Open Access Week promotes "the free, immediate, online access to the
results of scholarly research, and the right to use and re-use those
results as you need." It is being celebrated October 22-28, 2012.
Traditionally, journal articles and other published research output have been distributed through publishers, with authors giving up their copyrights to the publishers and publishers reaping the profits. Most of those profits come from selling access to the material back to university libraries at high prices. Most simply, this means that the research products --created by university faculty who are financially supported by the universities that employ them-- are given to the publishers. Then universities (primarily through their libraries) have to buy access to those research products (such as journal articles). The costs of publishing are paid by the publisher who earns the profits; the author's gain is in scholarly reputation, which benefits the author and his/her university. However, the system creates barriers to sharing research results widely because of the cost to others of obtaining the research results. Such barriers negatively impact the progress of research. The system increases universities' costs to support learning and research and limits the ability of libraries to provide academic materials to students and faculty. One solution being offered is open access.
To learn about open access publishing and how it works, visit SPARC, the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition. To learn about preserving your rights as an author rather than giving up your copyright to a publisher, see the Mundt Libraries guide on Author Rights.
To learn about Open Access Week activities, visit http://www.openaccessweek.org/. As openaccessweek.org explains, "Open Access (OA) has the potential to maximize research investments, increase the exposure and use of published research, facilitate the ability to conduct research across available literature, and enhance the overall advancement of scholarship. Research funding agencies, academic institutions, researchers and scientists, teachers, students, and members of the general public are supporting a move towards Open Access in increasing numbers every year. Open Access Week is a key opportunity for all members of the community to take action to keep this momentum moving forward."
Traditionally, journal articles and other published research output have been distributed through publishers, with authors giving up their copyrights to the publishers and publishers reaping the profits. Most of those profits come from selling access to the material back to university libraries at high prices. Most simply, this means that the research products --created by university faculty who are financially supported by the universities that employ them-- are given to the publishers. Then universities (primarily through their libraries) have to buy access to those research products (such as journal articles). The costs of publishing are paid by the publisher who earns the profits; the author's gain is in scholarly reputation, which benefits the author and his/her university. However, the system creates barriers to sharing research results widely because of the cost to others of obtaining the research results. Such barriers negatively impact the progress of research. The system increases universities' costs to support learning and research and limits the ability of libraries to provide academic materials to students and faculty. One solution being offered is open access.
To learn about open access publishing and how it works, visit SPARC, the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition. To learn about preserving your rights as an author rather than giving up your copyright to a publisher, see the Mundt Libraries guide on Author Rights.
To learn about Open Access Week activities, visit http://www.openaccessweek.org/. As openaccessweek.org explains, "Open Access (OA) has the potential to maximize research investments, increase the exposure and use of published research, facilitate the ability to conduct research across available literature, and enhance the overall advancement of scholarship. Research funding agencies, academic institutions, researchers and scientists, teachers, students, and members of the general public are supporting a move towards Open Access in increasing numbers every year. Open Access Week is a key opportunity for all members of the community to take action to keep this momentum moving forward."
