York University Libraries FAQ

Some of the common open access (OA) publishing models for journals include: 

• Gold OA: In Gold OA publishing, the published content in the journal is freely available to read for researchers. However, the author will be required to pay an article processing charge (APC) to publish in the journal. 

• Hybrid Open Access: In Hybrid OA publishing, the journal will have some articles available OA; however, other articles will require researchers to subscribe to the journal to access the content. Authors publishing in Hybrid OA journals can choose to pay an APC to make their article OA upon publication. 

• Diamond Open Access: Journals that use a Diamond OA publishing model do not require readers to pay a subscription to access the content. They also do not require authors to pay an APC to publish their articles. You can find Diamond OA journals using the Directory of Open Access Journals search. 

• Green Open Access or Self-Archiving: Green OA is a form of self-archiving by the author. Self-archiving is the act of depositing a version of a published article into an open access repository. You can use YorkSpace, York’s institutional repository to self-archive your scholarly work.  

• Need help? Contact opendeposit@yorku.ca for help with your open access questions. Contact diginit@yorku.ca for help with your YorkSpace questions.