Finding Open Access Content

OA Journals 

Looking for a peer-reviewed journal article that is free to read and share? The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) is a great place to start. The DOAJ is a membership organization that requires its members follow the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing. You can use the DOAJ website to find open access journals in your field or search for articles on a particular topic of interest. If you want to reuse the article, you should check for a Creative Commons or other open access license and make sure you comply with its terms of use.

OA Books 

Want to find a freely available peer-reviewed book? You can search for open access books in your field in the Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB). If you’d like to reuse the contents of the book, you should check the license terms to make sure they’re compatible with your intended use. Most books in the DOAB can be reused for non-commercial purposes.

OA Repositories 

Open access repositories are another great place to find freely accessible content. The Directory of Open Access Repositories (OpenDOAR) search engine lets you search the contents of all the institutional and subject repositories listed in their directory. The repositories feature a wide variety of works, including articles, books, images, and dissertations. If you’re interested in reusing content you find a repository, make sure you check the terms of use. Some repositories may contain works that are free to read, but not free to reuse.

You can also directly search a specific subject repository, such as PubMed Central or arXiv. Having trouble identifying a repository in your field? Check OpenDOAR and the Registry of Open Access Repositories (ROAR), or reach out to your subject librarian for help!

Discover Emory faculty works in OpenEmory, our open access repository.

Looking for images, music, or video that you can reuse for free? Learn more about where to find free and resuable media.