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Copyright & Fair Use

This guide provides a brief introduction to copyright law and the fair use doctrine, especially in relation to education.

Disclaimer:

This guide is intended to provide information, not legal advice. This information can be used to help staff and faculty to understand concepts related to copyright. Please consult a legal professional if you have additional concerns or require legal advice.

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What is "Open Access"?

Open Access is the free, immediate, online availability of research articles combined with the rights to use these articles fully in the digital environment. Open Access is the needed modern update for the communication of research that fully utilizes the Internet for what it was originally built to do—accelerate research.

SPARC Open Access

Open Access literature is often classified into several subcategories:

  • Gold - published in an open access journal; indexed by the DOAJ
  • Green - free copy available in an OA repository + toll access from the publisher
  • Hybrid - toll access journal, but free article under an open license
  • Bronze - free copy from the publisher (but no clearly identifiable license)

(Source: Piwowar, H., Priem, J., Larivière, V., Alperin, J. P., Matthias, L., Norlander, B., Farley, A., West, J., & Haustein, S. (2018). The state of OA: A large-scale analysis of the prevalence and impact of Open Access articles. PeerJ6, e4375. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.4375)

The library's OER guide also includes suggestions and resources related to Open Access:

Open Access Resources

Sciences

Humanities

Other Tools