Open in order to… ensure universal and equitable access to information

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Librarians all over the world share the goal of making materials, facilities and services equally accessible to all users. Open access has a great influence on the way this is done. As acknowledged in IFLA’s Statement on Open Access in Scholarly Literature and Research Documentation (2003) as well as in the IFLA Statement on open access – clarifying IFLA’s position and strategy (2011), research is a driver of progress and development. It is undeniable that making research accessible plays a decisive role in contributing to the accomplishment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. 

There are several key players in this movement, and librarians are certainly one of them. Together with other relevant actors in the sector, they play a fundamental role in the development of open access. As explained by SPARC Europe in the infographic “What Librarians Can Do to Promote Open Access”, there are several steps that libraries can take to engage in open access, from helping universities build up an institutional archive, to rejecting bad deals to journal subscriptions. Their active involvement is needed to guarantee that steps forwards are taken for the dissemination of knowledge. 

Once again, IFLA wishes to join the celebration for open access week. This year, we have gathered materials of some of the presentations about open access that took place during the World Library and Information Congress in August 2017 in Wroclaw, Poland. By approaching the topic from many different angles, they are an example of how libraries support open access and provide input on how to continue doing so. 

Open Access – Increasing engagement with academics to move beyond compliance

By Dawn Hibbert, University of Northampton, UK
See power point presentation
Presented at the WLIC side event organised by the Serials and Other Continuing Resources & Acquisition and Collection Development Sections in Gdánsk, Poland on August 16, 2017

The Darakht-e Danesh Library: Taking Action for Afghan Educators through an Open Access Repository 

By Rebecca Miller, BiblioDev, LLC, Germany and Afghanistan 
and Letha Goger, Darakht-e Danesh Library, Germany and Afghanistan
Research paper available in the IFLA Library
Presented at the WLIC side event organised by the Serials and Other Continuing Resources & Acquisition and Collection Development Sections in Gdánsk, Poland on August 16, 2017

Keeping Open Access Content: A Framework for Multi-Agency Actions

By Peter Burnhill, Information Services Group, University of Edinburgh
and Gaelle Bequet, ISSN International Centre, France 
See power point presentation
Presented at the WLIC side event organised by the Serials and Other Continuing Resources & Acquisition and Collection Development Sections in Gdánsk, Poland on August 17, 2017

Investing in Open Access: Identifying, Evaluating, and Supporting Open Access Resources

By Katy Matthews, Ohio University Libraries, USA,
Janet Hulm, Ohio University Libraries, USA
and Lisa MacKinder, Ohio University Libraries, USA
Research paper available in the IFLA Library
Presented at the WLIC side event organised by the Serials and Other Continuing Resources & Acquisition and Collection Development Sections in Gdánsk, Poland on August 17, 2017

Should Diamond OA be viewed as a threat to librarians? 

By Olivier Ramare, Institut de Mathématiques de Marseille : CNRS-Université d’Aix-Marseille, France,
and Anna Wojciechowska, Institut de Mathématiques de Marseille: CNRS-Université d’Aix-Marseille
Research paper available in the IFLA Library
Presented at the WLIC side event organised by the Serials and Other Continuing Resources & Acquisition and Collection Development Sections in Gdánsk, Poland on August 17, 2017

​Sci-Hub and LibGen: what if… why not? 

By Louis Houle, McGill University, Canada
Research paper available in the IFLA Library
Presented at the WLIC side event “Open access: action required”, organised by the Serials and Other Continuing Resources & Acquisition and Collection Development Sections in Gdánsk, Poland on August 17, 2017

Re-envisioning a Future of Scholarly Communication

By Chris Hartgerink, Tilburg University, Netherlands
Research paper available in the IFLA Library
Presented at the WLIC session “Being Open About Open” organised by Academic & Research Libraries, FAIFE and Copyright and Other Legal Matters in Wroclaw, Poland on August 24, 2017

Towards Open Science: China’s Scientific Research and Libraries 

By Xiang Yang Huang (National Science Library, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China),
Yan Zhao (National Science Library, Chinese Academy of Science, China),
Dong Rong Zhang (National Science Library, Chinese Academy of Science, China),
Jing Yu Liu (National Science Library, Chinese Academy of Science, China),
and Cen Zhang (National Science Library, Chinese Academy of Science)
Research paper available in the IFLA Library
Presented at the WLIC session “Being Open About Open” organised by Academic & Research Libraries, FAIFE and Copyright and Other Legal Matters in Wroclaw, Poland on August 24, 2017

What it Takes to Make ‘Open’ the Default

By Vanessa Proudman Monen, SPARC Europe, Netherlands
See power point presentation
Presented at the WLIC session “Being Open About Open” organised by Academic & Research Libraries, FAIFE and Copyright and Other Legal Matters in Wroclaw, Poland on August 24, 2017

​The Mining “Revolution”; Are Libraries Supporting Researchers or Publishers?

By Peter Murray-Rust, ContentMine, United Kingdom
See Peter Murray-Rust’s blog, and a post about his presentation at WLIC
Presented at the WLIC session “Being Open About Open” organised by Academic & Research Libraries, FAIFE and Copyright and Other Legal Matters in Wroclaw, Poland on August 24, 2017

Altruism as the Founding Pillar for Open Monograph Publishing in the Global South

By Reggie Raju, University of Cape Town, South Africa)
Research paper available in the IFLA Library
Presented at the WLIC session “Being Open About Open” organised by Academic & Research Libraries, FAIFE and Copyright and Other Legal Matters in Wroclaw, Poland on August 24, 2017

Open Educational Resources within a Knowledge System for Achieving Quality Education SDG 

By Lena Nyahodza, University of Cape Town, South Africa
and Reggie Raju, University of Cape Town, South Africa
Research paper available in the IFLA Library
Presented at the WLIC session “Knowledge Systems for Sustainable Development Goals – Access to Information Network-Africa” in Wroclaw, Poland on August 24, 2017

​Open Cultural Data Hackaton Coding Da Vinci – Bring the Digital Commons to Life

By Antje Theise, Hamburg State and University Library, Germany
Research paper available in the IFLA Library
Presented at the WLIC session “Out of the Stacks: Special Collections in Society” organised by the Rare Books and Special Collections Section in Wroclaw, Poland on August 24, 2017