Open access journals are the primary medium to make articles available in gold open access. Access to such articles is free of charge and worldwide available immediately upon publication of the journal without any other restrictions.

The main differences between open access and non-open access journals are the free accessibility and the unrestricted use of the documents. The initial publications have to pass a peer review or editorial review.

The content of open access journals is open for databases and search engines (e.g. BASE, also available via the DigiBib).

Existing open access journals are listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).

In some disciplines, the great importance of books was frequently cited as a reason for refusal of open access. Meanwhile, the option to publish books in open access becomes more and more attractive for scientists.

Despite some differences between journal and book publications, the questions that writers have to clarify are similar: openness, publication fees, re-publishing opportunities in a repository. Many publishers are negotiating appropriate options.

Projects such as Open Access Publishing in European Networks (OAPEN) or Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB) record open access books and facilitate accessibility.