Some Thoughts on the Meaning of Open Access for University Library Technical Services

Many studies of the Open Access (OA) movement analyze the problems of cost, author, and publisher reactions to OA, or the fluidity of the movement. Very few, however, investigate how library technical services have already been impacted by OA. How do collection development librarians identify and select material in these models? How do acquisitions librarians license or otherwise gain access to the materials? How are these materials to be maintained and preserved? The author surveys how OA in its various forms impacts the primary functions of technical services in academic libraries.