The term "open access" describes principles and practices by which information is distributed openly and freely online, with no access fees or restrictive barriers. As non-profit org SPARC describes it in relation to academic research publications, "Open Access is the free, immediate, online availability of research articles coupled with the rights to use these articles fully in the digital environment." Some academics distribute their research work freely using open access methods, such as Creative Commons licenses or the public domain.
FlashFind, the library's research tool, allows users to filter the open access materials within their search results. These results are indicated by an open access icon and label (see the image below for an example).
