Why Open Access?

Open access articles help researchers find and build upon the most current and relevant findings of others, without restrictions.

Public funds pay for much of the scientific and medical research performed today. Open access publishing gives taxpayers a way to see the results of their investment. Open access publications helps teachers and their students gain access to the latest research in ology subjects.

Publishers often own the rights to the articles they print in their closed-access journals, anyone who wants to read these articles must pay for access. Furthermore, anyone who wants to use the articles must first gain permission from the publisher; an additional fee is often involved. This approach made sense in the days when publishers had to invest in ink, paper and printing presses to make physical copies of scientific journals.

The advent of the internet and open access publishing revolutionized how publishers share research findings. Open access publishers can now upload and distribute the information immediately after peer review. Open access publishing makes this research easy to find and readily available in an attractive and highly usable format.