NCAR Library
Assigning DOIs
Mission and Strategic Plan
Open Access Fact Sheet
Open access (OA) is an initiative that began ten years ago when The Budapest Open Access Initiative was launched as a global campaign to "accelerate research, enrich education, share the learning of the rich with the poor and the poor with the rich, make the literature as useful as it can be, and lay the foundation for uniting humanity in a common intellectual conversation and quest for knowledge". Simply stated, Open Access is unrestricted access to scholarly research. This overview provides an introduction, definition, history and guidance on OA journals. In addition, Open Access Explained presents an animated explanation of OA publishing.
Since the advent of OA, the scholarly publishing industry has experienced substantial transformation and growth. The success and expansion of the OA movement is the result of free, global accessibility provided by the Internet and the increasing costs of journal publications. According to the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), the average cost of a serial subscription for ARL member libraries increased by 321% from 1989 to 2006, while inflation has increased 68%. The exponential growth in scientific research and data, fueled by the Internet, has created an environment of tension between access and traditional publishing models. Currently, there are over 6,000 OA journal publications, and it is anticipated that production level will continue to rise.
There are two options available for researchers to publish their research via OA. The green/gold classification is only about "delivery vehicles"; and does not address/impact user rights or degrees of openess.
Green OA
Authors publish in a subscription journal and self-archive a freely available version of the article in an institutional repository (OpenSky). Green journal publishers are those that allow self-archiving.
In most cases, Green OA does not conduct peer review.
Gold OA or a Hybrid OA
Authors publish in OA journals that provide free, immediate access to the articles via the publishers websites that may or may not incur authors fees.
Hybrid OA journals provide Gold OA for authors who pay an upfront-fee to publish on their journal's website.
Open Access at UCAR/NCAR
OpenSky, the institutional repository, administered by the NCAR Library, preserves and makes freely accessible the scholarly record of UCAR, NCAR, and UCP, in support of the broad mission of UCAR to foster science, support its community, and facilitate the transfer of knowledge. The Library provides support for:
Educating UCAR/NCAR administration and community about open access
Administering the institutional repository - OpenSky
Supporting and providing access to open access journals
Benefits of submitting research scholarship to OpenSky:
Global dissemination of scholarship
DOI's minted for UCAR copyrighted materials
Expertise regarding copyright practices and authors' rights
Permanent online home for your scholarship
Institutional reporting
Copyright and Electronic Resources Guide
UCAR Compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright act of 1998
US Copyright Glossary/FAQ
This database tracks:
Publisher archiving allowances
Distinguishes which version is archivable
States embargo period, if applicable
Links to copyright policies
Searchable by journal title or publisher name.
Publishers with Paid Options for Open Access (providied by SHERPA/RoMEO)
SPARC Author Addendum - a legal instrument that modifies the publisher's agreement and allows the author to keep key rights to their articles.
Creative Commons - a nonprofit organization that enables the sharing and use of creativity and knowledge through free legal tools.
The Future of Publishing - Nature, an international journal of science takes a close look at the forces now at work in scientific publishing, and how they may play out over the coming decades.
Open Access Services
Open access journals that are specific to UCAR areas of research and education
Science Open Access Journals
OpenSky: Extending the Reach of UCAR's Research
Buyer beware: A checklist to identify reputable Open Access publishers
New Publishing Opportunties:
Earth's Future (published by AGU/John Wiley & Sons, Inc.)
Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene
Geoscience Data Journal
Agreement with Publishers
As an author you have many options and rights with regard to copyright. If you have questions or concerns about copyright transfer please contact OpenSky before proceeding with your publication agreement.
AMS and AGU - Together, the American Meteorological Society and the American Geophysical Union publish nearly 50% of UCAR scholarship. To ensure broader, expedited access to this research, both AMS and AGU have embargo periods of only six months.
Identifying Publishing Opportunities
Decide early (before drafting the paper)
Consider journals that frequently publish in your field of discipline
Consider journals that frequently publish work that you cite
Consider your target audience and potential accessibility of the article/journal
Consider the impact value of the journal and its influence in specific disciplines
Consider the cost (if applicable) and time factor from submission to publication
Determining the impact of scientific research has become an important metric in accessing, tracking and evaluating research activity. Open access has contributed to increased discoverability and visibility for others to cite. There are many aspects of an impact factor:
Journal impact factor - a quantitative tool for evaluating the relative importance of a journal. It is a measure of the frequency with which its published papers are cited up to two years after publication.
Individual author's impact factor - h-index (or Hirsch index) - calculation is based on author's published papers.
The Library subscribes to the Web of Science research tool which provides access to peer reviewed journals (including some open access journals). It also provides the h-index for individual authors. When evaluating impact factors, there are many considerations which need to be included to ensure the final value is correctly represented and understood. Here are a few recommmendations to incorporate into the process.
Finding your h-index (Hirsch index) in Web of Science
Finding your h-index (Hirsch index) in Google Scholar
Issues to be aware of:
Web of Science counts the number of papers published, therefore favors authors who publish more and are more advanced into their careers.
When comparing impact factors you need to compare similar authors in the same discipline, using the same database, using the same method.
Be sure to indicate limitations.
In general you can only compare values within a single discipline. Different citation patterns will mean, for example, an average medical researcher will generally have much larger h-index value than a world-class mathematician.
The h-index may be less useful in some disciplines, particularly some areas of the humanities.
For further assistance in this process, please Ask a Librarian or call 303-497-8505.
Associated Files:
OpenSky: Extending the Reach of UCAR's Research
This material is based upon work supported by the National Center for Atmospheric Research, a major facility sponsored by the National Science Foundation and managed by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation
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