Open Access to Knowledge and Challenges in Digital Libraries

Abstract

This chapter discusses open access as an aspect of digital libraries and the effect of copyright laws on free access to information. The authors conclude that the future of scholarly communication rests on open access content. They submit that the bulk of scholarly output will be open access. These, they opine, will become a formidable pillar of digital libraries. In this recognition, different players have come up with successful interventions for dealing with the barriers posed by copyright requirements. The authors recommend that all the players in scholarly communication should fully embrace open access principles at all levels. Similarly, they propose that stakeholders should urgently relook the challenges posed by copyright to the realisation of open access with a view of finding strategies to cope effectively with the same.