Gold Open Access

Gold Open Access means that the final published version of a research article is made freely available by the publisher. Readers can access the article online without subscription fees.

This model ensures wide visibility and rapid dissemination of research. However, Gold Open Access may involve publication fees for authors.

In many cases, the publishing costs are covered through Article Processing Charges (APCs), which are paid by the author, their institution, or a funding body.

Green Open Access

Green Open Access refers to the practice of self-archiving a version of a research article—often the accepted manuscript after peer review but before the publisher’s final formatting—in an institutional or subject repository.

This approach allows the work to be freely accessible, sometimes after an embargo period set by the publisher.

Green Open Access provides a cost-effective way to share research and increase its reach without necessarily paying Article Processing Charges (APCs).

Comparison between Gold and Green Open Access

Secondary Publication

Secondary publishing (also known as self-archiving) refers to the practice of republishing an academic work in an open access repository after it has already appeared in a traditional journal or publication.

Typically, this involves depositing an earlier version of the work, such as a pre-print (before peer review) or a post-print (the accepted manuscript after peer review but before the publisher’s final formatting), into an institutional or subject-based repository.

This approach is closely related to Green Open Access, as it allows researchers to make their work freely accessible without paying additional publishing fees. However, secondary publication is often subject to publisher policies, including embargo periods that delay when the article can be made openly available. For example, an article first published with Elsevier may only be deposited in a university repository after a 12-month embargo.

Transformative Agreements

Transformative Agreements are contracts between institutions or library consortia and publishers that aim to shift traditional subscription models toward open access publishing.

Under these agreements, institutions pay a combined fee that covers both reading access to subscription content and open access publishing for their affiliated authors.

This model reduces or removes individual Article Processing Charges (APCs) for authors and supports a gradual transition to a more open and sustainable scholarly publishing system.