The International Journal of Historical Cartography and Regional Studies (IJHCRS) adheres to a complete open-access publishing policy to guarantee that high-academic research is made free of charge to the audience worldwide without any monetary, legal, and technical constraints. The journal is vehemently of the view that research must be made readily available to the academic community across the globe so as to facilitate exchange of knowledge, academic cooperation as well as scientific development.

In this policy, every article in the journal will be accessible and permanently online once it is published. The published articles can be accessed, read, downloaded, and shared by the readers without subscriptions or payment. This open access method enhances the visibility and ease of access of research a great deal, and scholars, institutions, and researchers in other parts of the world can enjoy the published article. The journal has an interest in facilitating open and transparent scholarly communication and high standards of academic publishing and ethical conduct.

Key Principles of Our Open Access Policy

The journal adheres to the following principles to ensure that scholarly publishing remains transparent and available:

Immediate Accessibility
Any article that is accepted and published is instantly available on the internet as a free resource to all, and as such the reader will not have to wait to read the research.

No Subscription Barriers
The published materials are not based on subscription costs or registration that a reader has to make. The journal keeps the knowledge open to the academic fraternity.

Global Knowledge Dissemination
Open access publishing enables the research to have a wider international coverage in the form of researchers, students, policy makers and the academic institutions.

Enhanced Research Visibility
Open access articles are exposed more, and this may lead to higher readership, scholarly acclaim and are more likely to be referenced.

Permanent Online Availability
All the articles are archived forever on the journal site, which means that they can be accessed long-term in future research and reference.

Benefits of Open Access for Authors and Readers

The open access paradigm has the following advantages to the authors and to readers:

• Research is provided with broader international exposure.
• Readers are unrestricted in accessing quality scholarly content.
• Research can be made available to institutions and libraries without subscription costs.
• The academic world can easily share and disseminate research findings.
• Knowledge can be availed to developing regions where subscription-based access may be constrained.

Through this open access policy, the International Journal of Historical Cartography and Regional Studies will facilitate the free flow of knowledge and lead to the development of research in the areas of historical cartography and regional studies.