The Library: Open Access

Open Access (OA) means that research outputs are made available online, in a digital format, at no charge to the reader and with limited restrictions on re-use.

The main routes to Open Access are:

• Green OA, when you publish in a hybrid or subscription based journal and make the author accepted manuscript (AAM) available in a repository, with any required embargo period applied. Sherpa Romeo provides details of journals that support Green Open Access. Publications made immediately Open Access under the Leeds Beckett Rights Retention policy are Green OA.
• Gold OA, when you publish in a hybrid or OA journal and the published version of record is made immediately and permanently available at the point of publication at no charge to the reader. Article Processing Charges (APCs) may apply. The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) lists Gold Open Access only journals.
• Diamond OA, where neither the reader nor the author pays. Diamond OA is rare in traditional journals however is growing amongst the non-commercial and community-driven OA publishing. COAlition S have published an Action Plan for Diamond OA

2025 sees the renegotiation of the big 5 Open Access publisher agreements. For more information see the Next Generation Open Access tab.

Leeds Beckett University's Open Research Policy sets out our commitment to making the products of our research (both outputs and research data) publicly available. It also contains our statement on Rights Retention

The next REF

The next Research Excellence Framework will be REF 2029. Initial decisions have been published and consultations on People, Culture and Environment and Open Access are ongoing. Results from the consultations are expected before the end of 2024 and full guidance is expected to be published in 2025. (REF timetable)