Clemson Libraries celebrates Open Access Week with showcase event Oct. 27

Clemson Libraries is celebrating open access resources with several events during Open Access Week October 24-28. The main event will be an Open Access Showcase Thursday, October 27, from 1-3 p.m. in the west learning commons on the fourth floor of the Cooper Library. Faculty, staff and students are invited to learn about the importance of open access resources, including the resources they can take advantage of at Clemson.

Open access refers to “free, immediate, online access to the results of scholarly research, and the right to use and re-use those results as you need,” according to SPARC, a non-profit organization that advocates internationally for open access materials and coordinates International Open Access Week every year.

The Open Access Showcase will begin with a Perspectives on Open Access panel discussion at 1 p.m. featuring a variety of Clemson faculty talking about the impact and importance of open access:

  • Chris Vidas, electronic resources coordinator, Clemson Libraries
  • Stephen Creager, associate dean of the College of Science and professor of chemistry
  • Tom Dobbins, director of Clemson Cooperative Extension and editorial board member for the Journal of Extension
  • Shelia Cotton, associate vice president for research development
  • Sruthi Narayanan, associate professor of crop ecophysiology, and recipient of the Libraries’ Open Education Resources Faculty Award.

Following the panel discussion, there will be a “show and tell” presentation at 2 p.m. on Clemson Libraries’ affordable textbook program, which has saved students more than $1 million in textbook costs since 2018. The presentation will be given by Tyler Commons, who oversees the textbook lending program, and Yang Wu, open resources librarian.

Throughout the event, from 1-3 p.m., librarians will be on-hand for an “ORCID-a-thon” drop-in to help faculty members with ORCID, which helps researchers create a record of their research and scholarly communication across platforms.

The Open Access Showcase will include food and time for networking with colleagues. Click here to register.

Other events during Open Access Week include:

  • Trick or Treat? Identifying Predatory Publishers and Evaluating Open Access Journals – Wednesday, October 26, noon-1 p.m. This virtual presentation will help researchers better identify predatory publishers and how to evaluate open access journals for their research and publishing purposes. Click here to register.
  • Faculty Perspectives on OER Creation – Thursday, October 27, 11 a.m.-noon. This virtual panel discussion will feature faculty from several state institutions talking about how they create Open Education Resources for incorporation into their classes:
    • Briget Doyle, associate professor of geology, USC Upstate
    • Sara Rich, assistant professor, HTC Honors College, Coastal Carolina University
    • Sophie Wang, Warren H. Owen-Duke Energy Professor of Engineering, Clemson University.

Hosted by PASCAL and open to faculty and staff at any PASCAL member institution. Click here to register.