What is open access?
Open Access refers to the free, immediate, and unrestricted online availability of electronic resources such as scholarly literature and publications. It allows anyone to read, download, and share these materials without paywalls or subscription barriers. OA doesn't only mean access to scholarly works like journal articles or books--it also can apply to research data (Open Data) textbooks, (Open Educational Resources), and even software (Open Source).
Why does Open Access matter?
Open Access materials make research available to everyone--students, teachers, and communities--so ideas can be freely shared and built upon.
See the YouTube video by SHB Online for more details: