Free Scholarly Resources
Open access (OA) resources are freely available online without subscription or paywall restrictions. UNZA Library curates and promotes OA tools to complement subscription databases and support researchers who need unrestricted access to scholarly literature.
Recommended Open Access Portals
- Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) — Peer-reviewed open access journals across all subjects
- Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB) — Academic books from open access publishers
- PubMed Central — Free full-text biomedical and life sciences articles
- arXiv & SSRN — Preprint servers for physics, mathematics, and social sciences
- Research4Life (HINARI, AGORA, OARE, ARDI) — Free or low-cost access for developing countries
- African Journals Online (AJOL) — African-published scholarly journals
- UNZA Institutional Repository — Open access to UNZA theses and faculty publications
Open Access Publishing
UNZA Library supports faculty and postgraduate students in understanding open access publishing options, including gold OA journals, hybrid journals, and green OA self-archiving in UNZA-IR. Consult our Publishing Support page for guidance on choosing reputable OA publishers and avoiding predatory journals.
UNZA Open Access Policy
The University of Zambia encourages researchers to make their published work openly accessible where possible, in line with national research priorities and international best practices. The library provides advocacy, training, and infrastructure to support this mission.