Temporary Free Access

Abstract

Many universities rapidly transitioned to online instruction in the spring of 2020, and content providers responded by offering temporary free access to a wide range of sources. Despite having no direct cost, free access comes with several hidden costs, including the staff time used to manage temporary access. With many campuses expecting online instruction to continue at least through the end of the year, teaching faculty and library staff now have to build solutions for online learning without the resources that got them through the spring. While transitioning to Open Educational Resources and Open Access publications may take a large effort upfront to redesign courses and workflows, being able to rely on permanent access would be a significant advantage.