- Check if your local library or university library allows you to have access to the documents in their online databases. If you are an alumni of a university, you may also be given permission for some time after your graduation date to use their databases. In addition, consider whether you can obtain access to multiple library systems. For example, if you live outside of the City of Toronto but go to school or work in the city limits, you may still qualify for a Toronto Public Library card.
- Conduct a simple Google or Google Scholar search to see if the document you are searching for is already available somewhere for free either as a PDF or HTML.
- If what you are looking for is a research paper that is paywalled behind a journal, consider emailing the author of the paper directly to politely ask for them to send you a digital copy of their work. Their email should be easily accessible from a simple Google search of their name.
- Use an app such as PressReader to access newspaper articles that are behind a paywall.
- On desktop, often times opening a webpage to an article in your browser’s “Private Mode” or “Incognito Mode” will allow you to bypass paywalls.
- Check if the webpage you are trying to access has been already archived in the Internet Archive’s WayBack Machine (a service which archives web pages). When the WayBack Machine saves the webpage, the paywall block is usually removed.
Applied Plant Ecology Winter 2020 