Dramatic Growth of Open Access - March 31, 2009

[Heather Morrison <heatherm@eln.bc.ca>]

** with apologies for cross-posting **

I just posted the Dramatic Growth of Open Access for March 31, 
2009

Synopsis:

This quarter, the growth of open access has been dramatic in open 
access journals, open access archives, and, perhaps most 
noteworthy, open access policies. The Directory of Open Access 
Journals (DOAJ) is on the verge of an important milestone - 4,000 
fully open access, peer-reviewed journals, double the number of 
the largest commercial publisher. DOAJ is growing at the rate of 
2 titles per day. OpenDOAR lists 1,373 repositories, an increase 
of about 70 this quarter. Scientific Commons now encompasses 26 
million items, an increase of 2 million. 663 journals are now 
voluntarily participating in PubMedCentral, an increase of 119 
(22%) this quarter. 447 journals provide immediate free access 
through PubMedCentral, an increase of 29 (7%) this quarter. There 
are 11 more open access policies, for a total of 72 policies 
worldwide, and 4 more proposed policies, for a total of 14 
proposed policies. One decrease is noted - not in open access per 
se, but rather subscription journals providing free back issues: 
Highwire Press seems to have 212,000 fewer free articles, a 
decrease of 10%. This is a bit puzzling, as Highwire has added 1 
more completely free site, and there is an increase of 11 sites 
providing free back access. Any background on what is happening 
here would be most appreciated.

For details and links, go to: 
http://poeticeconomics.blogspot.com/2009/03/dramatic-growth-of-open- 
access-march-31.html

Any opinion expressed in this e-mail is that of the author alone, 
and does not represent the opinion or policy of BC Electronic 
Library Network or Simon Fraser University Library.

Heather Morrison, MLIS
The Imaginary Journal of Poetic Economics
http://poeticeconomics.blogspot.com