A SPARC online event
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
12:00 – 1:00PM EST
Registration is free, but required. RSVP by September 6 at http://www.arl.org/sparc/meetings/register.

Open Access Week, a global event now entering its fourth year, is an opportunity for the academic and research community to learn about the potential benefits of Open Access (OA), to share ideas with colleagues, and to inspire wider participation in establishing Open Access as a new norm in scholarship and research.

Open Access to information has the power to transform the way research and scientific inquiry are conducted. It has direct and widespread implications for academia, medicine, science, industry, and for society as a whole. OA has the potential to maximize research investments, increase the exposure and use of published research, facilitate the conduct of research across available literature, and enhance the overall advancement of scholarship. Research funding agencies, academic institutions, researchers and scientists, teachers, students, and members of the general public are supporting a move towards Open Access in increasing numbers every year.

This year, the organizers of Open Access Week are issuing a challenge to participating universities, research facilities, and other sites worldwide: Show the world the real impact of Open Access by demonstrating how it has helped you and your colleagues to advance your research or scholarship.

LEARN MORE about the Open Access Week 2010 Challenge. On September 7, join SPARC Executive Director Heather Joseph and Open Access Week Program Director Jennifer McLennan to explore how researchers, research funders, administrators, technology developers, and others are taking advantage of Open Access to research and how advocates can help take conversations to a new level.

The 2010 Open Access Week Challenge
A SPARC online event
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
12:00 – 1:00PM EST
Registration is free, but required. RSVP by September 6 at http://www.arl.org/sparc/meetings/register.

This online event is held in conjunction with Open Access Week 2010 (October 18 – 24). OA Week is an invaluable chance to connect the global momentum toward open sharing with the advancement of policy changes on the local level. Universities, colleges, research institutes, funding agencies, libraries, and think tanks have used Open Access Week as a platform to host faculty votes on campus open-access policies, to issue reports on the societal and economic benefits of Open Access, to commit new funds in support of open-access publication, and more.

Register to participate and learn more about what you can do at openaccessweek.org.