International Open Access Week, Oct. 23-29, 2023

What is Open Access?

According to SPARC, an open advocacy group that is one of the founders of International Open Access Week, Open Access is “the free, immediate, online availability of research articles and books 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.” Learn more about Open Access and SPARC’s work at SPARC’s website.

What Is International Open Access Week 2023?

International Open Access Week is an annual celebration of free and open access to scholarly information. This year’s theme is Community Over Commercialization. You can view the full schedule of events, and limit by location – this celebration is truly international!

How Can I Celebrate?

The variety of events can be overwhelming, so some focused recommendations are below. Check out one of Indiana University Bloomington’s Open Access Week Events, register in advance and attend via Zoom.

Suggested Presentations

• The Ethics of Access, Tuesday Oct. 24th, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. (Pacific Time). Presented by California State University Northridge Library. Learn about the implications that Open Access research may have both for individual privacy and community integrity, including (and perhaps especially) as it applies to primary source materials. Register online (Zoom link provided upon registration).
• Taking and Giving Back? Open Access, Generative AI, and the Transformation of Scholarly Communication, Friday, Oct. 27, 10 to 11 a.m. (Pacific) / 1 to 2 p.m. (Eastern time).  Presented by Lucy Lu Wang, Assistant Professor at the University of Washington iSchool.  Luce will discuss how OA publishing has helped power the rise of large language models, how AI is changing scholarly publishing, and how the OA community might work with these models to improve scholarly communication. Register Online (Zoom link provided upon registration).
• Open and Accessible: Towards New Models for Scientific Publishing, Friday, Oct. 27, 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. (Pacific) / 2:15 to 3:15 p.m. (Eastern time). Shella Keilholz, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Tech and Emory University, will discuss the creation of the new OA journal, Imaging Neuroscience, as well as challenges and new models of scientific publishing. Register Online (Zoom link provided upon registration).

All the Openness Is Too Good! What Else Can I Do?

Come to the Cal Maritime Affordable Learning Solutions (AL$) Search Party on November 29, 2023, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Faculty Lounge. Eat pizza and search for free, low-cost and/or open course materials for your classes. We’ll open the application for AL$ stipends at that time as well.Watch for future messages!