Celebrate International Open Access Week With the University Libraries

SPARC (http://www.sparc.arl.org/)

The University of Arkansas Libraries joins institutions worldwide to celebrate International Open Access Week, Oct. 19-25, with programming that allows faculty and researchers at all levels, to critically engage with Open Access issues. 

The Libraries are offering several seminars highlighting current scholarly communication topics:

• "Faculty Perspectives on Publishing Open Access": Webinar on Tuesday, Oct. 20, from 1-2 p.m. in MULN 102 featuring:
  • Alan Daly, chair and professor of the Department of Education Studies at the University of California, San Diego, who will discuss how open access publishing is the best option for the individual researcher and the research community as a whole.
  • Bruce Herbert, professor of geology and director of the Office of Scholarly Communications at Texas A&M University, who will discuss why researchers at his institution avoid open access outlets for publishing research and why subscription-based journals remain the best option for many.
  • Shannon Audley-Piotrowski, assistant professor of educational psychology at Smith College, who will discuss publishing priorities for early-career researchers.
• "Scholarly Metrics" will be especially useful for faculty who will be applying for tenure or promotion in the near future, who may need to show their impact or identify peer reviewers.  It will also be helpful for others who want to compare the productivity of departments or programs with peer or aspiring institutions? Luti Salisbury will lead this hands-on informative session, teaching participants how to use conventional and non-conventional resources. This session will take place twice, on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 3-4 p.m., and Thursday, Oct. 22, 11 a.m. to noon.
• "Exploring the Creative Commons" introduces Creative Commons licensing and explains how to find materials, as well as how to apply the licenses to newly created materials.  Join Lora Lennertz on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 3-4 p.m.
• "Open Access 101" explains the basics of open access, its meaning, and types of open access materials, as well as the university's Open Access Policy.  Luti Salisbury will showcase the research published by U of A faculty in open access journals; and will discuss how to identify reputable open access journals for scholarly publication, on Thursday, Oct. 22, 3-4 p.m.
• "Open Education Resources" presents the basics of open education resources. Participants will learn about the benefits of using these types of resources, what they can do for our campus, and receive tips on identifying quality materials.  OERs are textbooks, full courses, lesson plans, videos, tests, or software, and many examples are already being developed across a wide range of subjects. Come learn more with Lora Lennertz, Director for Academic and Research Services, on Friday, Oct. 23, 11-12 p.m.

All of the sessions are held in Mullins Library, room 102. Participants can sign up online, or contact Luti Salisbury  or Lora Lennertz for more information.

Open Access Week, a global event now in its eighth year, is sponsored by Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) - it promotes free, immediate online access to scholarly research.

This year's celebration is particularly timely for the U of A community because the university's faculty passed an Open Access Policy last May. Faculty members are now encouraged to submit research-related articles and findings to the university's institutional repository. While this policy applies to published articles, it also encourages faculty members to provide bibliographic information for unpublished materials.

The Libraries' LibGuide on OA and Scholarly Communication highlights resources on author's rights, open access mandates, policies at various universities, global initiatives, ideas for affording the publishing, together with blogs on scholarly communication and open access publisher initiatives.