Open Access Scholarly Publishing Association
An international nonprofit trade association representing and supporting open-access journal, book, and scholarly-infrastructure publishers.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
The Open Access Scholarly Publishing Association (OASPA) is a nonprofit international trade association for organizations and individuals involved in open-access scholarly publishing. It was launched on October 14, 2008, during an Open Access Day event in London hosted by the Wellcome Trust. The association initially concentrated on open-access scholarly journals, but its remit later broadened to include open-access books and aspects of open scholarly infrastructure. OASPA functions primarily as a membership, standards, advocacy, and community organization rather than as a publisher of scholarly content itself. Its members include professional publishing organizations, university presses, academic libraries, commercial and nonprofit publishers, small scholar-led journals, and other organizations that provide services or support to open-access publishing. The association has developed membership assessment criteria intended to help distinguish established and responsible open-access publishing operations from organizations with inadequate editorial, peer-review, licensing, or governance practices. A central part of OASPA's work is the promotion of transparent and reusable publishing practices. The association encourages the use of Creative Commons licensing, particularly the Creative Commons Attribution license, or CC BY, because that license generally permits broad reuse while requiring attribution. This orientation aligns with widely used definitions of open access and open knowledge. OASPA also organizes an annual conference focused on open-access scholarly publishing, providing a forum for publishers, researchers, funders, librarians, infrastructure providers, and policy stakeholders. Membership is divided into categories that reflect organizational scale, commercial status, and publishing structure. These include small, medium, large, and very large professional publishing organizations; commercial and noncommercial other organizations; and scholar publishers. The latter category accommodates individuals or small groups of researchers who may publish a journal with substantial volunteer or subsidized support. OASPA also supports a special-interest group for fully open-access publishers, whose journals are exclusively open access. The association's role has not been free of controversy. Critics have questioned whether an organization representing publishers can simultaneously serve as an impartial quality marker for open-access publishing, particularly because several founding participants were themselves publishers. OASPA has also faced criticism that its emphasis on gold open access could receive more attention than green open access, in which authors make versions of works available through repositories. In addition, the association's membership-screening practices were tested by the 2013 Science investigation commonly known as the 'Who's Afraid of Peer Review?' sting. OASPA subsequently investigated the circumstances surrounding the acceptance of a fabricated manuscript by three members, ending the memberships of Dove Medical Press and Hikari Ltd. and placing Sage under review. Sage later regained membership after changes to editorial processes, while Dove Medical Press was reinstated in 2015 following reported improvements. OASPA therefore occupies a distinctive position in scholarly communications: it is both an advocate for the expansion of open access and a standards-oriented membership body expected to scrutinize the conduct of participating publishers. Its activities connect publishing practice, licensing, research integrity, scholarly infrastructure, and the international policy debate over access to academic literature.
History
The Open Access Scholarly Publishing Association was launched on October 14, 2008, at an Open Access Day celebration in London hosted by the Wellcome Trust. It was created as a nonprofit trade association for open-access journal publishers at a time when open publishing models were expanding but professional standards, licensing expectations, and sector-wide coordination remained uneven. OASPA's original focus was open-access journals. Over time, its activities expanded to encompass open-access books and open scholarly infrastructure, reflecting the broader development of open research communication. The association became a forum for publishers and related organizations seeking common approaches to licensing, editorial quality, peer review, governance, and the practical operation of open publishing programs. The association's membership framework includes professional publishing organizations, scholar publishers, and other organizations that provide meaningful services or support to open-access publishing. Professional organizations may be commercial or nonprofit and may publish their own journals and books or manage publications for scholarly societies and other groups. Scholar publishers generally consist of researchers or small scholarly teams operating one journal, often with substantial volunteer support. OASPA also recognizes other commercial and noncommercial organizations whose primary work may be infrastructure, library, university-press, or service-related activity. OASPA introduced membership assessment criteria in 2013 and revised them in August 2018. The framework uses several categories based on organizational type and scale, including small, medium, large, and very large professional publishers, commercial and noncommercial other organizations, and scholar publishers. The association also supports a special-interest group for fully open-access publishers, comprising members whose journals are exclusively open access. A March 2021 figure cited for the association recorded 159 members. The organization promotes Creative Commons licensing, especially CC BY, as a way to enable reuse of scholarly works while preserving attribution. It also organizes an annual conference dedicated to open-access scholarly publishing, bringing together stakeholders from publishing, research, libraries, funding, infrastructure, and policy. OASPA has faced criticism over the relationship between its quality-oriented membership role and its representation of publishers. Observers questioned whether an association founded in part by open-access publishers could act as a fully independent quality seal. Some members were also associated with debates about so-called predatory publishing. The association was further criticized by some commentators for emphasizing gold open access, in which publishers make articles openly available, potentially at the expense of green open access through repositories. The most prominent test of OASPA's membership oversight followed the 2013 Science sting, in which fabricated research papers were submitted to journals to test peer-review practices. Three OASPA members were implicated in accepting a fake paper. OASPA created an investigative committee, terminated the memberships of Dove Medical Press and Hikari Ltd. on November 11, 2013, and placed Sage under review for six months. Sage later regained membership after editorial-process changes, and Dove Medical Press was reinstated in September 2015 after reported improvements. The episode reinforced OASPA's dual role as an advocate for open access and an organization expected to monitor publishing conduct.
- 2021
Membership reaches 159 organizations
[1]A membership count cited for March 2021 records 159 OASPA members.
- 2018
Membership criteria revised
[1]The association revises its membership criteria in August to update its assessment framework.
- 2013
Membership assessment criteria established
[1]OASPA establishes criteria for assessing organizations seeking membership, creating a formal framework for different types and sizes of open-access publishing organizations.
- 2013
Response to the Science peer-review sting
[1]OASPA forms a committee to investigate the acceptance of a fabricated paper by three members and takes subsequent membership actions.
- 2008
OASPA is launched
[1]The association is launched on October 14 during an Open Access Day event in London hosted by the Wellcome Trust.
Products and positioning
A nonprofit international association positioned at the intersection of open-access advocacy, publisher standards, scholarly communication, and research infrastructure. OASPA presents membership and participation as mechanisms for professionalization and community coordination in open-access publishing.
Association service
OASPA membership
Membership for professional publishers, scholar-led publishers, libraries, university presses, infrastructure providers, and other organizations supporting open-access scholarly communication. Applicants are assessed against OASPA criteria and assigned to a category reflecting organizational type and scale.
Professional event
Annual OASPA conference
An annual conference focused on open-access scholarly publishing. It provides a forum for discussion of publishing models, research integrity, licensing, scholarly infrastructure, policy, and the evolving responsibilities of publishers and other participants in open research.
Standards and governance · 2013
Membership assessment framework
A set of criteria used to evaluate prospective members and organize them into categories such as professional publishing organizations, scholar publishers, and commercial or noncommercial other organizations. The framework is intended to support transparency and publishing quality within the association's community.
Advocacy and guidance
Open-access licensing advocacy
OASPA promotes Creative Commons licensing, particularly CC BY, to support the legal reuse and redistribution of scholarly works while preserving attribution. This activity forms part of the association's broader effort to clarify and strengthen open publishing practices.
Controversies
2013
Science peer-review sting and membership oversight controversy
A fabricated paper accepted by journals associated with three OASPA members prompted an association investigation and raised questions about the effectiveness of publisher quality controls. OASPA terminated the memberships of Dove Medical Press and Hikari Ltd. and placed Sage under review. The episode also intensified broader criticism of OASPA's role as a publisher association that evaluates members.
2013
Debate over conflicts of interest and gold open access
Critics questioned whether OASPA could serve as an impartial quality marker because it was founded by open-access publishers and represented publishers subject to its membership criteria. Other criticism focused on the perceived prioritization of gold open access over green open access.
Brand decisions
2015
Reinstate Dove Medical PressOtherBackground
Dove Medical Press had lost its OASPA membership after the 2013 peer-review investigation.
Action taken
OASPA reinstated Dove Medical Press in September after reported improvements to its editorial processes.
Aftermath
The reinstatement demonstrated that membership sanctions could be followed by reassessment after corrective action.
2013
Terminate two memberships after investigationOtherBackground
The Science peer-review sting showed that fabricated research had been accepted by journals connected with three OASPA members.
Action taken
OASPA formed an investigative committee and terminated the memberships of Dove Medical Press and Hikari Ltd. on November 11, 2013.
Aftermath
The decision drew attention to OASPA's membership standards and its responsibility to oversee publishers participating in the association.
2013
Place Sage membership under reviewOtherBackground
A Sage-affiliated journal also accepted a fabricated paper in the Science investigation.
Action taken
OASPA placed Sage's membership under review for six months while Sage examined the journal's editorial processes.
Aftermath
Sage's membership was reinstated after editorial-process changes were made.
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