Promoting Open Access in the Humanities

Abstract

Open access literature is digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions. It gives readers wider and easier access to the research they need and gives authors a larger audience and greater impact. It is desirable and attainable in the humanities, but it is less urgent and harder to subsidize than in the sciences. This article briefly explains what open access is, identifies nine reasons why progress is slower in the humanities than in the sciences, and makes eight recommendations for accelerating that progress.