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Someone Has to Pay

Open Access Business Models

OA literature publication costs shift from the user (subscriber) to the content producer (author). In other words, fees are charged for dissemination of the content, not access to it, as in the traditional subscription models.10 The two primary delivery vehicles are OA archives or repositories and OA Journals.

  • OA archives contain unrefereed preprints or refereed postprints, but do not offer peer review. The archives typically belong to either universities or disciplines (for example, ArXiv.org for physics), and there are negligible costs to maintain them.
  • OA journals are peer reviewed electronic publications that involve editors and reviewers in much the same way as traditional print journals. The essential costs of producing the journal are recouped through author fees (usually $500 to $1,500) or sponsorships from universities or professional societies. Educational institutions may pay the publishing (dissemination) fees, and these charges are usually reduced or waived for authors in transitional countries. 11

Learn more about OA issues such as economic impact, quality control considerations, and future trends.

10 Donald T. Hawkins, "Does Open Access Publishing Really Work in Practice?" Information Today 22, no. 1 (January 2005), 40.

11 "Open Access: The Facts," World Summit on the Information Society, http://www.wsis-si.org/. Accessed 5/23/06.

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