The open access movement or "edemocracy": its birth, rise, problems and solutions

Abstract

We start with a definition of the open access (OA) movement and the reason for its birth – that is, the 1980’s serials’ crisis. We then present and explain the two main OA roads (the Gold OA and the Green OA roads) as well as the target of the OA movement. Key concepts related to the OA movement are also explained, such as “institutional repository”, “self-archiving”, “institutional mandate” and “directory of OA journals”. We also examine the rise and the benefits of the OA movement and give suggestions as to what universities, university students and researchers worldwide could do to promote the OA movement and make science truly accessible to all.