UK to host event on online access: Libraries to spur discussion about research environment changes

UK Libraries will host a discussion on the importance and benefits of free online access to research Thursday morning.

The Generation Open: Researchers’ Roles in the Age of Openness panel will be held in the UK Athletics Auditorium in the W.T. Young Library from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., wrote librarian Adrian K. Ho, Open Access week organizer, in an email to the Kentucky Kernel.

Open Access Week is celebrating its eighth year, and allows the academic research community to continue to learn about the potential benefits of open access, Ho wrote.

The goal of the panel, Ho wrote in the email, is to explore the arguments surrounding open access as well as the benefits of allowing free online access to research.

Librarian Mary Molinaro will moderate the discussion, Ho wrote, and speak on UK Libraries’ behalf about the libraries’ roles in the current research environment.

Douglas Scutchfield, a public health professor, will discuss the benefits of open access from the perspective of a researcher, Ho wrote in the email. Geography professor Matthew Zook will speak about how sharing research contributes to scholarship and innovation.

Ho wrote that open access to research is an emerging norm, which means that ensuring that researchers are all on the same page regarding funding is a necessary next step.

In February 2013, he added, the Office of Science and Technology Policy created plans that would require public online availability for research from organizations that receive more than $100 million in federal funding.

Ho wrote that students should be interested in the panel because knowing how the research environment is changing will be vital for future researchers and scholars. Additionally, open access can help students locate information when researching.

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