IFLA Statement on Open Access to Scholarly Literature and Research Documentation (2003), International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)

What is this about?

The IFLA Statement on Open Access to Scholarly Literature and Research Documentation (2003), produced by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), provides international guidance on making openness the default in scholarly communication, balanced by considerations of ethics, privacy, intellectual property, and security. It links open access to improved research quality, reproducibility, speed of translation, and equitable knowledge sharing, particularly for communities with limited subscription access. Core elements include clear routes to open access, Creative Commons licensing, persistent identifiers, repository deposition of accepted manuscripts, and the use of FAIR data principles supported by data management plans specifying stewardship, metadata, and repository choice. The statement defines responsibilities for authors (rights retention, funding acknowledgment), institutions (training, repository services), funders (sustainable infrastructure), and publishers (rights support, interoperability, machine-readable metadata). Embargoes are discouraged but permitted with transparent justification, and sensitive or commercial data may require secure governance. Supporting infrastructure such as repositories, registries, and discovery systems ensures visibility and compliance, while alignment with initiatives like Plan S and the European Open Science Cloud embeds practices in a global ecosystem. Emphasis is placed on the quality of openness metadata, links, methods, and data/code sharing and on equity, reducing author costs and promoting community-owned platforms.

For whom is this important?

ResearchersResearch institutionsJournal publishersPolicy makers

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