Review of Unpaywall [Chrome & Firefox browser extension]

Abstract

A new, free, open source browser extension, Unpaywall, indicates whether or not there is a free open access (OA) version of an article when users encounter a paywall. It may be particularly useful to researchers whose workflows don’t include Google Scholar, those who are concerned about copyright compliance, and those who are not privileged to have access to subscription resources. Researchers may use Unpaywall in combination with other tools. I encourage librarians to recommend Unpaywall to researchers, especially since its color-coded tabs educate users about the different types of OA.

Keywords

• open access publishing
• access to information
• open source software
• technological innovations
• browsers (computer programs)