Open Access Week 2024 call to action
The Deakin Library calls all members of the research community to take action for Open Access Week 2024. Here are five actions you can take right now to prioritise community over commercialisation and help create a more equitable, accessible scholarly landscape.
1. Read and share an article from a diamond OA journal
Why?
Diamond Open Access (OA) journals are free to read and free to publish in, making them a vital resource in the fight for accessible scholarship. By reading and sharing articles from these journals, you help elevate the work of researchers committed to open access and signal to your peers that high-quality research is available beyond paywalls.
How?
- Search the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) with the ‘without fees’ filter to find diamond OA journals.
- Choose an article from a diamond OA journal in your field.
- Share it with your colleagues, on social media or in relevant academic networks.
- Encourage others to do the same.
2. Put OA on the agenda for your next meeting
Why?
Discussions about open access are crucial to raising awareness and promoting change within institutions. By including OA as a topic in your next meeting, research group gathering or academic committee, you contribute to an ongoing conversation about the importance of accessibility in scholarly communication.
How?
- Add a brief discussion about OA to the agenda of your next meeting.
- Share resources that explain the benefits of OA and how your team can get involved.
- Suggest a collective action, like pledging to publish in OA journals or depositing articles in a repository.
3. Put an article from a diamond OA journal on your reading list
Why?
Incorporating articles from diamond OA journals into your teaching and learning materials supports the visibility and credibility of these journals. It also introduces students to the concept of open access and encourages them to engage with freely available, high-quality research.
How?
- Identify an article from a diamond OA journal that aligns with your course content. Tip: Use the ‘without fees’ filter in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).
- Add it to your reading list or syllabus.
- Highlight the article’s OA status to students and explain why it’s important.
4. Go Green (OA) by adding the author-accepted manuscript of a published article to Elements
Why?
Green Open Access involves self-archiving a version of your non-OA work (i.e. the author-accepted manuscript) in an institutional repository, making it freely available to others. By depositing your author-accepted manuscript in Elements, you increase the accessibility of your research, contribute to the global knowledge base and adhere to open access mandates from funders.
How?
- Locate the author-accepted manuscript of your recent non-OA publication.
- Upload it to Elements, following the guidelines for Green OA and the instructions in our Green (Repository) OA guide.
- Monitor and share the impact of your deposited work.
5. Find out what your OA publishing percentage is and put it on your CV or LinkedIn profile. Challenge yourself to increase it.
Why?
Knowing your open access publishing percentage helps you track your commitment to making research accessible. Publicly sharing this percentage on your CV or LinkedIn profile not only demonstrates your dedication to OA but also encourages others to follow suit, fostering a culture of openness.
How?
- Calculate what percentage of your publications are Open Access (number of publications divided by number available via OA, multiplied by 100).
- Add this percentage to your CV or LinkedIn profile, e.g. ‘70% of publications available in Open Access journals or repositories, reflecting a commitment to making research accessible to all.’
- Set a goal to increase this percentage in your future publishing activities.
About Open Access Week
Open Access Week is an international campaign that invites the academic and research community to learn, share and help inspire wider participation in open access publishing. Each year, the Deakin Library organises a series of events and activities during Open Access Week in line with the year’s theme. The theme for Open Access Week 2024 is Community over Commercialisation. Explore events and activities as part of the library’s Open Access Week 2024 program.