October 25-31, 2021, is the 14th annual International Open Access Week, a global, community-driven week of action to open up access to research. An initiative of the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC), Open Access Week is an opportunity for the academic and research community to “learn about the potential benefits of Open Access, to share what they’ve learned with colleagues, and to help inspire wider participation in helping to make Open Access a new norm in scholarship and research.”
This year’s theme, “It Matters How We Open Knowledge: Building Structural Equity,” intentionally aligns with the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science, which powerfully articulates and centers the importance of equity in pursuing a future for scholarship that is open by default.
Explore ACRL’s array of resources, publications, and events to help you participate in Open Access Week.
Copyright Decision Making Webcast
Join ACRL at 1:00pm Central on Tuesday, October 26, for the Online Learning webcast, “Copyright Decision Making, Step-by-Step.” Academic librarians encounter copyright in many facets of their job, such as when answering reference questions, providing bibliographic instruction, and when pursuing digitization projects. In this 90-minute webinar we’ll explore how to identify copyright considerations when providing access to library services and resources and how to use the Framework for Analyzing any U.S. Copyright Problem to help ensure they are being addressed in compliance with the law. Webinar participants will be invited to share copyright questions and situations they have encountered in their jobs as a way of exploring the practical applications of the Framework.
Check Out a Good Book
ACRL proudly makes many of our digital books freely available online. Delve into some of ACRL’s recent open access publications, including:
- Copyright Conversations: Rights Literacy in a Digital World
- Stories of Open: Opening Peer Review through Narrative Inquiry
- Open and Equitable Scholarly Communications: Creating a More Inclusive Future
- Open Educational Resources: CLIPP #45
- Transforming Library Services for Computational Research with Text Data: Environmental Scan, Stakeholder Perspectives, and Recommendations for Libraries
You can also explore the latest ACRL publications available in the ALA Store, including The Scholarly Communications Cookbook; Envisioning the Framework: A Graphic Guide to Information Literacy; Mind, Motivation, and Meaningful Learning: Strategies for Teaching Adult Learners; and Teaching About Fake News: Lesson Plans for Different Disciplines and Audiences.
And make sure to stay up-to-date with ACRL’s open access College & Research Libraries, C&RL News, and RBM: A Journal of Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Cultural Heritage .
Dive into a CHOICE Podcast
Open access (OA) has faced an uphill battle. But despite OA’s initial lack of funding and government support, authors, organizations, and publishers have now begun to adopt open policies around the globe. Looking ahead, where will open access go from here? More specifically, how can publishers ease the transition to open science?
In this four-part series, two guests from Springer Nature offer the publisher perspective on the path toward open science. Caroline Nevison, Director of Commercial Transition OA, and Dr. Ritu Dhand, Vice President Editorial Nature Journals, dig into the drivers behind transformative agreements, the coexistence of open and subscriber-based content, and open science’s potential impact in and outside the scholarly community. Ritu and Caroline share perspectives from both an editorial and marketing viewpoint, tracing Springer Nature’s adoption of open science practices and its broader implications on the marketplace.
Listen on choice360.org, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Begin Planning a Virtual Workshop for Your Institution, Chapter, or Consortium
Bring robust online learning directly to your library or organization with ACRL’s virtual Off-RoadShow workshops! Led by expert presenters over multiple days, these online workshops are based on ACRL’s popular in-person RoadShow workshops and support academic library professionals in tackling the greatest issues facing the profession.
ACRL’s newest Off-RoadShow, Open Educational Resources and Affordability, will help you understand the basics of OER and your library can be involved in affordability initiatives at your institution. This introductory virtual workshop is intended for academic librarians and library staff interested in learning about OER and/or developing OER initiatives. The online workshop begins with foundational knowledge about OER: What are OER? How do they impact faculty and students? We also discuss examples of and opportunities for library involvement in affordability initiatives, analyze stakeholders and institutional context, and determine appropriate strategies and goals for real-world application.
Explore the Scholarly Communication Toolkit
Developed and maintained by the ACRL Research and Scholarly Environment Committee (ReSEC), the popular Scholarly Communication Toolkit provides users with a basic understanding of scholarly communication issues in the context of their impact on libraries and offers resources and tools to support librarians as they navigate and transform the scholarly communication landscape. Users can also contribute their own tools or resources to the toolkit, including papers, presentations, handouts, videos, and more. The Toolkit is freely available online and licensed through Creative Commons.
For more information about Open Access Week, visit www.openaccessweek.org.