General introduction to Open AccessGeneral introduction to Open Access

Journals and other dissemination platforms have been adopting the Open Access model, which includes a number routes: immediate (Gold) Open Access, delayed (Green) Open Access, or hybrid access. 

Gold Open Access

When an article is published following the Gold Open Access model, it is immediately free for everyone to read and use. In this model, the publishing costs are covered by the author or by their institution/ funding body/ society on their behalf, typically in the form of an Article Publishing Charge (APC). The author can decide how the article is used by choosing between a commercial or non-commercial license.

Green Open Access

Green Open Access is a version of a subscription article that is free for everyone to access. In this model authors do not have to pay any additional fees, as subscribers pay for the expenses needed to support the publication process. To enable Open Access to a subscription article a time delay, known as embargo period, is needed. The embargo period starts from the date the article is published online in its final version and can vary in length (typically 12-24 months).

When an article is published in Green Open Access, it can be shared by linking to the article, sharing the article in open archives, or self-archiving a version of the article.

Pre-print servers (pre-prints)

In addition to traditional publishing, researchers have started publishing their research results on pre-print servers. Pre-print servers aim to facilitate quick dissemination of scientific knowledge by publishing versions of scientific papers before these are peer-reviewed or formally published. They make scientific results quickly and freely available to researchers, while providing researchers with an initial quality check of the scientific content. Pre-prints align with the principles of open science publishing, as they promote quick communication of scientific knowledge between researchers. Many pre-print servers link pre-prints to final versions of published articles, and are indexed by article-indexing services, further promoting pre-print publishing.

Pure natively handles full texts and hosts a range of repository functionalities to support researchers and repository administrators in managing and exhibiting these full text documents.