Introduction
Open access eliminates barriers, such as price and copyright restrictions; impediments that hinder access to scholarship and the knowledge it confers. Open access guarantees research is available online at no cost and permits the transformation of ideas to improve society.
The University of California is committed to ensuring broad and unfettered access to the research and scholarship produced by its academic community. This commitment is manifest in the multiple “Pathways to Open Access” that UC pursues via the libraries–in collaboration with the faculty and other institutional partners–including transformative licensing agreements, open access policies, open infrastructure, and an open access library publishing program.
Benefits of Open Access
In addition to institutional and funder mandates, making your research open access has many wider benefits:
- Compliant with grant rules.
- More exposure for your work.
- Higher citation rates.
- Your research can influence policy.
- Researchers in low income countries can see your work.
- The public can access your findings.
- Practitioners can apply your findings.
- Taxpayers get value for money.
