Introduction
While Gold Open Access made research free to read, it introduced a new commercial barrier: Article Processing Charges (APCs). Pushing publication costs onto authors has created a deeply inequitable system, locking out researchers from underfunded institutions or global south nations who cannot afford multi-thousand-dollar APCs. This has prompted a global push for fairer, more inclusive models.
What is Diamond Open Access?
Diamond Open Access represents a publishing model where journals are completely free to read and free to publish in. There are no subscription fees for readers and no APCs for authors. Instead, Diamond OA journals are collectively funded and supported by academic institutions, libraries, government research agencies, and scholarly societies.
The Institutional and Cooperative Funding Infrastructure
To sustain Diamond OA, the scholarly community is developing cooperative funding mechanisms. Rather than paying individual APCs, libraries pool their budgets to support non-profit community hosting platforms and institutional presses. This model is highly cost-effective, bypassing the high profit margins of commercial publishers and reinvesting funds back into academic infrastructure.
Securing the Future of Bibliodiversity
By decoupling publication from commercial transactions, Diamond OA fosters bibliodiversity—the diversity of languages, research topics, and local contexts in scholarly communication. It allows niche, regional, and humanities journals to thrive, ensuring that valuable local research is published, preserved, and made accessible to the communities it directly impacts.
Key Comparison Matrix
| Publishing Model | Cost to Reader | Cost to Author | Primary Funding Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subscription | High (Individual or Library License) | Free | Library Budgets / Subscriptions |
| Gold OA | Free | High (APC per article) | Author Grants / Institutional APC waivers |
| Green OA | Free (Self-archived preprint/postprint) | Free | Institutional Repositories |
| Diamond OA | Free | Free | Institutional, Library, or Government subsidies |
Fostering Diamond Open Access
- Audit library budgets to reallocate a percentage from paywalls to Diamond OA initiatives.
- Support local institutional journal hosting platforms (e.g., OJS – Open Journal Systems).
- Formally recognize Diamond OA publications as equivalent to high-impact commercial journals.
- Contribute library staff expertise or infrastructure to assist local scholarly societies.
- Advocate for national and international research funding dedicated to shared Diamond platforms.
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