2.0 Introduction
According to Stranack (2008), scholarship is about the creation and sharing of knowledge, and one of the most important means of exchanging the results of research activities is the academic journal. As with institutional repositories, the Internet and the development of online journal software made the publishing of Open Access journals possible, thereby automating many of the processes often associated with journal publishing. This is known as the golden route to Open Access, and the direct counterpart of subscription journals. These journals are managed online (with reference to the submission, peer review, and editing processes) as well as published online. In some instances paper copies are printed on demand (at a cost for the reader). Through Open Access journals, research findings can be disseminated amongst the largest possible audience. At the same time researchers, as readers, need the broadest possible access to research findings. To do new research and to build on existing research, these findings need to be published in the open domain. Nowadays – if research results are not in the open – it does not exist for most of the global population, since only a selected few can afford access to expensive subscription journals. This approach does not only apply to new journals, but existing subscription journals can also transform to Open Access. In this unit, we will discuss about different types of Open Access journals and their contribution to improving access to peer reviewed information. We will also focus on how librarians can start OA journals to assist their patrons.