'Generation Open' Focus of Open Access Week

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 14, 2014) — Free access to funded research has gradually surfaced to be the new standard in academia. In recognition of this change, University of Kentucky Libraries will host a panel discussion titled, "Generation Open: Researchers' Roles in the Age of Openness," as one of the events presented to celebrate Open Access Week 2014, Oct. 20-26. The panel discussion begins at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 23, in the  UK Athletics Auditorium in William T. Young Library.

Research funding agencies across the world have implemented policies that require grant recipients to ensure free online access to the results of their funded research. The U.S. Office of Science and Technology Policy issued a memorandum last year that required federal agencies with more than $100 million in research and development expenditures to develop strategies to enable public online access to the findings and underlying data of funded research. Students and scholars who plan to pursue their careers in academia today are "Generation Open".

The event will commence with the director of the Research Data Center at UK Libraries, Mary Molinaro. She will provide a description of the current research environment and expectations of researchers' roles today. Dr. Douglas Scutchfield, founding director of the College of Public Health and founding director of the Center for Health Services Research and Management, will be the first panelist. Scutchfield will discuss the benefits of open access from the researcher's perspective as well as his personal experience of taking the lead to support open access by creating a new open access journal, Frontiers in Public Health Services and Systems Research.

The second panelist, Professor Matthew Zook, of the UK Department of Geography, will focus on the value of openly sharing research data, especially in terms of how it contributes to scholarship, innovation and the public good.

Immediately after the discussion panel, there will be a question and answer session followed by a reception. The event is free and open to the public.

Additional events for Open Access Week include the Kickoff Event Webcast from 3 to 4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 20, in the Niles Gallery, at Lucille C. Little Fine Arts Library and Learning Center. The panel is moderated by early career researcher, Meredith Niles, of Harvard University. There will be a discussion about early career researchers and their institutions supporting and rewarding open access research.

"Your Publication, Your Choice: Choosing the Right Open Access Journal" will take place from 2 to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 21, in the Medical Center Library Computer Lab. UK Libraries is hosting this workshop to help researchers consider what open access journals to consider when getting their research published.

"Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Information Session" will take place from 2 to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 22, in the Alumni Gallery, Young Library. The information session will assist graduate students with the process of submitting a thesis or dissertation. Graduate School and UK Libraries representatives will be available to answer questions at this session.

Open Access Week is an annual global event that provides an opportunity for academic and research communities to gain greater knowledge about the benefits of open access. These communities share what they have learned with colleagues and aim to inspire more extensive participation to make open access a norm in scholarship and research.

All UK Open Access events are free and open to the public. For more information about Open Access Week events happening at UK visit http://go.uky.edu/OAWeek2014. For more information regarding open access, visit UK Libraries' website http://libguides.uky.edu/OpenAccess. For more information about research available online via UKnowledge, visit this http://libguides.uky.edu/UKnowledge.