It’s all the same to me!: Copyright, contracts, and publisher self-archiving policies

“Green” open access—sharing copies of published scholarship online via repositories, rather than in the place of original publication—can be an appealing option for scholarly authors. It’s largely within their own control, and also often the option with least personal financial cost. Many publishers have standing policies enabling green open access of some kind, but the specifics of these policies vary widely and can be quite confusing for authors and others trying to understand and comply.