International Open Access Week is October 23-29, 2023
This Year's Theme: Community Over Commercialization
This year's theme of “Community over Commercialization” provides an opportunity to join together, take action, and raise awareness around the importance of community control of knowledge sharing systems, and encourages a candid conversation about which approaches to open scholarship prioritize the best interests of the public and the academic community—and which do not.
The UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science highlights the need to prioritize community over commercialization in its calls for the prevention of “inequitable extraction of profit from publicly funded scientific activities” and support for “non-commercial publishing models and collaborative publishing models with no article processing charges.” By focusing on these areas, we can achieve the original vision outlined when open access was first defined: “an old tradition and a new technology have converged to make possible an unprecedented public good.”
When commercial interests are prioritized over those of the communities that research seeks to serve, many concerning issues arise. Open Access Week provides an opportunity for individuals to discuss questions that are most relevant in their local context. These might include:
- What is lost when a shrinking number of corporations control knowledge production rather than researchers themselves?
- What is the cost of business models that entrench extreme levels of profit?
- When does the collection and use of personal data begin to undermine academic freedom?
- Can commercialization ever work in support of the public interest?
- What options for using community-controlled infrastructure already exist that might better serve the interests of the research community and the public (such as preprint servers, repositories, and open publishing platforms)?
- How can we shift the default toward using these community-minded options?
Here are just some of the ways you can participate:
Visit the Open Access information table: What is Open Access? and the OpenStax Exhibit in the Library all week for free resources that can benefit you. Review the full schedule of events and create your own itinerary.
- Get Advice from Your Colleagues
Some of our faculty participants in CSU’s Textbook Affordability Summer Symposium recorded short videos to describe their experiences using open educational resources (OERs) and to provide advice for other faculty considering doing the same. These videos demonstrate the value of OERs for student achievement, as well as CSU faculty members’ commitment to student success. These videos are online and can be viewed anytime. https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/oer_reflections/
- Learn from the Experts to Expand your Research
Do you have questions about expanding your research impact? Learn what EngagedScholarship @ Cleveland State University can do for you in this pre-recorded webinar, including publishing journals or books; posting articles; creating your own Scholars Page; learning about copyright; measuring your impact with PlumX Metrics, and more.
- Register for an ORCID account
Visit the Reference Center during Open Access week to register for an ORCID account and receive your own persistent digital identifier that distinguishes you from every other researcher. A Reference Librarian or Consultant can help you register in minutes!
- Announcing our Fall 2023 Textbook Affordability Small Grants for Faculty
Textbook Affordability Grants are offered through the Michael Schwartz Library to encourage and support the creation or compilation of low-cost or no-cost course materials. Faculty whose projects are selected will receive grant amounts ranging from $500 to $2500 depending on the project. Appropriate support to create or compile an open educational textbook or other educational resources to replace a traditional, high-cost textbook will be provided by the Michael Schwartz Library, the Center for eLearning, the Center for Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, and the Center for Faculty Excellence. Five awards are available.
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The deadline to complete the Intent to Submit Form is November 10, 2023.
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The deadline to submit the Textbook Affordability Grant Application is December 1, 2023.
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About Open Access Week
Now in its sixteenth year, International Open Access Week facilitates the growing movement toward increased discoverability, sharing, use and preservation of information. Academic and research communities are invited to learn how open access maximizes and promotes their work, provides stronger ownership for researchers and authors, and ultimately, has far reaching benefits for academia and society as a whole.