‘Open access’ refers to research publications that are "digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions,” rather than hidden behind a paywall with copyright assigned to the publisher (Suber, 2012), and has become increasingly established over the last two decades. Researchers at all career stages now encounter more opportunities to make their research publications open access than ever before, as well as the expectation they do so from their funders and employers. This Bitesize webinar introduces what open access is and the benefits of making your publications open. It discusses routes to open access, publishing models currently available and some of the challenges and opportunities associated with them. It covers developments in areas which may be less familiar to you, such as open monographs, and introduces the University's new Research Publications and Copyright Policy, which enables you retain the rights over your own work and make your Author Accepted manuscripts open access through our repository immediately on publication. 

The webinar will be 20 minutes long, with 5 minutes for Q&A and will be delivered by the Scholarly Communications Team from the University of Sheffield Library.