Becker Library is celebrating International Open Access Week, now entering its fourteenth year. Open Access refers to free, unrestricted online access to research outputs such as journal articles, books and so much more. Open access publishing reduces barriers to access and reuse publications by applying an open license for copyright. This year’s theme for Open Access Week, October 25-31, is “It Matters How We Open Knowledge: Building Structural Equity.”
Since 2010, Becker Library has actively supported open access through our institutional repository for the School of Medicine – Digital Commons@Becker. Our largest collection, Open Access Publications, contains over 10,000 peer-reviewed articles authored by Washington University School of Medicine faculty published in open access journals or authorized by the publishers for open access availability. This collection has received over 1.2 million downloads since its inception in 2011.
Have you shared your scholarly work in Digital Commons@Becker? If not, you should! The librarians at Becker Library are here to help. We can review copyright agreements and help you retain rights to your works. If you would like to learn more about how the library can help you create a Digital Commons@Becker collection, please contact Lindsey Scales at scales@wustl.edu.
During October, Bernard Becker Medical Library, Washington University Libraries, Brown School Library and the Institute for Informatics have been hosting Open October, a series of seminars and workshops highlighting trends in open science, open data and open access. To learn more about Open October visit becker.wustl.edu/open-october or attend the keynote event on Friday, Oct. 29, “The Evolution of Preprints in the Life Sciences” with Jessica Polka, PhD.
