“Open Access” to information [and knowledge, D.R.]– the free, immediate, online access to the results of scholarly research, and the right to use and re-use those results as you need – has the power to transform the way research and scientific inquiry are conducted. It has direct and widespread implications for academia, medicine, science, industry, and for society as a whole.
I have been writing earlier about the Open Access movement and its importance for the science, research and technology, as being involved in the several Open Access projects since 2005. This year’s Open Access Week, October 18 – 24, is dedicated to the collaboration and participation through a broad range of initiatives around the globe, including many universities, research institutes, digital repositories, online databases, and other initiatives that support Open Access.
It is very important that the academic and research community continue to learn about the benefits of Open Access, since many electronic resources relevant to the education are still under locked archives, databases, and numerous valuable material stays behind the iron gates. Institutions, scholars, researchers, educators, librarians are encouraged to share what they’ve learned with peers, share their production, and to inspire wider participation in making Open Access a new norm in research, technology, scholarship.
I’ve collected a short list of links to digital repositories, online databases with various e-resources, thesis, articles, papers. Feel free to include your list or share some interesting Open access project.
Does it matter to you? And how?
– JISC (brings advice on implementing OA to the universities and research institutions)
–OhioLINK Electronic Thesis and Dissertation website
– read at PLoSONE how Open Access increases Citation Impact for Higher Quality Research
–OpenThesis – Open Access repository of dissertations
–Collection of videos on Open Access week offical site
– SpringerOpen, open access for authors in all disciplines
– The London School of Economics. LSE Research Online