As a result of the global economic downturn cuts have taken place in subscriptions to restricted-access journals and databases.  

Across the world in 2009 a third of libraries experienced budget cuts of at least 10 percent, a recent survey showed.

The University of California at San Francisco cancelled 118 print and 115 electronic subscriptions in 2010, while the University of Virginia cut 1600 and Georgia State University cut 441.  

These are just a few examples of a world-wide trend.  It means that:

• Researchers have access to fewer subscription journals and databases than ever

• Authors' work appearing in these journals and databases has a rapidly declining audience

It also means that open access journals now offer readers and authors an even better alternative to old-fashioned restricted-access journals and databases.

Anyone is free to read open access journals irrespective of their location, and whereas the audience for subscription journals is shrinking all the time, the audience for open access journals is large and growing larger.  

Furthermore, readers will not loose access to open access journals: open access publishers are prevented by copyright agreements with authors from restricting open access articles.  Professionally operated, commercially sustainable open access publishers are established and successful: we're not going anywhere.

Read more about the benefits of publishing your paper in a Libertas open access journal

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