Future of resource sharing in Turkey: can open access be an alternative?

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the current status of open access initiatives in Turkey.

The author has conducted extensive research on the subject, which is supplemented by his own professional experience with resource sharing activities in Turkey.

Turkish libraries first ventured into the open access arena in late 2005 and have since made great strides by implementing dozens of institutional repositories and a national thesis center as well. Open access has a bright future in Turkey because of its promise for eliminating barriers to scientific information and reducing the costs of scholarly publication.

The author is one of a small cadre of experts on resource sharing and open access efforts in Turkey.