Open Access and Scholarly Communications: Advocating for OA

The Open Access Button can help you get access to research you need while advocating for increased openness in scholarly publishing.

The next time you're asked to pay to access academic research. Push the Open Access Button on your phone or on the web. The Open Access Button will search the web for a version of the paper that you can access immediately. If that doesn't work, the Button will email the author and look for more information about the paper. If you get your research, you can make progress with your work. If you don't get your research, your story will be used to help change the publishing system so it doesn't happen again."

The Unpaywall browser extension for Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox uses embedded metadata in scholarly sources to locate any (legal) open version of the article, which you can then access with a single click.

Open Access Week is a global opportunity to raise awareness of open access in scholarship and research. Sign up to receive information about the upcoming Open Access week and connect with others involved in Open Access around the world.

• Alliance for Taxpayer Access

  "The Alliance for Taxpayer Access is a coalition of patient groups, physicians, researchers, educational institutions, publishers, and health promotion organizations that support barrier-free access to taxpayer-funded research."

• SPARC: Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition

  "SPARC, the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition, is an international alliance of nearly 800 academic and research libraries working to create a more open system of scholarly communication."

• Making Change Work for You

  "You probably play various roles in the system of scholarly exchange — author, reviewer, society member, for example. Here are some ways you can advance digital scholarship and benefit from expanded sharing of research."

• Take Action with the Scholarly Communication Toolkit

  The Scholarly Communication Toolkit, designed by the Association for College & Research Libraries, includes information for librarians, authors, editors, reviewers, and university administrators who want to help transform the scholarly communication landscape.

• The Right to Research Coalition

  The Right to Research Coalition is an organization founded and led by students to advocate for open access policies at campus and national levels and educate the next generation of scholars and researchers about open access.

• Open Access Directory's List of Advocacy Organizations

  The Open Access Directory has compiled a list of organizations that make open access advocacy a significant part of their mission.

The Scholarly Communications Office provides guidance, policy development, and advocacy to faculty, students, and staff on the following issues:

• Copyright and fair use

• Authors’ rights

• Privacy rights

• Open access

• Policy related to scholarly material

For more information, visit the Scholarly Communications Office webpage, or contact Collin Drummond, MSLS.