Open or Ajar? And How We Blow The B****Y Doors Off!

Abstract

• The Open Access movement has transformed access to publicly funded research outcomes. Since 2009 there has been a 216% increase in the number of Open Access journals registered with the Directory of Open Access Journals who have published over 5,276,127 articles between them. But what happens when open access content can’t be meaningful engaged with by those who rely on alternative formats? What if the structures of these outputs mean that, for many people around the world, open articles may as well remain behind a restrictive paywall. Ben and Josie will discuss how Open Access could lead the way to ‘open accessibility’, how the WCAG legislation is impacting the work of public sector bodies to improve accessibility, and what more could be done to place responsibility on the private sector to create accessible content at point of creation.