Open Access Literature Review 2008–9

Abstract

Stemming from a previously published serials literature review by Library Resources and Technical Services (LRTS), this paper provides a review of a subset of the serials literature published in 2008 and 2009 focusing on open access (OA). The broader scope of the serials literature sets the stage for a culture of openness receptive to the OA movement. Catalysts to this movement, such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) mandate, university OA policies, and increased emphasis on self-archiving in institutional repositories (IRs), are of interest to serials and electronic resource professionals who steward academic research collections. This interest is exemplified by the significant number of open-access-related articles intertwined throughout the serials literature of 2008 and 2009. Topics covered in this article include the NIH mandate, universities’ responses to the NIH mandate, overviews of OA, the IR as a model of OA, strategies for supporting IRs, and evaluation of the effects of OA on scholarly communication.