Open access to scientific research made headlines this summer when the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) issued a new memo on August 25, 2022, with updated requirements for federally funded research, to make publications and results freely and immediately available. Learn more about open access for scientific publications, data, and software with classes at the Health Sciences Library System during International Open Access Week, a week of global advocacy for open access to research, happening from October 24 through 30.
Whether you’re new to open access or have specific questions, drop-in sessions are a great place to talk with HSLS specialists. Join Stephen Gabrielson, the library’s Scholarly Communication Librarian, for “Open Access Drop-In Session: How Does Open Access Publishing Work?” on Monday, October 24, from 11 a.m. to noon. Bring your questions about how to publish open-access articles, sources of funding for article processing fees (APCs), how to find reputable no-APC journals, and how to self-archive your manuscript in an open-access repository. HSLS also has a guide to scholarly communication and publishing, including open-access publishing, available all the time: Scholarly Communication and Publishing Guide.
Open access applies to more than manuscripts, of course: free access to scientific data has its own new policy, the NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy that goes into effect on January 25, 2023. Learn about increasing the accessibility of your datasets, protocols, research code, and other non-article research outputs at “Open Access Drop-In Session: MORE than Just Articles” on Tuesday, October 25, from noon to 1 p.m. Bring your questions or research materials. Melissa Ratajeski, Assistant Director for Data and Publishing Services, will provide consultation on best practices and the new NIH policy. For more information about publishing data and other open-access materials, see the “Datasets” section of our “Where Should I Publish?” Guide and our general Data Management Guide.
For both of these Open Access Week classes, registration is recommended but not required. Participants that do register in advance will receive event notifications via email. HSLS is teaching a variety of publishing, open access, and data classes throughout the semester, including workshops on preparing for the NIH data sharing policy implementation; you can sign up for them all through the HSLS class calendar.
~Helenmary Sheridan