Congressman to visit KU as part of events marking Open Access Week
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas Libraries will join more than 100 countries around the world in celebrating the immediate online access to scholarly research in the sixth-annual Open Access Week Oct. 22-28. KU Libraries' Center for Digital Scholarship will host a series of panels exploring the practical uses and benefits of open access through the firsthand experience of faculty and staff members.
This year's Open Access week will also include a presentation by U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder, R-Kan., about the Federal Research Public Access Act, known as FRPAA, on Wednesday, Oct. 24. Yoder, a co-sponsor of FRPAA, will discuss the legislation that requires research funded by federal agencies to be made available to the public within six months of publication. Both Yoder and The Coalition of Open Access Policy Institutions, or COAPI, which was co-founded by KU, have shown support for the legislation and the importance of open access to scholarly research.
The week's events will also include:
Open Access Week Kickoff: Set the Default to Open Access
Monday, Oct. 22, 3 p.m. -4:30 p.m., Room 455
The kickoff webinar follows the World Bank's open access efforts and is presented by the World Bank and the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition, part of the Association of Research Libraries.
Open Access: New Frontiers in Publishing
Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2 p.m.-3:30 p.m., Room 455
This publisher's forum features representatives from Sage Publications and BioMed Central discussing their companies' transitions to business models that include open access.
From Open Access to Open Learning:
Online learning platforms for distance education and foreign language learning
Wednesday, Oct. 24, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Room 455
Panelists will discuss open learning initiatives in higher education, highlighting projects developed by KU faculty and graduate students in partnership with the Ermal Garinger Academic Resource Center.
Presentation about the Federal Research Public Access Act (FRPAA) with U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder – Reception to follow
Wednesday, Oct. 24, 3 p.m.-4 p.m., Watson 3 West
This presentation will encompass the FRPAA legislation currently before Congress. FRPAA requires that research funded by several federal agencies be made available free of charge to the public. This is modeled after the mandate currently in place for research funded by the National Institutes of Health. A reception from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. will follow the presentation.
Open Access and Graduate Students
Thursday, Oct. 25, Noon-1:30 p.m., Room 455
The first 50 graduate students who respond will be served a pizza lunch, watch short video presentations introducing open access concepts and join an informal discussion with Nick Shockey, director of student advocacy at SPARC, about how open access affects them as scholars.
The International Impact of Open Access
Thursday, Oct. 25, 3 p.m.- 5 p.m., Room 455
KU faculty and colleagues will share their experiences with barriers to international access to scholarship and talk about open access options in their fields that can make scholarship available.
Events will take place at Watson Library, and refreshments will be served at all panels.
In 2009, KU's Faculty Senate made KU the first public university in the United States to adopt an open access policy regarding faculty research published in peer-review journals. Lorraine Haricombe, dean of KU Libraries, hopes events like Open Access Week will further expand the policies of the movement and help it continue to grow.
"The information from new research is a valuable source for the KU faculty and researchers. It is deeply important for all to share and distribute their findings for the benefit of both scholars and society," Haricombe said. "Universities were created for the dispersal of scholarly information and society depends on us for this, so we have a responsibility to share."
For more information about open access at KU, visit here.