Did you know that the e-journals you access through FSU Libraries are unavailable to most students and researchers in the developing world? What about people here in the US? Did you know that most members of the general public also don’t have access? The internet has revolutionized the way that we share and access information, yet most scholarly e-books and journal articles remain locked behind paywalls for the average reader.
Open Access is a movement based on the principle that this situation is fundamentally unjust, and that the fruits of academic endeavor should be freely available to the public. Open Access is also increasingly becoming a requirement for recipients of research funding, with governments and funding agencies increasingly adopting public-access policies to make the results of funded research accessible to all.
Making your work publicly available can also benefit you as an author, increasing the reach and impact of your work by making it more discoverable and potentially generating more downloads and citations than you would if your work remained locked behind paywalls.
So, what can you do to start taking advantage of these benefits? And how can you get involved in the OA movement, more generally?
- Come to one of our upcoming workshops to learn more about OA
- Read your publication contracts and understand your rights as an author
- Deposit your papers in DigiNole Commons, FSU’s research repository
- Explore OA publication venues like the Public Library of Science
- Endorse OA on campus: talk about OA with your friends and colleagues, and consider signing an OA declaration
- Contact us to schedule a presentation on OA publishing for your next departmental meeting, graduate seminar, or campus event
Open Access Week, Oct. 19-25, is an opportunity for the global research community to learn more about this important movement and the many ongoing efforts to make it the new norm in research and scholarship. To celebrate the occasion, FSU Libraries is planning some vibrant public art displays in Strozier Library, and we’ll also be hosting a number of workshops related to OA publishing. We hope you’ll join us to learn more about OA and how it can benefit you as a student, teacher, or researcher. And don’t forget to follow the conversation on Twitter! #WhatisOA? #OAweekFSU
Tuesday October 20, 12:00-1:00pm | Strozier Library, Scholars Commons Instruction Room
- Come to this workshop for a broad overview of everything you need to know about Open Access. We’ll cover what it is, why you should care, how it can benefit you, methods for making your work publicly available, and a variety of support resources available to FSU students and researchers.
Copyright and Academic Publishing
Wednesday October 21, 5:00-6:00pm | Dirac Library, Room 208
- Getting ready to submit your dissertation or publish an academic paper? This workshop will show how copyright law affects various aspects of the publication process, including your rights as an author/creator, your use of others’ copyrighted work, and the role of publication contracts and licensing in the dissemination of your work.
Scholarly Communications Café: Predatory Publishing
Thursday October 22, 9:00-10:00am | Strozier Library, Scholars Commons Instruction Room
- Come enjoy a cup of coffee and engaging conversation about current issues related to scholarly communication and publishing. For the October Café, we’ll be discussing the growing problem of “predatory” publishing and strategies for determining a journal’s quality and validity. This is a casual forum for discussion, open to library staff and the campus community.
Introduction to Creative Commons & Open Educational Resources
Thursday October 22, 12:00-1:00pm | Strozier Library, Learning Commons room 107K
- This workshop will provide a brief introduction to Creative Commons licenses and their role in the creation of Open Educational Resources (OER). We’ll also cover some basics about OER more generally, including the what they are, where to find them, and how they can benefit both students and faculty.
For more information, see our research guide on Open Access, or contact Devin Soper, Scholarly Communications Librarian at FSU Libraries’ Office of Digital Research & Scholarship.
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