On October 20-24th, IU Bloomington celebrated Open Access Week 2014 with a series of workshops and events to increase the local research community’s understanding of open access. Moira Marsh and Dee Mortensen kicked off the week with a session on the “Road to Publishing for Students,” where they relayed the steps in the publishing process and shared tips on how to (and how not to) get published.
Tuesday’s events began with a student roundtable discussion on open access moderated by ILS professor Cassidy Sugimoto. The four student panelists shared their thoughts on a variety of issues in open access, including types of OA, quality control, activism, power dynamics of publishers, disciplinary differences, and more. In the afternoon, Nicholas Wyant, Theresa Quill, and Christina Sheley showcased three different tools for finding open access resources in the social sciences: SSRN, American Fact Finder, and Open Street Map.
Shayna Pekala led a workshop on Wednesday morning introducing Open Journal Systems (OJS) software as a tool for publishing your open access journal. Jen Laherty followed on Thursday afternoon with an informative workshop on how to write a data management plan for an NSF grant proposal (for those of you who missed it, a recording is available here). She also explained the various options for storing data at IU and where to go for help with managing your data.
Naz Pantaloni wrapped the week up with a session on negotiating journal publishing agreements. He talked about the basics of copyright, what rights are typically negotiable, and how authors can use an Author Addendum to maximize their rights.
Overall it was a successful week with ample learning opportunities for students and faculty alike. A big thank you to all of the presenters, the Scholars’ Commons, and the Libraries for making these events possible!