Open Access Week

Friday, October 29th

We are wrapping up Open Access Week 2021, but that doesn’t mean the celebration has to stop!  You can still incorporate the values of open access week in your day to day work!  Actions you can take include:

Publishing in an open access journal

Posting a manuscript to a preprint server

Using Creative Commons licensed content

Follow publications like the Scholarly Kitchen, who regularly post about open access 

Follow organizations like SPARC to keep up with advocacy efforts and public policy!

Contact your librarian to learn more!

Thursday, October 28th

From The State of Science & Engineering 2020 report, 42% of all basic research was funded by the federal government in 2017.  So why is so much publicly funded research still locked behind paywalls and inaccessible to the general public?  Many funding agencies allow research results to be embargoed, or delayed from public release for a time.  The NIH Public Access Policy requires that NIH funded research be deposited in PubMed Central no later than 12 months post publication.  Many publishers have lobbied to keep long embargos in place so they can profit from sales of the research in the period before it is publicly accessible.  This can slow the dissemination of information and delay the development of further research.  The Library believes that publicly funded research should be immediately and freely available to the public at the point of publication.

In 2020 the White House considered a national open access policy that would remove the 12 month embargo on publicly funded research.  SPARC and many other organizations expressed enthusiastic support for the proposal.  While a new policy was ultimately not adopted, this shows the ties between legal policy and publishing norms.

Want to get involved in advocacy around open access?  Consider writing to your local Representatives and Senators to demand an end to embargos on publicly funded research!

Don't forget to take the Open Access Week 2021 Quiz for the opportunity to win a prize up to $25 in value from the Yale Bookstore!

We want to hear from you!  Tell us about your experiences with OA, and how the library can better suppory you!

Wednesday, October 27th

Have you ever encountered a Creative Commons license? These licenses simplify the permissions processes by providing a clear, standardized set of reuse permissions. 

The licenses are a great way to preserve your rights as an author while still facilitating scholarly sharing.  Learn more about the individual licenses here. 

Creative Commons also offers a database of images license for reuse.  Search images here.

Sources of health sciences-specific images licensed or licensable for reuse include:

• The CDC’s Public Health Images Library (PHIL)
• The National Cancer Institute’s Visuals Online
• The NIH’s Images from the History of Medicine

You should always carefully check the license or permission statement on an image before using it.  Even if an image is freely available as a high quality download or does not have a watermark does not mean it can be used for any purpose. 

Want to beautify a presentation or background?  There are also sources of artistic images free to reuse online!  Pixabay offers high quality, free to reuse images with no attribution required. 

Tuesday, October 26th

Welcome to day 2 of Open Access Week!  The concept of openness extends to not only publications, but data and science as well!  Proponents of open science advocate for making all elements of scientific research, including results, data, samples, and software, among others, broadly accessible to all members of society, regardless of professional status.  The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recently released a draft Recommendation on Open Science that will be reviewed at UNESCO’s General Conference in November 2021.

To learn more about what’s happening in the field of open science, view the Open Science Fair on YouTube! 

Have a work in progress?  Post it on the Open Science Framework (OSF)!  This free platform allows you to share your projects, connect with collaborators, store data and code, and post results.  Check out this work from CWML librarians!

Remember to take the Open Access Week 2021 Quiz for the opportunity to win a prize up to $25 in value from the Yale Bookstore!

Monday, October 25th

Welcome to Open Access Week 2021!  We will post daily updates with short activities you can complete to learn more about open access publishing and show you support for greater transparency in the scholarly publishing industry.  From SPARC, “Open Access is the free, immediate, online availability of research articles coupled with the rights to use these articles fully in the digital environment.”  Open access allows researchers around the world to access scholarship with no waiting periods or embargos, allowing research results to be disseminated and built upon more quickly. 

Did you know that the Yale Library supports open access publishing?  We fund a number of membership programs that reduce or eliminate article processing charges (APCs) associated with open access articles for Yale authors.  Our membership with PLOS waives all APCs in all PLOS journals for any article with a Yale corresponding author.  Find more information about library support for open access here. 

Take our Open Access Week 2021 Quiz for an opportunity to win a prize up to $25 in value from the Yale bookstore!

Come back every day this week for more open access content. 

Friday, October 23rd

Open Access Week comes to a close on day 5, but you can continue to support open access publishing every day!  Consider making your next article open access and work only with pubishers who share your values. 

• Watch the movie Paywall: The Business of Scholarship which explores the for-profit publishing industry and advocates for open access. 
• Don't forget to take the OA trivia quiz by 5pm today and be entered into a drawing to win prize!

Thursday, October 22nd

Open Access Week is winding down on day 4, but there are more simple actions you can take to show your support for open access!

• Watch this short informational video below on negotiating author's rights with the SPARC Author Addendum!
• Reach out to your liaison for more information on library support for open access! 
• Don't forget to take the OA trivia quiz by Friday, October 25th and be entered into a drawing to win a $25 gift card!

Use the virtual whiteboard to communicate with the library and your peers and contact Lindsay Barnett with questions!

Wednesday, October 21st

Welcome to day 3 of Open Access Week.  Continue to show your support for open access publishing!

• Did you know that while on the Yale network you have seamless access to all of our subscribed materials?  Much of the research you interact with daily is paywalled and available only to those affiliated with institutions that can afford it.  Open access publishing creates more equitable landscape in which research is available to all.  
• Ask a friend or family member without university affiliation to search for academic articles in your field.  What was their experience?  
• Don't forget to take the OA trivia quiz by Friday, October 25th and be entered into a drawing to win a $25 gift card!

Use the virtual whiteboard to communicate with the library and your peers and contact Lindsay Barnett with questions!

Tuesday, October 20th

Our celebration of Open Access Week continues on day 2!  Here are more action items you can take to show your support of open access:

• Are you a journal editor?  What are your journal's policies on open access publishing?  Is this information easy for authors to find?
• Have you published open access before?  What was your experience?
• Don't forget to take the OA trivia quiz by Friday, October 25th and be entered into a drawing to win a $25 gift card!

Use the virtual whiteboard to communicate with the library and your peers and contact Lindsay Barnett with questions!

Monday, October 19th

Celebrate Open Access Week with us! The Open Access movement helps researchers make their work free for others to read and use. Learn more at SPARC. We will be posting simple daily action items you can take to support open access!

• Today, use ShareYourPaper.org to share your last paper easily and while respecting journal policies.
• Share your thoughts on open access with the official hashtag, #OAweek.
• Test your knowledge of open access with our OA trivia quiz by Friday, October 25th and be entered into a drawing to win a $25 gift card!

Have questions about open access or want to share your opinions?  Use this virtual whiteboard to communicate with the library and your peers.

Please check back every day this week for new challenges and contact Lindsay Barnett with questions!