Delayed open access journal
Encyclopedia
Delayed open access journals are traditional subscription-based journals
that provide open access or free access upon the elapse of an embargo period following the initial publication date (with the embargo length varying from a few months to two or more years). A journal subscription or an individual article purchase fee would be required in order to access the materials before this embargo period ends. Some "delayed open access" journals also deposit their publications in open repositories
when the author is bound by an (immediate or delayed) Open access mandate
.
Many scholarly society journals have adopted the delayed access model. While this increases access to scholarly research literature for many, libraries that do continue subscriptions under this model end up paying for access to a "rolling file" of the most recent material during its embargo period. The wide range in embargo lengths—and the fact that open access is both defined and intended as the state of immediate access -- limits the meaningfulness of classifying journals as "delayed open access" journals. For example, Molecular Biology of the Cell
has a one month embargo., whereas Journal of the Physical Society of Japan
has a fifteen year embargo period. While paper and microform formats of these journals may be published too, the open access applies only to their electronic versions
. Hence such journals are not included in the lists of fully open access journals, such as the Directory of Open Access Journals
(DOAJ). In some cases, the free access to back issues of the journal is provided as a courtesy by the publisher; in other cases it follows from a legal agreement between the publishers and the authors, or their institutions, as in the above-mentioned case of a delayed open access mandate.
The rationale for the access delay is to provide eventual access to the general public while still providing incentive to researchers—and especially research libraries
– to sustain the subscriptions that cover the costs of publication. The marginal costs of distributing an electronic journal to additional users are trivial in comparison to distributing printed copies of the publication. Delayed access publishers will spend little or no additional funds while marketing their publications to a broader population than those with personal subscriptions or those affiliated with institutions that have institutional subscriptions or other forms of institutional access. The rationale assumes that researchers will want the most recent papers in their subject immediately upon publication, so their institutions will pay the necessary subscription or article purchase fees to access those articles. The rationale further assumes that students and others affiliated with smaller non-research institutions do not generally need to see the article as quickly as researchers, as they are likely to be using it for a term paper or similar project, rather than for original research. If libraries serving smaller colleges cannot afford subscriptions to the journal, researchers at such institutions are expected to use interlibrary loan services or direct purchases to access articles needed for their research.
While the delayed open access model does increase access to scholarly research literature for many users, it still requires libraries and scholars to continue subscribing for immediate access to the most recent material during the embargo
period. Although it may seem ironic that in the online era immediate access to research continues to be denied to those who need it most (researchers) if their institutions cannot afford to pay for it, researchers do have the option of providing open access to their own published research immediately, by self-archiving
it in their institutional repositories, as a growing number of research institutions and research funders are now beginning to require
researchers to do.
Scientific journal
In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. There are thousands of scientific journals in publication, and many more have been published at various points in the past...
that provide open access or free access upon the elapse of an embargo period following the initial publication date (with the embargo length varying from a few months to two or more years). A journal subscription or an individual article purchase fee would be required in order to access the materials before this embargo period ends. Some "delayed open access" journals also deposit their publications in open repositories
Institutional repository
An Institutional repository is an online locus for collecting, preserving, and disseminating - in digital form - the intellectual output of an institution, particularly a research institution....
when the author is bound by an (immediate or delayed) Open access mandate
Open access mandate
An Open Access Self Archiving Mandate is a policy—adopted by a research institution , a research funder or a government—that requires researchers to make their published, peer-reviewed journal and conference papers open access by depositing their final,...
.
Many scholarly society journals have adopted the delayed access model. While this increases access to scholarly research literature for many, libraries that do continue subscriptions under this model end up paying for access to a "rolling file" of the most recent material during its embargo period. The wide range in embargo lengths—and the fact that open access is both defined and intended as the state of immediate access -- limits the meaningfulness of classifying journals as "delayed open access" journals. For example, Molecular Biology of the Cell
Molecular Biology of the Cell
Molecular Biology of the Cell is a scientific journal published twice monthly online by the American Society for Cell Biology. MBoC publishes original and scholarly research reports that contribute to the scientific understanding of the molecular basis of cell structure and function as well as...
has a one month embargo., whereas Journal of the Physical Society of Japan
Journal of the Physical Society of Japan
Journal of the Physical Society of Japan is a monthly, peer reviewed, scientific journal published by the Physical Society of Japan . It was first published in July 1946 . The Editor-in-Chief is A. Kawabata, until August 2010...
has a fifteen year embargo period. While paper and microform formats of these journals may be published too, the open access applies only to their electronic versions
Electronic journal
Electronic journals, also known as ejournals, e-journals, and electronic serials, are scholarly journals or intellectual magazines that can be accessed via electronic transmission. In practice, this means that they are usually published on the Web...
. Hence such journals are not included in the lists of fully open access journals, such as the Directory of Open Access Journals
Directory of Open Access Journals
The Directory of Open Access Journals is website maintained by Lund University which lists open access journals. The project defines open access journals as scientific and scholarly journals that meet high quality standards by exercising peer review or editorial quality control and "use a funding...
(DOAJ). In some cases, the free access to back issues of the journal is provided as a courtesy by the publisher; in other cases it follows from a legal agreement between the publishers and the authors, or their institutions, as in the above-mentioned case of a delayed open access mandate.
The rationale for the access delay is to provide eventual access to the general public while still providing incentive to researchers—and especially research libraries
Research library
A research library is a library which contains an in-depth collection of material on one or several subjects . A research library will generally include primary sources as well as secondary sources...
– to sustain the subscriptions that cover the costs of publication. The marginal costs of distributing an electronic journal to additional users are trivial in comparison to distributing printed copies of the publication. Delayed access publishers will spend little or no additional funds while marketing their publications to a broader population than those with personal subscriptions or those affiliated with institutions that have institutional subscriptions or other forms of institutional access. The rationale assumes that researchers will want the most recent papers in their subject immediately upon publication, so their institutions will pay the necessary subscription or article purchase fees to access those articles. The rationale further assumes that students and others affiliated with smaller non-research institutions do not generally need to see the article as quickly as researchers, as they are likely to be using it for a term paper or similar project, rather than for original research. If libraries serving smaller colleges cannot afford subscriptions to the journal, researchers at such institutions are expected to use interlibrary loan services or direct purchases to access articles needed for their research.
While the delayed open access model does increase access to scholarly research literature for many users, it still requires libraries and scholars to continue subscribing for immediate access to the most recent material during the embargo
Embargo (academic publishing)
In academic publishing, an embargo is a period during which access is not allowed to certain types of users. The purpose of this is to protect the revenue of the publisher.Various types exist:* A moving wall is a fixed period of months or years...
period. Although it may seem ironic that in the online era immediate access to research continues to be denied to those who need it most (researchers) if their institutions cannot afford to pay for it, researchers do have the option of providing open access to their own published research immediately, by self-archiving
Self-archiving
To self-archive is to deposit a free copy of a digital document on the World Wide Web in order to provide open access to it. The term usually refers to the self-archiving of peer-reviewed research journal and conference articles as well as theses, deposited in the author's own institutional...
it in their institutional repositories, as a growing number of research institutions and research funders are now beginning to require
Open access mandate
An Open Access Self Archiving Mandate is a policy—adopted by a research institution , a research funder or a government—that requires researchers to make their published, peer-reviewed journal and conference papers open access by depositing their final,...
researchers to do.
See also
- Hybrid open access journalHybrid Open Access journalA newly popular variation on open access journals is the Hybrid Open Access Journal. This refers to a journal where only some of the articles are open access...
- Open access journalOpen access journalOpen access journals are scholarly journals that are available online to the reader "without financial, legal, or technical barriers other than those inseparable from gaining access to the internet itself." Some are subsidized, and some require payment on behalf of the author.Subsidized journals...
- Open access (publishing)
- Self archiving