Open Access Background and Further Reading
SPARC: The Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
SPARC, the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition, is an international alliance of academic and
research libraries working to correct imbalances in the scholarly publishing system. Developed by the Association
of Research Libraries, SPARC has become a catalyst for change. Its pragmatic focus is to stimulate the emergence
of new scholarly communication models that expand the dissemination of scholarly research and reduce financial
pressures on libraries. Action by SPARC in collaboration with stakeholders - including authors, publishers, and
libraries - builds on the unprecedented opportunities created by the networked digital environment to advance the
conduct of scholarship. Leading academic organizations have endorsed SPARC.
Budapest Open Access Initiative February 14, 2002
This document defines open access and describes the importance of open access to all scholars. It is frequently
quoted in discussions on open access.
Open Access Overview Peter Suber
A Very Brief Introduction to Open Access Peter Suber
Six things that researchers need to know about open access Peter Suber
Open Access News Blog Peter Suber
OpCit project
The Open Citation Project - Reference Linking and Citation Analysis for Open Archives
The effect of open access and downloads ('hits') on citation impact: a bibliography of studies. The site also lists Web tools available to measure impact.
Studies continue to show that OA significantly increases the impact as measured by citations in other works.