Finding and Identifying Open Access Materials

Open access scholarly materials are available online through many libraries, publishers, and other systems. Materials shared through open access are often marked with an open lock or unlock symbol, such as the orange logo below. 

Open access logo, originally designed by Public Library of Science

​​https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Open_Access_logo_PLoS_transparent.svg 

Attribution: art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina, Beao, and JakobVoss, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Many universities and other research institutions use online systems called institutional repositories to share open access materials created by affiliated personnel. UNCG has an institutional repository called NC DOCKS, which includes thousands of open access publications by UNCG faculty, staff, and students. Like all open access materials, these publications can be accessed and read by users anywhere in the world. 

The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) is another resource for finding open access scholarship. This online directory can be used by readers who want to find open access scholarly articles to read, or by authors who want to identify open access journals that are available for manuscript submissions. 

There are also free browser extensions, including Open Access Button and Unpaywall, that can help users identify open access versions of published articles. And when an open access version is not available, Open Access Button can help you request a copy of the article from the author. 

There are many other opportunities for finding open access scholarship online. Look for the words “Open Access” or the unlock symbol when you’re browsing journals, publishers, and other scholarly content online, and if you have questions, ask a librarian! 

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