Join the Libraries for Open Access Week Events

via openaccessweek.org

It Matters How We Open Knowledge: Building Structural Equity is the 2021 theme for Open Access Week, observed Oct. 25-31.

Open Access Week is set for Oct. 25-31, and the U of A Libraries are celebrating with a slate of events to inform the campus community of what "open access" means and its importance. Information will also be provided about the services and programs the libraries offer to make higher education more accessible and affordable for all and to make U of A research more widely available to scholars. 

Open access is defined by the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition as "the free, immediate, online availability of research articles coupled with the rights to use these articles fully in the digital environment. Open Access ensures that anyone can access and use these results — to turn ideas into industries and breakthroughs into better lives." 

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday, Oct. 25, an information table will be set up in the west lobby of Mullins Library for those wanting to learn more or to speak with an expert on open access. Martha Anderson, head of the Digital Services Department, will then present "It Matters How We Open Knowledge: Building Structural Equity" at 3 p.m. in the west lobby of Mullins Library. A recording of the presentation will be made available afterward. 

At noon, Tuesday, Oct. 26, Lora Lennertz will present "Open Science: Practices that Support Reproducibility and Replicability of Scientific Research Online" via Zoom. 

On Wednesday, Oct. 27, the campus community is encouraged to listen to short podcasts with three open access advocates, available in the "Why Open Access?" section of the Open Access Research Guide. Those who wish to make their own research open access can learn how to do so in the "Support for Publishing Your Work" section of the guide. 

The webinar "Open Government Resources: Tools and Tricks Online" will be offered by Lennertz at 10 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 28, via Zoom. This webinar will include an overview of state and federal government websites and a smattering of international sites that are open and available to all users with an emphasis on locating data and statistics.

The asynchronous presentation "Access to Research is a Student Right" by Elaine Thornton will be available Friday, Oct. 29. The presentation will cover the importance of having access to research and how students can take action to advance open access. 

The Office of Scholarly Communications will also be highlighting an open access Journal of the Day via their Twitter account each day throughout the week.

"Open Access publications have no barriers to read, making research and the knowledge gained from it broadly and equitably accessible for all," said Jason Battles, dean of libraries. "Access to information is a cornerstone tenet of librarianship, and we are excited to highlight the need and our efforts to support Open Access."