Research & Scholarly Publications Team

Open Access Week 2021 - Upcoming Events...

The last week in October (25th-31st) is International Open Access Week. The overarching theme for this year is: It Matters How we Open Knowledge: Building Structural Equity.

The focus of this year's week feels particularly pertinent given the ongoing negotiations being conducted between Universities and academic publishers around the feasibility of transforming scholarly publishing from a system based around subscription access, to one based around supporting the infrastructure for 'open access'. The 'transformative agreements' with publishers which we are a party to, and which are intended to help shift the publishing landscape from 'closed' to 'open' access, are listed on our LibGuide.

To mark Open Access Week we are planning a series of events which we would welcome staff and students from the University to attend.

• Monday 25th October - Open Access Game, Library Ground Floor, 10.30 & 11.30 am

            Please click here to be taken to the Sign Up Form.

The "Game of Open Access" is a board game developed by staff from Computing & Library Services at the University of Huddersfield. The aim is to engage researchers with the key concepts and tools required to meet Open Access mandates. Through the use of playful learning, it aims to develop an understanding of the role of Open Access through the initial idea for an article to its acceptance for publication.

Please meet near the Open Access Week display table on the Ground Floor of the Library.

• Tuesday 26th October - Paywall: the Business of Scholarship documentary (online screening), 12-1.30pm

• Please click here to be taken to the Sign Up Form. 

Join us for an online screening of the 2018 documentary 'Paywall: the Business of Scholarship'. The documentary offers an accessible and entertaining insight into the economics involved in academic publishing, and why the current profit driven model is proving so contentious. Arguments around Open Access publishing are also examined. This film screening will be of interest to anyone who is new to the topics and arguments involved, as well as those who have some familiarity with them. There will be an opportunity to ask questions during and after the screening with the Library's Open Access Officer, Thomas Jenkins. All students and staff at the University are welcome to attend.

• Wednesday 27th October - Open Access Week Research Café (online format), 12-2pm

• Please click here to be taken to the Sign Up Form. 

To mark International Open Access Week (25th-31st October), please join us for a Special Research Café themed around Open Access and Open Science practice. There will be an opportunity to ask questions of the presenters during the event. All students and staff at the University are welcome to attend.

Our presenter line up is:

• * Dr Sarah Charles, Post-Doctoral Researcher at King's College London, and Dr James Bartlett, Post-Doctoral Researcher at the University of Glasgow, 'Open Research Practice & Data Reproducibility'
• * Tobias Steiner, Project Manager for the COPIM Project, 'Open Access Books, and the COPIM Project' 
• * Dr Patrick Hart, founder and editor of the Open Access journal 'Journal of the Northern Renaissance', 'Editing an independent open access journal: tales from the front line'

• Thursday 28th October - Pure Drop-In Session, Library Ground Floor, 9-11am

An opportunity for any academic staff or Post Graduate Researchers to stop by and ask any questions they may have about using Pure, the University institutional repository system and any related matters such as Open Access and compliance with University, REF and Funder policies. 

Please meet at the Open Access week display table on the Ground Floor of the Library.

• Open Access Mystery Role Playing Game (online format) - Please note this event is being postponed from Friday 29th October. Anyone interested in playing the game is still welcome to register their interest. We are planning to offer a repeat session of the role playing game in early February as part of the Doctoral College's Research Hootenanny week of events.

• Please click here to be taken to the Sign Up Form. 

Originally developed by Katrine Sundsbø at the University of Essex, the Open Access Mystery sees each participant take on the role of one of eight characters who meet at a Conference - with each character having their own eccentricities, foibles and secrets...
During the conference disaster will strike, and it’s up to the players to figure out who’s behind what turns out to be a global lockdown of all research. Will it be the Professor who relies on the h-index? The early career researcher with imposter syndrome? The problem solver who works in publishing? Or perhaps it’s the paranoid researcher who thinks you’ve stolen their ideas? Pay attention, not all is as it seems…

Please note this event is limited to 6-8 participants. Once registered, participants will be contacted to select a character and will be provided with a playing pack in advance of the session.