KU Libraries activities to recognize Open Access Week

LAWRENCE — KU Libraries will mark International Open Access Week (Oct. 21-27) with a trio of activities to demonstrate the importance of open access resources and their availability at KU. KU Libraries will share videos from champions of open access scholarship, host a workshop for graduate students and announce the selection of the 2024 recipient of the David Shulenburger Award for Innovation & Advocacy in Scholarly Communication. 

Open access refers to scholarly literature that is digital, online, free of charge and free of most copyright and reuse restrictions. International Open Access Week, organized by the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC), has a 2024 theme of “Community over Commercialization” and prioritizes approaches to open scholarship that serve the best interests of the public and the academic community. 

Curated video testimonials from KU campus advocates of open access — Paulyn Cartwright (ecology & evolutionary biology), Meggie Mapes (communications studies), Amy Mendenhall (social welfare), Shannon O’Lear (environmental studies), Michael Vitevich (speech-language-hearing) and Rami Zeedan (Jewish studies) — will be released via KU Libraries social media accounts (@KULibraries) each day. The videos represent library collaboration across a wide range of departments and highlight the variety of open access opportunities available at KU. 

At the end of the week, Josh Bolick, KU Libraries’ head of the David Shulenburger Office of Scholarly Communication & Copyright, will conduct a workshop titled Open Access and Early Career Researchers during Fridays on Fourth in Watson Library. The session, from noon to 1 p.m. in 455 Watson, will introduce open access in the current context of scholarly publishing, explain how graduate students can engage and why it’s useful to do so. Pizza will be provided for in-person attendees up to the capacity of the space. 

Fridays on Fourth is a graduate student support initiative featuring research, write-ins and workshops every Friday in Watson Library’s Graduate Student Study Lounge (410) and throughout the fourth floor in collaboration among KU's Libraries, Writing Center, Office of Graduate Studies and Center for Teaching Excellence. 

Also on Friday, KU Libraries’ Shulenburger Office of Scholarly Communication & Copyright will announce the 2024 recipient of the Shulenburger Award. Established in 2014 through a gift by David Shulenburger, former KU provost and executive vice chancellor, the award recognizes KU faculty, staff, students and academic departments who champion open access and innovation in scholarly communication. It has been given annually for exceptional efforts to advance innovations in open sharing and advocacy for positive change in the scholarly communication system. 

In 2023, two scholars were selected for the Shulenburger Award, Bruce Lieberman and Cameron Piercy. Winners receive between $500 and $2,500 and may be invited to serve on KU's Open Access Advisory Board. 

KU has been a leader in open access, dating back to the Faculty Senate’s 2005 resolution on Access to Scholarly Information and the creation of KU ScholarWorks, an institutional repository featuring scholarly work by KU faculty, staff and students. In 2009 and 2010, Faculty Senate passed the KU Faculty Open Access Policy, asserting faculty rights to make their published scholarly articles openly accessible and became the first public institution to adopt an open access policy. More information and connection to resources can be found at KU's Open Access website.  

KU Libraries continues to build on the history of leadership related to openness, supporting open publishing opportunities, investing in open initiatives, advocating for open educational resources (OER) and the KU ScholarWorks repository, among others. The Libraries are actively monitoring the pending implementation of public access plans resulting from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy August 2022 directive and developing related resources. Individuals looking to be part of a community of OA supporters at KU can contact Bolick at jbolick@ku.edu to join a KU OA Friends distribution list.