From: Nick Szydlowski <[log in to unmask]> Date: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 14:38:21 +0000 One academic field where nearly all of the top journals in the United States have become open access is law. These journals are published by law schools, and are not intended to produce a profit, so they do not meet the requirement of being "commercially viable," but neither is their funding tenuous, because of the significant benefits they provide to the law schools that publish them. Most of these journals still offer print subscriptions as well as free, immediate online access. They are also available in several commercial legal information products, though many law review receive no royalties for their participation in those services. They do not fit the most stringent definitions of open access, particularly with regards to re-use rights, but they do not charge APCs and generally the author retains the copyright on published articles. Some examples: Harvard Law Review: http://www.harvardlawreview.org/index.php Yale Law Journal: http://www.yalelawjournal.org/ And it isn't only the top general law reviews: Boston College International and Comparative Law Review: http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/iclr/ Because the editorial and publishing process is so different than in other fields, law reviews are not necessarily a likely model for other journals, but they may be relevant to those with an interest in scholarly communications practice. Best, Nick Nick Szydlowski Digital Services & Institutional Repository Librarian Boston College Law Library