Celebrate International Open Access Week with the University of Iowa Libraries on Oct. 20–26. This year’s theme is “Who owns our knowledge?” and it focuses on the questions:
- Where has knowledge come from?
- How is knowledge created and shared?
- Whose voices are recognized and valued?
Open Access Week is a time for open access professionals to share and celebrate the benefits of open scholarship. It is a chance for the academic community to learn more about what makes open access to information so important.
On Monday, Oct. 20 from noon to 1 p.m., the University of Iowa Libraries, along with Iowa State University and University of Northern Iowa, will be hosting a virtual lecture, Who Owns Our Knowledge? Rethinking Publishing in a Scholar-Led World with Juan Pablo Alperin. Juan Pablo Alperin is an associate professor in publishing, co-director of the Scholarly Communications Lab, and scientific director of the Public Knowledge Project at Simon Fraser University.
Alperin will discuss how the proliferation of open access journals, led by scholars and published out of universities from around the world, are challenging publishing models, reshaping access to knowledge, and redefining the global landscape of scholarly communication.
Among other things, he will draw on work from these two papers:
- Recalibrating the scope of scholarly publishing: A modest step in a vast decolonization process
- Scholarly publishing’s hidden diversity: How exclusive databases sustain the oligopoly of academic publishers
If you’re interested in learning more about the benefits of open access, register to attend the lecture on Monday, Oct. 20, or check out some of the other virtual worldwide events that will be happening all week from Oct. 20–26.