LibGuides: Open Access: Types of Open Access

Open Access Types

Open Access is a form of scientific publishing in which information is made available to readers at no cost. When publishing an article, there are different ways that providing open access to readers can be accomplished.

Full Gold Open Access

The final version of an article is freely and permanently accessible for everyone, immediately after publication.
No subscription fees are charged for any part of a journal that is fully gold open access.
Authors pay "article processing charges" or APCs to have their article published after acceptance.
Sometimes referred to as "Pure Gold Open Access."

Hybrid Gold Open Access

The final version of an article is freely and permanently accessible for everyone, immediately after publication.
Subscription fees are charged for the journal, but authors have the option to make their article accessible to all. Some articles in the journal which are not available via gold open access will only be accessible to subscribers.
Authors pay "article processing charges" or APCs to have their article published after peer review and acceptance.

Green Open Access

This the practice of placing a version of an author’s manuscript into a repository, making it freely accessible for everyone.
The version that can be deposited into a repository is dependent on the funder or publisher. It may be the author's final peer-reviewed, accepted manuscript that can be deposited or the final publisher's version.
There is usually an embargo period, meaning that the author's manuscript cannot be made freely accessible until after a certain period of time has elapsed (often 12 months).
No article processing charges are paid.