Author Archives: Chris Sweet

October 19-25 is designated as International Open Access Week. Open access is defined as the free, immediate, online availability of research articles combined with the rights to use these articles fully in the digital environment. The open access movement began in the 1990’s and has grown and matured along with the internet. The theme of this year’s Open Access Week is: “Open with Purpose: Taking Action to Build Structural Equity and Inclusion.”

Those unfamiliar with open access, might wonder if tying improving open access to making any sort of real dent in the deep and systemic problems related to equity and inclusion isn’t just an attempt to co-opt an important nationwide movement.  In 2008, Aaron Swartz, a young programmer and open access visionary wrote a Guerrilla Open Access Manifesto which includes the following: “Those with access to these resources – students, librarians, scientists – you have been given a privilege. You get to feed at this banquet of knowledge while the rest of the world is locked out. But you need not – indeed, morally, you cannot – keep this privilege for yourselves.”  As Swartz makes clear, information is power, but if this power (in the form of access to information) is not the same for everyone, then inequity is the result. Knowledge builds upon knowledge, so the only equitable way forward is to reduce discrepancies in who has access to information.

Open access is one component of a broader “open” movement that also includes open source software, open educational materials (OER), and open data. Together these initiatives are beginning to re-shape who has access to information and who doesn’t, pointing the way to a more equitable and inclusive future.

Stop by and see the Open Access display in the Ames library and check out The Ames Library’s guide related to Open Access and Open Educational Resources.

Illinois Wesleyan University, Illinois State University, and the Consortium of Illinois Academic and Research Libraries (CARLI) are partnering to bring the Engaging with the ACRL Framework Workshop to Normal on May 14. This one-day workshop focuses on engaging more deeply with the Framework and exploring ways that it may help to enrich individual teaching practices, as well as their local instruction programs and institutions. Throughout this workshop participants will explore concepts and pedagogical approaches outlined in the Framework and their significance to their own instructional work. Attendees will apply their learning and reflection to creating instruction plans for their local contexts and considering possibilities for growing teaching partnerships. The workshop will be led by Jenny Dale (University of North Carolina at Greensboro) and Kate L. Ganski (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee).

Cohorts from the same institution are encouraged to attend and work together on their information literacy curriculum.

For more details on the workshop and presenters bios see: http://www.ala.org/acrl/conferences/roadshows/frameworkroadshow

When? May 14, 8-5PM
Where? ISU Alumni Center (1101 North Main, Normal, Illinois 61761)
Cost? $50 for CARLI member librarians (Cost subsidized by CARLI, Limit 45 attendees)
What’s included? Light breakfast, lunch, and printed workshop materials
Registration?  http://www.titanpride.org/ACRLworkshop