Imagine that a research group has made a discovery that cures a disease, makes a radical technological improvement, solves a mystery from the past, or develops a model for environmentally responsible urbanism. In the traditional scientific communication model, the work would be published in a journal and only those who have paid for a subscription would be able to read it. Wouldn’t it be better if these advances could be shared immediately with the community?
The open access movement specifically raises the urgent need to share the results of publicly funded research, as well as the data used, so that citizens can consult them without any restrictions other than Internet access, and at no economic cost. To this end, the National Strategy for Open Science (ENCA) was published in Spain in 2023, whose purpose is to promote open access. Previously, Law 14/2011 established the obligation to openly disseminate scientific knowledge, an obligation that was later expanded by Law 17/2022.
The arguments in favor of open access are many. For the research community, it is essential, as it gives greater visibility and reputation to the work done. Universities and researchers can improve the communication of their results, avoid duplication of their research, and share and accelerate its progress. For its part, open access allows society to access research results, trust its academic institutions, and learn from scientific progress. Similarly, open access promotes equality of opportunity by eliminating the need for large investments to cover subscription costs to academic journals.
Turning ideal into practice
Although there is little doubt about the importance of open access, turning this ideal into a widespread and sustainable practice over time is more complicated. This form of scientific publishing has led major commercial publishers to gradually stop offering subscription models and to modify their business model: authors (and often their institutions) are required to pay the publishing fees for open access (this is called APC: article processing charges). This open access route, known as gold, has the disadvantage of the high cost required of authors, which is a subject of debate in the academic community (the amounts, although different, are increasing and it is not unusual to pay around 3000 euros for a single article).
On the other hand, a series of journals linked to universities and academic associations promote open access, in this case without charging authors, since they have public funds to pay them. In this case, we are faced with what is known as the Diamond Road of Open Access. These journals are particularly present in the field of social sciences and humanities, although they generally suffer from a certain lack of resources and inequality with commercial publishers. The University Jaume I has managed to integrate 10 journals from this road, all bearing the FECYT quality seal. These publications have strengthened their projects by improving their quality indicators, thus promoting a sustainable open access model in terms of cost.
Finally, we will mention one of the main tools of open access, known as the Green Way: institutional repositories. These virtual spaces allow universities to deposit copies of their scientific and academic publications, thus creating an organized database that ensures the preservation and open dissemination of the institution’s scientific production. Since 2009, UJI has maintained a repository in which professors and researchers deposit copies of their publications with the aim of making them accessible to the entire community, reflecting our commitment to open access policies. Likewise, the University has just approved its Action Plan through which it intends to continue promoting this lofty goal of open science for the period 2024-2027.
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