Define open access and its significance for information access.

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Open access means making research outputs freely available online to anyone, without paywalls or subscription barriers. This matters because it removes financial and access hurdles, allowing a broader audience to read, use, and build on the work. It also boosts discoverability and visibility since the work can be found through search engines and shared more widely. The option that states research is freely available online without paywalls, increasing accessibility and visibility, best captures both the concept and its significance. Open access is often supported by licenses that allow reuse, facilitating inclusion in teaching, citations, and further research. The other statements don’t fit: OA is not about the author owning the journal, it does not restrict access to those with subscriptions, and it isn’t a licensing that prohibits reuse.