This document discusses open access publishing and alternative metrics to measure scholarly impact beyond traditional journal impact factors. It notes that open access publishing can provide more readers and citations, leading to greater impact. The document explores metrics like the h-index and eigenfactor that may better capture an individual researcher's impact across disciplines. It finds that open access articles tend to be cited more frequently than non-open access articles, including a 64% citation advantage for social work articles. The document encourages researchers to consider open access options and institutional repositories to broaden the reach of their work.