The Spectrum of E-Journal Access Policies: Open to Restricted Access

Abstract

As journal publishing continues to evolve, the access policies of publishers become more differentiated. The open access movement has been an important catalyst for change in this regard, prodding publishers to reexamine their access policies and, in some cases, to move towards new access models. To fully understand where things stand with journal access policies, we need to clarify and name the policies in use. This paper attempts to provide a first-cut model for key journal access policies, adopting the now popular use of colors as a second form of shorthand for identifying the policy types.