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University Libraries

Open Opportunities

By Tina Beis, Katy Kelly and Maureen Schlangen

Researchers have a multitude of options when submitting a manuscript for publication. One consideration is whether their selected journal publishes open access (OA), as opposed to paid, subscription-based access. University of Dayton Libraries faculty and staff support the ongoing open access movement and facilitate opportunities to ensure research is shared widely — without paywalls. To celebrate International Open Access Week (Oct. 24-30), we’re sharing some of our stories.

Open and Free

Thanks to agreements between OhioLINK and two major publishers, UD authors can publish open access at no charge in Cambridge University Press-published journals and Wiley hybrid journals. By publishing open access, articles are available without a subscription or fee to read, increasing access to scholars worldwide.

Congratulations to the following UD authors who have published their research as open access as a result of the OhioLINK agreements: 

Easier Access

Last year, coordinator of electronic resources Simon Robins shared usage data of open access material. He found that UD students, faculty and staff are easily able to find open access content from databases such as Academic Search Complete, UDiscover, and SocINDEX. This access has been facilitated since 2020 by Unpaywall and through our custom links to the Directory of Open Access Journals, an independent directory of open access journals financially supported by organizations and libraries like ours. By turning these two features on within our databases, UD users are able to reach the full text of articles more seamlessly.

Host with the Most

eCommons, UD’s institutional repository, hosts eight open access journals in seven disciplines. Some journals started on eCommons; others made a transition from a subscription model in print format to digital form with open access. eCommons provides a dashboard for editors and authors to track downloads and views. As of Sept. 30, their articles had been downloaded more than 600,000 times from thousands of institutions, agencies and organizations worldwide.

The University Libraries also publish proceedings of some academic and professional symposia and conferences on eCommons. Some examples include the Alumni Chair in Humanities Global Voices symposia; the 2016 conference of the Modern Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Science (MAICS); the Proceedings of the Berry Summer Thesis Institute; and the Electronic Proceedings of Undergraduate Mathematics Day.

In addition, faculty and researchers can use eCommons to provide open access versions of research they’ve published in outside publications. Send an email to request an appointment. 

Learn More

An upcoming workshop about Cabells will share ways faculty can research and select a good fit of a journal for their research. View the event details and register online.


— At the University Libraries, Katy Kelly is a professor and the coordinator of marketing and engagement; Tina Beis is an associate professor and the director of collections strategies and services; and Maureen Schlangen is the e-scholarship and communications manager.

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