International Open Access Week is October 22-28, 2018.

Every October, libraries, societies, publishers and authors around the world gear up to celebrate International Open Access Week. Now in its 11^th year, Open Access Week is an opportunity to discuss and explore the economy of information access. This year’s theme, Designing Equitable Foundations for Open Knowledge, focuses on designing open systems of knowledge that are inclusive, equitable, and truly serve the needs of a diverse global community.

Open access journals have leveled the playing field for many researchers seeking to publish affordably. Likewise publicly available datasets have facilitated the work of those needing datasets for preliminary or feasibility studies, or multi-cohort studies. Open datasets have fueled the work of citizen scientists, leading to breakthroughs in research and an increase in enthusiasm for science among crowdsourced project participants. While great work in open access has been done, next-generation technologies are opening the door to even greater possibilities. At Galter Library we hope to highlight advances in open access publishing and spotlight the contributions of our staff in building equitable open systems for knowledge sharing.

These events and activities will take place beginning October 22, 2018.

• Quiz in Galter Library Atrium. Visit our library’s atrium to take an interactive quiz on open access, earn a sweet treat for your efforts, and learn more about the theme of this year’s OA Week.
• The Importance of Open Access. Check out our on-site digital monitors for a graphical representation detailing the importance of OA Week for the various stakeholder groups at Northwestern.
• Movie Screening - Paywall: The Business of Scholarship. Join us on Wednesday, October 24 at 3:00 pm in the Hughes Auditorium for a movie that focuses on the need for open access to research and science. Popcorn will be served and there will be time for discussion directly after the movie.
  Missed the screening or didn't get to see the entire film? Watch the movie free online.

In addition to these activities, Galter Library is celebrating three years of DigitalHub, Northwestern Medicine’s institutional repository. Expect demonstrations showcasing new features of and recent uploads to DigitalHub in Galter Library’s atrium throughout the week.

Finally, Galter Library will highlight Northwestern University’s partnership with The Center for Data to Health (CD2H), the data and informatics coordinating center for the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences at NIH. Among the many ongoing projects at the CD2H that support openness, Galter Library’s Digital Systems team is working collaboratively with partners to advance open access through repositories and other digital resources. Join us in our library’s atrium throughout the week for a sneak peak at the team’s progress on their projects.