Off the Shelf

The Open Access movement has the potential to open the gates of scholarly resources to everyone, regardless of means or affiliation, but the definition of OA is not entirely clear, and far from well-understood.

Stevan Harnad and Peter Suber have been trying to hammer out a definition that includes all of the variations. OA can include material that is "digital, online, and free of charge", and also material that is "digital, online, free of charge, and free of unnecessary copyright and licensing restrictions" (Peter Suber, Strong and Weak OA). "Weak OA" and "Strong OA" were initially endorsed by Harnad and Suber as acceptable terms for price-barrier-free and permission-barrier-free access, respectively. In a recent post, Harnad lists some alternative naming options that could address what many saw as the negative connotation of the term "Weak OA".

I suspect that for many researchers these issues largely remain on the periphery of their attention. URL resolvers and federated searches, as useful as they are, have helped to reinforce the illusion that all information exists in a unitary and open environment. But if OA gains broad acceptance, researchers will benefit regardless. The research world will expand to include those individuals who otherwise wouldn't have access to the most expensive journals. This would be particularly helpful for researchers working in poorer countries, where funding is more difficult to obtain.