Journal of Information & Systems Management Chaithra G, Rekha D. Pai 15 2 2025 https://doi.org/10.6025/jism/2025/15/2/71-78 https://www.dline.info/jism/fulltext/v15n2/jismv15n2_4.pdf The Open Access (OA) publishing movement has changed the face of scholarly communication by supporting unrestricted access to research products. This study examines the concepts, types, benefits, problems, and future directions of OA publishing. Open access democratizes knowledge, boosts research visibility and impact accelerates scientific discovery, and also addresses financial, quality, and sustainability concerns. How universities can support Open Access publishing is also explained.