The BC Research Libraries Group & SFU Library are proud to present a morning program exploring the theme of “Open in Action”.  Note: the program will be webcast. Join us using this link: http://www.sfu.ca/webcast/event/663/live.html 

The morning will begin with a talk by Rick Andersen, Associate Dean for Collections and Scholarly Communication at the University of Utah, and President of the Society for Scholarly Publishing.

What Do We Want? (We’re Not Sure!) When Do We Want It? (Hard to Say!): Reconciling the Needs of Analysis and Advocacy in Scholarly-Communication Reform. 

Reforming scholarly communication is a tough job, made tougher by factors that include the lack of unanimity among stakeholders as to what reform should look like (or whether it’s needed at all); the wide variety of needs and interests among the system’s stakeholders; the structural complexity of the system itself; the lack of unanimity as to what “open access” means; the heavy weight of tradition in academic practice; and the high level of emotion that inevitably accompanies discussion of these issues. The difficulty and complexity of the reform project suggest that analysis is needed, but the moral and emotional weight of the issues involved naturally lead us in the direction of advocacy instead— and advocacy and analysis are, unfortunately, natural enemies. In this session we will review salient aspects of the scholarly-communication landscape that make reform particularly challenging, some principles for addressing those challenges, and some possible mechanisms for applying these principles to bridge perspectives, including strategies for including the all-important authors’ voice.

Following this talk will be Open in Action: a panel discussion featuring: Juan Pablo Alperin, Assistant Professor, SFU Publishing; Gwen Bird, Dean of Libraries and University Librarian, SFU; Rajiv Jhangiani, Department of Psychology, KPU. Will Engle, Strategist, Open Education Initiatives, UBC.

Barrier-free access to research and resources is not just a nice idea: it is a necessity that is being supported with concrete actions by leaders in BC universities. Join us in conversation with individuals who are taking concrete actions that advance the concept of Openness in higher education, scholarship, and the community at large. These panelists will talk about initiatives they are involved in, such as those that support the development and use of open textbooks; investigate who uses open access journal articles and under what conditions; build infrastructure for scholarly publishing; address community needs for information Specifically, our panelists will talk about how their work intersects with the idea of Open and what motivates them towards putting Open into action. Following short presentations, there will be a moderated discussion.