December 14, 2010
SPARC & ACRL Announce slate for forum on changing state of open-access journal publishing
SPARC and ACRL have announced the speakers for a timely panel discussion on “Marketplace: Open Access and the changing state of scholarly publishing.” The event is being held in conjunction with the upcoming meeting of the American Library Association (ALA) in San Diego, CA.
December 9, 2010
SPARC MEETING HIGHLIGHTS POWER OF REPOSITORIES FOR DRIVING OPEN ACCESS
“Reputation management systems,” “new spin on Open Access,” “stretching knowledge bases,” “exposing reality,” and “valuing knowledge exchange at the institutional level” were just a few of the ways participants in the SPARC 2010 Digital Repositories Meeting expressed their vision for advancing repository advocacy into the fuller fabric of the Open Access movement. The sentiment is one outcome of the gathering, jointly hosted by SPARC, SPARC Japan/NII, and SPARC Europe, in Baltimore on November 8 & 9, 2010. SPARC has today released summaries, slides, and video from the event.
November 22, 2010
Next SPARC-ACRL forum to examine changing state of open-access journal publishing
At the upcoming meeting of the American Library Association (ALA) in San Diego, CA, SPARC and ACRL will co-host a timely panel discussion on “Marketplace: Open Access and the changing state of scholarly publishing.” The forum will be held Saturday, January 8, 2011 from 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM at the San Diego Convention Center, Room 29A.
November 18, 2010
One year later, KU shown to be leader in open access scholarship
"It’s been just more than a year since KU became the first public university in the United States to implement an open access policy for published scholarship. In that time, the practice of making research available to anyone — not just journal subscribers — has grown at KU and around the world."
October 26, 2010
The conclusion of Open Access Week 2010
The largest, most successful International Open Access Week yet has just come to a close. With just under 900 participants in 94 countries, this year’s event was no less than three times larger than it was just a year ago. Hundreds of videos, photos, blog posts, and more were released to promote and highlight the benefits of Open Access to research and take the conversation even more deeply into the research community – and they absolutely did. We could celebrate the week as a success in numbers like these alone, but the numbers really only tell part of the story.
October 21, 2010
Is There an Open-Access Citation Advantage?
From the
Chronicle of Higher Education
October 21, 2010
What Are You Doing for Open Access Week?
From the
Chronicle of Higher Education
October 21, 2010
OPEN ACCESS: ALL IN THE FAMILY
In celebration of Open Access Week (October 18-24), SPARC is showcasing the stories of two exceptional families who have embraced Open Access as a value and have advanced their own work – though not always without reservations. The personal stories of brothers Jonathan and Michael Eisen (both evolutionary biologists), along with Neil Buckholtz and his son, Josh (neuroscientists), grappling with the pros and cons of Open Access are now profiled on the SPARC Web site.
October 18, 2010
Momentum continues: Open Access Week 2010 begins
Leading researchers present the individual and collective benefits of free online access to research
October 14, 2010
DIVERSE CREW WILL TACKLE KEY CHALLENGES AT SPARC REPOSITORIES MEETING INNOVATION FAIR
Marketing, partnerships, small-scale subject repositories, customer service, multidimensional image data, curation micro-services, and liberating folklore journals are just a few of the topics to be tackled in two minutes or less at the SPARC 2010 Digital Repositories Meeting Innovation Fair. SPARC, in partnership with SPARC Europe and SPARC Japan/National Institute of Informatics, is hosting the next installment of this popular meeting on November 8 & 9, 2010 at the Renaissance Harborplace Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland.
Registration deadline approaches.
October 4, 2010
Leading scientists will be featured in Open Access Week kick-off event
Pioneering Open Access advocate Harold Varmus to keynote.
September 16, 2010
SPARC announces international slate of presenters for November meeting
Leaders, innovators, and practitioners from North America, Europe, and Asia will test new frontiers in online open archives at the 2010 SPARC Digital Repositories Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland. The international gathering, organized by SPARC (the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) in cooperation with SPARC Europe and SPARC Japan/National Institute of Informatics, will take place November 8 & 9, with pre- and post-conference events November 7 & 10.
September 14, 2010
The Open Access Week Challenge
We have an important opportunity with this year's OA Week to surface evidence of how Open Access to research is transforming the way research and scientific inquiry are conducted. Answer the challenge.
September 9, 2010
OPEN UP! VIDEO CONTEST TO SHOWCASE STUDENTS’ CALL FOR OPEN ACCESS
The importance of the student stake in opening up access to scholarly research will be highlighted in Open Up! – the fourth installment of the annual Sparky Awards student video contest, announced today. Calling on students to articulate their views in a two-minute video, the contest has been embraced by campuses all over the world and has inspired imaginative expressions of student support for the potential of Open Access to foster creativity, innovation, and problem solving.
September 2, 2010
T-shirts for Open Access Week now available
Just in time for Open Access Week 2011, SPARC has again produced t-shirts for Open Access, Author Rights, and SPARC and are making them available at cost.
U.S. orders should be placed by October 8 to ensure delivery by October 15. International orders should be placed by October 1.
August 11, 2010
SPARC meeting headliners to explore the future of science and promise of networked digital technology
Michael Nielsen, a quantum computation pioneer, and Dr. George Strawn, Director of the National Coordination Office for the Federal Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) program, will headline the fall 2010 SPARC Digital Repositories Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland.
August 4, 2010
NEW STUDY EXAMINES THE ECONOMIC RETURNS OF PUBLIC ACCESS POLICIES
Delivering timely, open, online access to the results of federally funded research in the United States will significantly increase the return on the public’s investment in science, according to a new study by John Houghton at the Centre for Strategic Economic Studies at Victoria University. The study, “The Economic and Social Returns on Investment in Open Archiving Publicly Funded Research Outputs,” co-authored by Bruce Rasmussen and Peter Sheehan, was released today by SPARC (the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition).
July 23, 2010
Open Access to Information
UNESCO supports actions designed to empower people so that they can access and contribute to information and knowledge flows.
June 22, 2010
Scientists for open data and authors of Panton Principles named SPARC Innovators
Science is based on building on, reusing, and openly criticizing the published body of scientific knowledge. For science to effectively function, and for society to reap the full benefits from scientific endeavors, it is crucial that science data be made open. That’s the belief of four leaders who have put forth a groundbreaking set of recommendations for scientists to more easily share their data – The Panton Principles – and who have been named the latest SPARC Innovators for their work.
June 21, 2010
State of play: SPARC-ACRL forum to highlight latest “Big Moves” to create change in scholarly communication
SPARC and ACRL will co-host a timely panel discussion at the upcoming meeting of the American Library Association (ALA) in Washington, DC, on the state of play for key and recent developments in the move to expand access to scholarly research – including federal policy action and major campus-based moves to push for change and exert collective power. The forum will be held Saturday, June 26, 2010 from 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM at the Washington Convention Center, Room 206.
June 2, 2010
State of play: Public access policies to be explored at the next SPARC-ACRL forum
At the upcoming meeting of the American Library Association (ALA) in Washington, DC, SPARC and ACRL will co-host a timely panel discussion on the state of play for federal policy moves to ensure open online access to the results of publicly funded research.
May 21, 2010
Webcast invitation: Open Access Week 2010 Kick-Off Planning Event
The success of the event is due to both the progress of Open Access in the world and the efforts and commitment of individuals at institutions across the world. And, every year, participants gather to share experiences, lessons, challenges, and opportunities in using Open Access Week to create change at the local level. Please join us June 2nd for an Open Access Week 2010 kick-off planning session to learn about this year’s plans and current resources, including the new openaccessweek.org Web site. We’ll also discuss how two teams worked successfully to capture the attention of policy makers, faculty, and others to advance change in 2009.
May 21, 2010
You deserve access to research
by David Carlson,
Southern Illinoisan
May 13, 2010
SPARC ANNOUNCES NEXT DIGITAL REPOSITORIES MEETING FOR NOVEMBER
SPARC, in partnership with SPARC Europe and SPARC Japan/National Institute of Informatics, announces the next installment of the popular SPARC Digital Repositories Meeting will be held November 8 & 9, 2010 at the Renaissance Harborplace Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland.
April 28, 2010
Open Access Week 2010 declared for October 18 to 24 -- Researchers challenged to demonstrate the impact of Open Access on research and scholarship
Open Access Week, the global event to promote free, immediate, online access to research now entering its fourth year, has been declared for October 18 to 24, 2010. Open Access Week is an opportunity for the worldwide academic and research community to continue to learn about the potential benefits of Open Access (OA), to share what they’ve learned with colleagues, and to inspire wider participation in helping to make Open Access a new norm in scholarship and research.
April 19, 2010
BioOne News, April 2010
[PDF] 2009 in Review: Increases in Revenue, Hits, and Circulation
April 15, 2010
New Hope for Open Access
From
Insurance News Net
April 14, 2010
SPARC Europe announces new Director
SPARC Europe, the alliance of European research libraries, library organisations and research institutions, is pleased to announce the appointment of its new Director. Astrid van Wesenbeeck has been appointed and will initially start working with SPARC Europe part-time from 15th June and full‐time from 12 July 2010. Astrid will take over from Dr David Prosser who was recently appointed Director of Research Libraries UK (RLUK).
April 14, 2010
Brigham Young student takes the first Sparky Awards Peoples’ Choice Prize
Aaron Ludwig, a sophomore animation student at Brigham Young University, has won the first-ever Sparky Awards Peoples’ Choice prize for his short film, “Clueless Discovery.” The video was voted the best by students and others everywhere in an open online vote held earlier this Spring.
April 9, 2010
Scientists Embrace Openness
Science - By Chelsea Wald
March 5, 2010
Video now available: Library-press partnerships in action - The new University of California Publishing Services
On Wednesday, February 17, Catherine Mitchell (CDL) and Laura Cerutti (UC Press) joined us to review the progress of the UCPubS program, including the motivations behind their library-press collaboration, the specific services UCPubS provides, their outreach efforts across the campuses, the challenges they’ve encountered so far, and how other presses and libraries can build on this experience.
March 4, 2010
SPARC RELEASES NEW GUIDE TO EXPLORE CAMPUS-BASED OPEN-ACCESS FUNDS
SPARC has released a new guide and supporting Web resource exploring campus-based open-access publishing funds. Authored by SPARC Consultant Greg Tananbaum, these timely new resources survey the current North American landscape of open-access funds and explore key emerging questions on how such funds are considered and developed on college and university campuses.
February 4, 2010
SPARC ANNOUNCES SPARKY AWARD WINNERS, OPENS PEOPLE’S CHOICE CONTEST
Three new student films on information sharing have been voted the best by a panel of new media experts, students, and librarians in the third annual Sparky Awards. Organized by SPARC (the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) and adopted by campuses everywhere, the Sparky Awards contest calls on entrants to creatively illustrate in a short video the value of openly sharing ideas.
February 2, 2010
Student’s video wins library’s ‘SPARKY Award’
By Pete Rosenbery,
The Saluki Times
January 29, 2010
Carlson elected to leadership role with coalition
By Christi Mathis,
The Saluki Times
January 27, 2010
2009 Sparky Awards at Penn Celebrate Information Sharing
University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Press Release
January 25, 2010
David Carlson elected Chair of the SPARC Steering Committee
“David Carlson is a committed advocate who sees things through to their conclusion,” said Heather Joseph, SPARC’s Executive Director. “His experience with institutions of all types, and his commitment to deepening the impact of research through expanding access will help SPARC make important new strides in the coming years. The committee and I look forward to having David’s leadership to help us address the challenges and opportunities before us.”
January 14, 2010
SPARC honors Optical Society of America as a pioneer in scholarly publishing innovation
With the launch of
Optics Express in 1997, the Optical Society of America (OSA) created an open-access journal that has stood the test of time to become a both a scientific and financial success. For being a shining example of community-driven creativity and innovation in scholarly communications, the Optical Society of America has been named the first SPARC Innovator of 2010.
September 24, 2010
ACT BY OCTOBER 1 to let Congress know you support the Federal Research Public Access Act
All supporters of public access – universities and colleges, researchers, libraries, campus administrators, patient advocates, publishers, small businesses, consumers, individuals, and others – are asked to call on your representatives to co-sponsor H.R.5037 or S.1373 BEFORE OCTOBER 1.
STATE-SPECIFIC SUPPORT IS ALSO NEEDED.
September 2, 2010
Call to action – Thank Chairman Clay for hosting the hearing on public access
All supporters of public access to publicly funded research are urged to please write to Chairman Clay to express thanks for taking this important step in Congress. Talking points and contact information are included for your use below. Your action is requested
NO LATER THAN SEPTEMBER 17th.
July 20, 2010
[UPDATE] House committee to hold hearing on public access to publicly funded research
[Witness list now available]. The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Information Policy, the Census and National Archives announced it will hold a hearing on the issue of public access to federally funded research on Thursday, July 29. The hearing will provide an opportunity for the Committee to hear the perspectives of a broad range of stakeholders on the potential impact of opening up access to the results of the United States’ more than $60 billion annual investment in scientific research.
July 1, 2010
ACTION needed to support FRPAA – Request an open hearing on the bill
The Federal Research Public Access Act (H.R. 5037) has been referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in the House of Representatives, where the Chairman is actively considering holding an open hearing on the bill. YOUR VOICE IS NEEDED.
May 3, 2010
MAJOR RESEARCH INSTITUTION LEADERS SUPPORT LEGISLATION TO ENSURE PUBLIC ACCESS TO PUBLICLY FUNDED RESEARCH
The provosts and presidents of 27 major private and public research institutions have voiced their support for the Federal Research Public Access Act in an “Open Letter to the Higher Education Community,” released Friday by the Harvard University Provost. The Act, first introduced in the Senate last year, was introduced in the House of Representatives on April 15. The letter signals expanded support for public access to publicly funded research among the largest research institutions in the U.S.
April 15, 2010
Congress takes another stride toward public access to research
Federal Research Public Access Act introduced in the House of Representatives
January 19, 2010
Public access to federally funded research: SPARC comments
Submitted to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, January 19, 2010
January 19, 2010
(Passed) DEADLINE THURSDAY - Let the White House know you support public access to publicly funded research
January 21 is the *final* deadline to submit comments in response to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Request for Information (RFI) on public access to publicly funded research. Your input will be *critical* in helping the administration to form a deep and balanced view of stakeholders’ interest in ensuring public access.
January 3, 2010
Share your views on public access: New phase of discussion with the White House underway now
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) now invites your input on the *management* of policies to deliver public access to the published results of taxpayer-funded research, to be submitted to the online discussion no later than TOMORROW, January 7, 2010.
December 7, 2010
December '10 Issue of the SPARC Open Access Newsletter
By Peter Suber, this issue has two articles, one on the final weeks of the budget-building phase of the SCOAP3 project in particle physics, and the other on the US mid-term elections and their consequences for OA.
November 3, 2010
November '10 Issue of the SPARC Open Access Newsletter
By Peter Suber, What should we think about politically selective calls for OA? For now, put aside those that are yoked to general calls for OA and framed as politically realistic first steps. What about those that are not yoked to general calls for OA, and whose narrowness suggests political opportunism more than political realism?
October 5, 2010
October '10 Issue of the SPARC Open Access Newsletter
By Peter Suber, this issue takes a close look at my own experience self-archiving, how I was an easier case than many other authors, how I was a harder case, and why I needed so long to move beyond a personal web site to an OA repository.
August 5, 2010
Economic and Social Returns on Investment in Open Archiving Publicly Funded Research Outputs
The
Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) provided support for a feasibility study, to outline one possible approach to measuring the impacts of the proposed US
Federal Research Public Access Act (FRPAA) on returns to public investment in R&D. The aim is to define and scope the data collection requirements and further model developments necessary for a more robust estimate of the likely impacts of the proposed FRPAA open archiving mandate. The study was authored by John Houghton with Bruce Rasmussen and Peter Sheehan of the Centre for Strategic Economic Studies at Victoria University.
August 3, 2010
August '10 Issue of the SPARC Open Access Newsletter
by Peter Suber,this issue explores some of the digital-age implications of William Garvey's print-era observation that it's sometimes "easier to repeat an experiment than it is to determine that the experiment has already been done."
July 23, 2010
Open Access Week: Library Strategies for Advancing Change
By Andrew Waller and Jamaica Jones. In the new issue of
Research Library Issues.
June 2, 2010
June '10 Issue of the SPARC Open Access Newsletter
by Peter Suber. his issue takes a close look at the unanimous faculty votes for institutional OA policies.
May 11, 2010
Recording now available: Webcast on open-access funds
On May 5, 2010, SPARC consultant and author of a set of new SPARC resources, Greg Tananbaum, joined us to explore why institutions are launching open-access funds, what practical and policy issues go into such a decision, how faculty and administration have reacted to these funds, what the results to date have been, and what SPARC is doing to evaluate and track the impact of these funds. Members of the advisory group that helped to develop the guide and SPARC resource, and whose experience in operating funds on their campuses has been an essential resource for others in the space, were also available to field questions.
March 18, 2010
Campus-based open-access Publishing Funds: A Practical Guide to Design and Implementation
The SPARC guide, by Greg Tananbaum, is not an advocacy document promoting the launch of Open-access Funds. Rather, we aim to help institutions that are curious to better understand why funds are being launched, the considerations and decisions involved in their creation, and how existing funds are being managed. Should you choose to move forward with creating an open-access fund, this guide will help you to do so with your best foot forward.
March 18, 2010
Now online: Video from the ALA Boston forum
The ebook transition: Collaborations and innovations behind open-access monographs