Open Access Week, a global event now entering its eighth year, is an opportunity for the academics and researchers to continue to learn about the potential benefits of Open Access, to share what they’ve learned with colleagues, and to help inspire wider participation in helping to make Open Access a new norm in scholarship and research. (from the Open Access Week website)

This year’s Open Access Week will take place October 20-26. The Dalhousie University Libraries are presenting two events on the theme of open access this year. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Differing Perspectives on Open Access: a panel discussion
Open Access refers to publication of scholarly research that is free and online. Proponents of open access believe its widespread adoption will benefit society, but there is concern about quality control. Join us for a panel discussion with Julia M. Wright, Professor of English and Associate Dean Research of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, speaking from the perspective of a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council researcher; Geoff Brown, Digital Scholarship Librarian with the Dalhousie Libraries, speaking from the Libraries’ perspective; and Jonathan Crago, Editor-in-Chief at McGill Queen’s University Press, speaking from the perspective of a Canadian university publisher. University Librarian Donna Bourne-Tyson will facilitate the panel. This event will be followed by a reception.
Thursday, October 23/4–5:30 p.m.
Room 224, Student Union Building

Open Access at MIT Press: OA in a large university press
Nick Lindsay, Journals Director at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press and Dalhousie University alumnus, will talk about the MIT Press journals division’s experience with open access. Nick describes himself as neither an open access advocate nor a cynic, and from this perspective he will discuss several real-world examples of publishing journals using an open access model, challenges facing the publishing industry in a hotbed of pro-OA sentiment at MIT, and where he thinks the future of OA at MIT Press is going. This presentation will be live via Skype, and Nick will take questions afterward.
Friday, October 24/1 p.m.
Room 2616, Killam Memorial Library