Anna Panagopoulou’s Post

Open access opens doors! AU is like no other—our research approach is rooted in access, opportunity, and community. Four of our researchers explain why open access publishing matters and how it helps drive meaningful change: https://athau.ca/4fhwSyp #AthabascaU #OpenAccessWeek

Chief Scientist’s Advice to government on open access models for Australia Open Access Australasia welcomes the public release of the Chief Scientist’s Advice to government on open access models for Australia. In particular, we welcome the Addendum to the Advice referencing rights retention strategies, diamond open access initiatives and investing in repository infrastructure. As the comprehensive advice was submitted over a year ago, we applaud the Chief Scientist’s referencing of these three approaches which have come to greater prominence since the original research and consultation was undertaken. Regarding the recommendation to develop and implement a strategy to maximise access to academic journals for the Australian community, Open Access Australasia supports this bold initiative while hopeful there is scope to address the above three approaches in the overall strategy, given the importance of bibliodiversity and author autonomy when it comes to publishing venues. We also welcome the Chief Scientist’s recommendation that the government undertake further analysis to develop the preferred model and appreciate the invitation to participate in further discussions to inform the development of policy, underpinning principles and implementation approaches. Implementation in particular will require significant analysis and planning to ensure a successful and timely transition to the preferred model.

Open Access (OA) week will be celebrated from October 21–27 across the globe this year. The theme of this year’s OA week is "Community over Commercialization”. The theme reflects the growing importance of prioritizing collective knowledge over profit-driven research agendas. OA continues to evolve, with institutions and funders increasingly mandating that publicly funded research be made freely accessible. Initiatives like Plan S, launched by a coalition of research funders in Europe, require that all scientific publications resulting from research funded by public grants be published in OA journals or platforms. New models are also emerging, such as Diamond OA, where neither authors nor readers pay fees, rather these costs are covered by institutions or consortia. This model represents a step that envisages the vision of equitable access to knowledge without commercial barriers. At ManuscriptEdge we pledge to actively support OA by facilitating the dissemination of research to the widest possible audience. We are committed to empower researchers by providing high-quality writing, editing, and publishing support that aligns with the principles of free and equitable access to knowledge. Our mission is to help authors contribute to the global research community in a way that breaks down paywalls and promotes inclusivity in scholarly communication. #OpenAccessWeek2024 #OpenScience #OpenAccessPublishing #ResearchWithoutBorders #KnowledgeForAll #OpenResearch #ScholarlyPublishing #ManuscriptEdge #OpenAccessMovement #FreeToRead #GlobalResearch #AcademicPublishing #EquitableKnowledge #OpenAccessMatters

"CAUL firmly believes that Australia needs a multi-faceted open access strategy – or preferably, an open science strategy, in line with Australia’s adoption of the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science" In a world of increasing mis and dis information, access to high quality research is more important than ever, and yet much of the world's academic research is only accessible to people working or studying at academic institutions. This is a significant challenge that is addressed in the newly released Council of Australian University Librarians Board Position Statement on Open Access, which states "all routes to making research outputs free to access, read, share and reuse play an important role in progressing the open access agenda" #OpenAccess #LibrariesTransform https://lnkd.in/gpAbA2HV

There are many reasons why authors to choose to publish in an #OpenAccess model. Here are 5 of them: 1. More people are able to read the work, giving it greater visibility and impact than under a paid model. 2. Publications are accessible to marginalised and underrepresented communities who would not be able to read them otherwise. 3. The free, unrestricted open access system spreads the results of publicly funded research far and wide, making the best use of the funds that supported it. 4. Open access publishing creates a global knowledge resource that can benefit everyone, all over the world. 5. Policy and decision makers are able to use the research findings contained in open access publications. At UCL Press we are proud to make all our publications available in open access. Find out more at https://lnkd.in/efCg7b55 #OpenAccess #AcademicPublishing #UniversityPress #OpenAccessBooks

Supporting non-profit, community-driven, open-access publishing and infrastructures is essential to advancing equitable access to scholarly communications—there is a need for a Public Infrastructure for Open Access. “To address the world’s greatest challenges, research needs to be open. (...) In addition to the content itself, the infrastructure on which research resides must be open, too. Over the past ten years, much of the critical infrastructure supporting open-access content, including F1000, SSRN, and bepress, has been acquired by commercial publishers. Open-access research is at risk of enclosure when hosted on a closed, proprietary, or commercial infrastructure.” – you can read the full text of the proposal here: https://lnkd.in/gvFcgjak CC Melissa Hagemann 🏛 In light of the European Parliament elections, we are resurfacing seven policy suggestions for the Digital Commons that we hope the new EU Commission will focus on after the summer. Together with existing regulations, our proposed interventions create an opportunity to build an internet that would be established and governed as a Digital Public Space. You can check out all seven policies via the link in the comment section👇 #DigitalCommons #DigitalPublicSpace #PublicDigitalInfrastructure #OpenAccess

I just read "Advice on open access models" by Australia's Chief Scientist Dr Cathy Foley. Wow, thank you Cathy for your advocacy and pursuit of a new *public access* publishing model for Australia. We really need this. When the read and publish agreements were introduced in Australia, it was a game changer. It made Australian knowledge and innovation more accessible. Prior to these agreements, most of my research was behind a paywall (as I, like many researchers, could not afford the exorbitant open access fees). Now, all of my research is open access (so far) as these agreements cover the cost. While we have to be strategic and pick and choose journals a little, 100% open access going forward is now in the realm of possibility. However, according to the Chief Scientist’s fantastic report "63% of all Australian journal articles published in the last 15 years still sit behind paywalls" and “journal articles involving Australian authors comprise only 4% of publications globally [and] none of these models allow fee-free access by Australian residents to the remaining 96% of the world’s journal articles.” It always strikes me as completely contradictory to our age, that most people cannot access research unless they pay for it. As a university staff member in a wealthy country, I have access to more academic knowledge than most. But even with all the tricks of the trade we still cannot easily access all research, even all Australian research. In this information age, we tend to move on if we can't access information easily, instantly, and freely; and it is such a waste that this happens to so much research worldwide. https://lnkd.in/gx_vPpYN

Equip yourself with the knowledge needed to guide researchers through the intricacies of open access, making a positive impact on scholarly communication and advancing the principles of open science. #OpenAccess #LibrarianInsights #ResearchCommunity #ResearchGuidance #ScholarlyCommunication #CopyrightInOA #Preprints #OpenScienceAgreements #ElsevierPublishing https://lnkd.in/deZe8RrF

The devil is in the detail. Libraries are best placed to inform the implementation of such a reform because of the years of dedication to open access to all types of research outputs for all global citizens. They have years of relationship and advocacy building for research communities with scholarly publishers, fight for copyright and author retention rights, have created the infrastructure needed to host, store and disseminate that information, are expert at getting more with less in these times of fiscal constraints, are able to critically evaluate the quality of publications and publishers, and perhaps most of all intimately understand the importance of the metadata required to make this open information discoverable. In meeting with Australia's Chief Scientist Dr Cathy Foley, library representatives are by no means opposed to open access but champion it. We just ask to consider all the devil in the detail so all parties get the best outcome. #Libraries #Advocacy #GriffithResearch #OpenAccess #Research

Open Future Foundation's policy guidance for the development of a Public Infrastructure for #OpenAccess is core to the creation of a true #DigitalPublicSpace.