- Find free academic articles not available through Herts
- Find articles with Unpaywall
- Search for research with CORE
- Find articles with Lean Library
- Using open access versions
- Do not use Sci-Hub
Find free academic articles not available through Herts
If an article or other academic resource is not available through Herts Library subscriptions, you may be able to find a free open access version online.
Open access (OA) research is freely available online for anyone to read and use. It is often stored in online research repositories, such as the University Research Archive (UHRA).
You can use Unpaywall, CORE or Lean Library to search for open access research.
Find articles with Unpaywall
Unpaywall helps you find open access versions of academic research.
You can use Unpaywall as a browser extension on Firefox or Chrome.
Watch the short Unpaywall video to see how to install and use the browser extension.
Search for research with CORE
CORE brings together open access research from repositories and journals around the world.
You can:
- search CORE for individual articles and other research
- browse for multiple resources
- use the CORE browser extension for Chrome or Firefox
- find similar open access research if the item you want is not available.
Find articles with Lean Library
Lean Library is a browser extension that helps you find Herts Library resources while searching online.
If a resource is not available through Herts, Lean Library can direct you to an open access version where one is available.
Download Lean Library for Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Edge.
Watch the 3-minute Get Started with Lean Library video to find out more.
Using open access versions
Open access research may be available as a preprint or accepted manuscript rather than the final version published by the journal.
Find out more about these versions and how to reference them correctly in Library SkillUP.
Do not use Sci-Hub
Herts students must not use Sci-Hub. It provides unauthorised access to academic papers and may also present a security risk.
Read the City of London Police information about Sci-Hub.