Open Access

Jeff Edmunds makes a plea for Open Access. (With apologies to Queen and David Bowie.)

Fluorescent haberdashery by Marty Edmunds.

Vendors bearing down on me
Selling ebooks
Content I can’t see

Scholars churning out this stuff
I can’t see it
Cause I don’t pay enough

Costs keep rising toward infinity
Why not put everything on line for free
Equity of access, discoverability
Open Access for you, Open Access for me

Clicking around
Seeking research I need
Nowhere to be found
Unless I pay a fee

Elsevier, Sage, and Springer Nature too
Wiley, Taylor & Francis put the screws to you
Why must we pay twice
For the knowledge we create
Why not just pay once, wouldn’t that be great

Just assign a CC license to your work
Don’t hide it behind a paywall, don’t be a jerk
Increase the reach of the research you’ve done
Skirting the big publishers is half the fun

Brand new day with budgets refreshed
Scholarship thriving, profiteering suppressed
Access for all, everything for free
For free

Publishers tremble as the paywalls collapse

Why can’t we give Open Access a chance
Let’s all give Open Access a chance
Let’s all give Open Access a chance

No more big deals no more backlists
No discontinued titles we paid for then lost
When the rights were revoked
No budgets squandered yes now is the time for OA

Libraries must seize the day
Unlock content before it’s too late

Open Access for you and Open Access for me
Open Access
Open Access
Access