Open Access Journals in Library and Information Science:The Story so Far

Abstract Purpose: Internet has triggered the growth of scholarly publications and every discipline is witnessing an unremitting growth in the scholarly market. Open access, the product of Internet has also captured the global disciplines. Library and Information Science, is also witnessing a dramatic growth in the open access field. The study explores the status of open access titles in the field of Library and Information Science (LIS). Various characteristics highlighting open access titles in the field of LIS are featured in the study. Design/Methodology/Approach: A systematic method for characterizing the open access titles in the field of Library and Information Science was carried out by extracting the data from Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Open J- Gate, and Ulrichsweb.com. Findings: The results clearly reveal an expounding growth of open access titles in the field of Library and Information Science. Commercial publishers have also joined hands as open access market players. Indexing policies of OA titles in LIS need to be restructured and low income nations have to evolve in the field of OA bazaar. Research Implications: The study will be helpful for the researchers in exploring the open access titles in the field of LIS. Furthermore, it can act as an eye opener to the scholarly world to know about the real status of open access titles in the field of LIS. Future Research: Future research can be carried out to expedite the innovative trends in the LIS open journals.Ministry of Information Technology,Government of Jammu and Kashmi