Open Access Resources

The concept of "open access" to information, which initially focused on the peer-reviewed journal literature (Budapest Open Access Initiative ), continues to grow and evolve with changes in technologies and the digital environment.

Open access resources are free for everyone to read or engage with (depending on the type of resource!). You can provide a link to these resources without infringing any copyright restrictions, although there may be conditions around how you link and an attribution/citation should always be included.

The resources in this guide represent only a portion of the resources available, but they are focused towards providing good quality, open access resources which can be used to support learning and teaching. If you are aware of open access resources in your field which would be a useful addition to this guide, please contact the Library.

Open access resources are not always copyright free. Whilst anyone can access an open access resource, what you can actually do with the resource is determined by its copyright status. If a resource is in the public domain (copyright has expired), or has been made available under a Creative Commons licence, it can be re-used under the conditions defined on the licence. An overview of Creative Commons licence options is provided in the box below.

Most open access resources require an attribution when they are re-used - details can usually be found on the resource itself, or on a site's terms and conditions. It's good practice to provide an attribution, even if it's not specifically requested (this way you also have a record of where the resource was sourced).

If you have any queries about the copyright attached to a particular source, please contact the Library.

Attribution CC BY

Allowed to share (to copy, distribute and transmit the work), remix (to adapt the work) and use it for commercial purposes provided you attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor.

Attribution-NoDerivs

Allowed to share (to copy, distribute and transmit the work) and use it for commercial purposes provided you do not alter, transform or build upon the work and you attribute it in the manner specified by the author or licensor.

Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

Allowed to share (to copy, distribute and transmit the work) and remix (to adapt the work) provided it isn’t used for commercial purposes, you attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor and you distribute it under the same license.

Attribution-ShareAlike

Allowed to share (to copy, distribute and transmit the work) and remix (to adapt the work) and use it for commercial purposes provided if you alter, transform or build upon the work provided you distribute it under the similar license.  You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor.

Attribution-NonCommercial

Allowed to share (to copy, distribute and transmit the work) and remix (to adapt the work) provided it isn’t used for commercial purposes. You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor.

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs

Allowed to share (to copy, distribute and transmit the work) provided you do not alter, transform or build upon the work or use it for commercial purposes and you attribute it in the manner specified by the author or licensor.

Watch this video for a summary of the above licenses.