This week (October 23–29) is Open Access Week, a yearly international celebration that aims to increase awareness about open access (OA). Most academic work is available only to those who are affiliated with a college or university. However, many people from outside of the university community could also benefit from access to cutting-edge scholarship.

Acknowledging this, researchers have begun to look for different ways to make their work more widely available to the general public. OA scholarship is completely free to read and reuse. Researchers can make their work OA by publishing in an OA journal or by sharing a version of their article in an open digital repository. There are also a growing number of publishers who produce OA books and digital projects.

Temple University Libraries is joining the conversation about the importance of openly available scholarship through a series of events this week, including an exhibit, faculty workshop, panel presentation, and pop-up tables around campus. We invite you to stop by for the following:

EXHIBIT
Opening Up Research @ Temple
Monday, October 23–Friday, October 27, All Day
Paley Library, 1210 Polett Walk, First Floor

In honor of Open Access Week, visit the Libraries for a special exhibit that profiles a few of the many Temple University faculty members who are committed to reaching a wide audience with their research. These faculty come from different disciplines, schools, and colleges, yet they all believe that scholarly information deserves to be read and used beyond the walls of the academy.

FACULTY WORKSHOP
Removing Barriers, Increasing Access
Thursday, October 26, Noon–1:00 pm
Ginsburg Health Sciences Library, Room 246a

Want to provide more equitable and barrier free access to your research or teaching materials? Learn how to publish your work in a more accessible format and provide barrier free course content for your students. Gain knowledge of publishing in open access (OA) journals and locating or creating your own open educational resources (OER).

PANEL PRESENTATION
Open In Order to Change the World: How TU Libraries Are Helping to Democratize Access to Information
Thursday, October 26, 2:00–3:00 pm
Paley Library Lecture Hall, 1210 Polett Walk, Ground Floor

Librarians are changing the world of scholarly communication for the better. In honor of Open Access Week, join us for a discussion of how Temple University Libraries is working to increase access to information. From helping the City of Philadelphia preserve open civic data, to digitizing and making freely available out-of-print Temple University Press books, learn about some of the different projects the Libraries are undertaking that support not just Temple students and faculty, but the global scholarly community.

Have questions about OA but can’t attend any of these events? Check out our OA research guide and look for our pop-up OA tables around campus. We’ll have lots of resources to share as well as some fun OA swag.