Academics

Penn State Libraries celebrates scholars who published open access research

Provost Nicholas Jones (left) celebrates with faculty members Lee Silverberg, associate professor of chemistry at Penn State Schuylkill (center), and Jiro Yoshida, associate professor of risk management in the Smeal College of Business (right), at the Open Access Week event held Oct. 24 in the Collaboration Commons at Pattee Library. Credit: Penn State University Libraries / Penn StateCreative Commons

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Executive Vice President and Provost Nicholas Jones joined the University Libraries on Oct. 24 for a reception honoring Penn State authors who published open access (OA) research during 2018. Open access publications are available online at no cost to the reader. Some open access publications include licenses allowing the public to share and reuse them.

Barbara Dewey, dean of the University Libraries and Scholarly Communications, welcomed more than 70 authors, administrators and library staff to the celebration in the new Collaboration Commons at Pattee Library.

“You certainly are the leaders of Open Access at Penn State,” Dewey said.

Jones congratulated the authors, noting that more than 2,800 publications by Penn State authors from 2018 — more than a quarter of the University's output last year — are open access. He touted the University’s recently endorsed open access policy.

“Open access enables us to disseminate research and scholarship as widely as possible, and to advance our land-grant mission in the digital age," he said.

Of the $968 million in Penn State research expenditures during fiscal year 2018-19, $593 million came from federal agencies, Jones said.

“Those agencies know the value of public access to research and have implemented their own public access plans," he added. "Private funders too increasingly prefer open access to research they support. By supporting OA, we send funders the message that we share their commitment. We all benefit when research has the widest possible audience.”

Attendees had the opportunity to meet fellow Penn Staters interested in open access. Many spoke with colleagues in other disciplines and academic units, including library representatives.

The event was timed to coincide with Open Access Week, an international event organized by the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC), of which the Libraries is a member. To learn more about Penn State’s commitment to open access, visit open.psu.edu.

Last Updated November 1, 2019

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