptions about OA, including its richness of unique content and immediacy of access, many lack the understanding, training, documentation, and knowledge of best practices that would allow them to engage with it confidently. This book helps to fill that gap, using a holistic approach that walks readers through the steps of integrating OA resources into library collections and supporting OA initiatives irrespective of budget, institution type, collection size, and staffing. Explaining definitions and models of OA, types of OA support, the tensions between free-to-read and libre OA, and other key topics, from this book readers will learn the origins and growth of OA, how to define it, and some of the ways in which librarians have made connections to OA; where OA diverges from the historic role of library collection development policies and ways to bring OA into alignment with an institution's collection development principles and practices; real-world examples of how libraries have supported or integrated OA into their collections, including strategies for selecting and activating OA titles and collections for inclusion, offering open educational resources (OER) to students, samples of collection management workflows, and ideas for aligning collections with institutional repositories or other Green OA initiatives; guidance on financially supporting OA content, initiatives, and platforms; how OA publishing does and does not harmonize with diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives; and tips for using ongoing assessment and evaluation to continuously support the library’s path to an open future.

This book contains a plethora of different viewpoints and research results from all over the world, bringing them together to provide a global perspectiveon the various issues that comprise "open access". Topics include copyright, best practices and management, open access and society, repositories, journals, publications and publishing, services and technology, quality andevaluation. The book offers a holistic focus on open access and can serve as a useful learning tool for students and professionals.

Can scholarly journal articles and other scholarly works be made freely available on the Internet? The open access movement says "yes," and it is having a significant impact on scholarly publishing. There are two major open access strategies: (1) open access journals publish articles (typically peer-reviewed articles) that are free of charge and may be able to be reused under an open license (e.g., a Creative Commons license), and (2) self-archiving of digital e-prints (typically prepublication versions of articles) by authors in digital repositories, where they can be accessed free of charge and sometimes reused. Transforming Scholarly Publishing through Open Access: A Bibliography, which has over 1,100 references, provides in-depth coverage of published journal articles, books, and other works about the open access movement. Many references have links to freely available copies of included works.