Image courtesy of Open Access Week 2016Many organizations around the world will spend the week of October 24-30 celebrating the 8th international Open Access Week, a global effort to acknowledge the increasingly important role that Open Access plays in improving access to the results of research through the open exchange of scholarly information around the world.
In the words of the Open Access Week coordinating body, SPARC:
""Open Access" to information - the free, immediate, online access to the results of scholarly research, and the right to use and re-use those results as you need - has the power to transform the way research and scientific inquiry are conducted. It has direct and widespread implications for academia, medicine, science, industry, and for society as a whole. "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… Open Access Week is a key opportunity for all members of the community to take action to keep this momentum moving forward." (OA Week website)"
University of Alberta Libraries proudly supports the goals of Open Access through many different initiatives, including free journal hosting for any Canadian journals wishing to use Open Journal System (an open source software developed in partnership with the Public Knowledge Project). The Libraries also support a robust digital repository, Education and Research Archive (ERA), which is used to openly share and archive a wide range of scholarly materials and outputs created at the university and abroad. Beyond traditional publishing means, such as journals and articles, the library has been actively working with researchers to support their research data planning needs, and where possible, support a growing interest in open data.
More information on Open Access and OA initiatives:
University of Alberta Libraries Open Access Resource Guide
SPARC Open Access
Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications