RoMEO is a searchable database of publisher's policies regarding the self- archiving of journal articles on the web and in Open Access repositories.
What use is RoMEO to me? If an academic author wants to put their research articles on-line, they are faced with an increasingly complex situation. Evidence shows that citations to articles made openly accessible in this way are taken up and cited more often than research that is simply published in journals. Also some funding agencies require open access archiving for their research, to increase the use of the information generated.
However, some publishers prohibit authors from using their own articles in this way. Others allow it, but only under certain conditions, while others are quite happy for authors to show their work in this way.
Authors can be left confused: RoMEO helps to clarify the situation.
What does RoMEO contain? RoMEO contains publishers' general policies on self-archiving of journal and conference articles. Each entry provides a summary of the publisher's policy, including what version of an article can be deposited, where it can be deposited, and any conditions that are attached to that deposit. See Publisher copyright policies & self-archiving for more.
Creative Commons is an international non-profit organisation that provides free licences and tools that copyright owners can use to allow others to share, reuse and remix their material, legally.
The aim of the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) is to increase the visibility and ease of use of open access scientific and scholarly journals thereby promoting their increased usage and impact. The Directory aims to be comprehensive and cover all open access scientific and scholarly journals that use a quality control system to guarantee the content. In short a one stop shop for users to Open Access Journals.
PLoS is a nonprofit publisher. Their mission is to accelerate progress in science and medicine by leading a transformation in research communication. Everything that they publish is open-access - freely available online for anyone to use. Sharing research encourages progress, from protecting the biodiversity of our planet to finding more effective treatments for diseases such as cancer.
BioMed Central is an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the open access publishing model. All original research articles published by BioMed Central are made freely and permanently accessible online immediately upon publication. BioMed Central views open access to research as essential in order to ensure the rapid and efficient communication of research findings.
SPARC Europe has a track record in driving Open Access forward by influencing Open policies in Europe and working with European institutions such as the European Commission, Europe’s research institutions and universities, and organisations with allied Open agendas. SPARC Europe consistently initiates, facilitates, and supports the implementation of the long-term objective of opening access to European research for all.