﻿ Scholarly Communication | Collections | MSU Libraries
Michigan State University

MeLCat Logo​ MeLCat Outage


Scholarly Communication

Scholarly communication encompasses the systems and processes involved in the creation, dissemination, and preservation of knowledge. As both an author and a reader, scholarly communication practices are an intrinsic part of the fabric of your professional life. The Libraries are your partner in navigating the complex issues around author rights, peer-review, access, costs, new models of publishing, preservation, and compliance with research funder policies.

Many components of the scholarly communication system are continually evolving along with changes in technical infrastructure, social practices, and the economics of publishing. This flux is called the “scholarly communications crisis.”

A major component of the changing scholarly communication system is Open Access (OA) publishing. OA describes materials, particularly from the scholarly literature, that are freely available to everyone. Access to much of the scholarly literature is only available to readers with affiliations to institutions that purchase and pay subscription fees to content.