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“Open access literature is digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.”
Finding Open Access items
No library can afford to subscribe to every journal, or purchase every book which matches its readers' interests. Many academic authors commit to make their work openly available to readers who don't have access through a library, by uploading their files to their University website or a subject-specific sharing platform. And sometimes, publishers release eBooks or eJournal articles with open access for everyone, doing their bit to contribute to a fairer society.
To find out more about Open Access collections and the Library, please see our detailed Open collections page.
Current and former students, staff and members of the public can all use the Library search to find a great deal of Open Access material to read, listen to or watch.
Open Access extensions
There are many more sources of Open Access material worldwide which aren't included in the Library search. Web developers have created several browser extensions which can help readers locate Open Access items when using any search engine or database.
For an introduction to these, start from the Library's guide to Open Access Discovery.
Finding Open Access items
Current and former students, staff and members of the public can all use the Library search to find a great deal of Open Access material to read, listen to or watch:
- Type in the author names, title words or subject terms, then click Search.
- Filter by Open Access to find items in our collection which are free to read and download by anyone, not just Hull students and staff.
- All the items in your search results will be available online, and you won't need to login with a University of Hull ID.
You can also try to Add Results Beyond the Library’s Collection, to find eResources which the Library does not subscribe to. Where these are openly accessible, you’ll see a link to the content. (Remember that University of Hull staff and students can use the Inter-Library loan service if you find something you really want to read which is not open access).
