An exploration of the growth and development in Open Access (OA) publications

 Open Access (OA) publishing grew in popularity along with the global improvement of the internet in the late ’90s and early ’00s. One of the main reasons for this was publishing costs for printed papers had risen which meant subscription costs were unattainable.  In this research, the background to OA was explored and the benefits and limitations of OA to its users were assessed. The research found the benefits far outweighed the limitations, with findings suggesting that OA plays a vital role in the sharing of global academic developments. Finally, the research explored future developments that could make OA sustainable in the long term while ensuring it was fair and unbiased for everyone. 
  

 Keywords: Open Access; Online; free of charge; Green Route; Gold Route; 

 Short Bio: Graduate of the BSc. Music, Media and Performance Technology. A Performing musician with an interest in media design.