Handbook

EPrints Handbook
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A Guide to Starting Self-Archiving

Before Depositing Your First EPrint
Logging on for the first time and registering as a new user
Adding an EPrint
Keeping your publication record up to date
Metadata
The importance of accurate records
Behind the Scenes
What happens to an EPrint once you have deposited it?
Editing EPrints
Making corrections, adding published versions

A Guide to Self-Archiving and Open Access

Overview and Glossary
The who, what, where, when and why of self-archiving and open access, plus explanations of the importance of research access and impact.
Objections to Self-Archiving
A discussion of some common worries and prejudices that many academics hold about self-archiving.
Achieving Open Access through Self-Archiving
The Road to Open Access, including the roles of the various stakeholders.

Managing an EPrints Service

Installing an EPrints Server

The Problems of Toll Access

The financial barriers which journal subscriptions impose mean that even the richest institutions (the “Harvards”) can only afford access to a tiny fraction of the 25,000 peer-reviewed journals published across the world. The remaining institutions (the “Have-Nots”) can afford to view an even smaller proportion of the world's research output. The same barriers are imposed by other forms of toll-access, such as pay-per-view.

But even the Harvards (who are relatively insulated from restrictions on research access) cannot avoid damage to their research impact by financial toll-barriers, as they depend on the ability of the “Have-Nots” to buy access to it.

In other words, simply publishing papers in journals is an ineffective way to disseminate research.