Status of ITS resources
Open Access (OA) is the free, immediate online access to research and scholarly information. OA is a different way of looking at the distribution of information, particularly when information is treated as a commodity. This concept has the potential to revolutionize the scholarly process and the way research and scientific inquiry take place. There are direct and widespread implications for academia, industry, medicine, science, and society overall.
Several studies have shown that articles available via open access are cited in scholarly publications much more than articles available only through paid access.
Open Access 101, from SPARC from Karen Rustad on Vimeo.
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Hajjem, Harnad, and Gingras analyzed more than 1 million articles published over a 10-year period and their findings show that articles openly available on the web were cited 36-172% more than articles available only through paid access.
Undergraduates will have an easier time finding information for course work.
Graduate students can make their dissertations freely available online to other interested researchers and potential employers.
Faculty can increase awareness and impact of their research programs and publications and find potential collaborators.
Universities and libraries can trim costs for journal subscriptions and foster their goals of disseminating information.
The Libraries are involved in several initiatives that support open access.
K-State Open Access Publishing Fund (KOAPF) - This fund supports the goal of making K-State research and scholarship immediately, freely, and globally available through the world-wide web.
K-State Research Exchange (K-REx) - Contents of K-REx include peer-reviewed journal articles, conference presentations, book chapters, theses, dissertations, data files, and more.
New Prairie Press (NPP) - Offers the opportunity for the creation and hosting of open access publications by K-State affiliates.
Open Access Week - This global event that promotes the benefits of Open Access publishing.
Open/Alternative Textbook Initiative - The goal is to encourage faculty experimentation and innovation to adopt and/or develop texts that provide cost savings for students while improving the quality of the learning process.
Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities - The publication of scholarly work, recognition of open access publications in promotion and tenure evaluation, and deposit of the work in at least one online repository.
K-State Open Access Proposal - The basic elements of the proposal are:
Each faculty member grants the university a non-exclusive license to make each of their scholarly articles open for dissemination.
Faculty will send the final, peer-reviewed manuscript (not the published version) of their journal articles to K-State Libraries for deposit in K-REx.
Faculty members will be able to submit a waiver form and opt out of the policy on an article-by-article basis with no justification needed.
Libraries Open Access Policy - Libraries faculty and staff grants to Kansas State University a non-exclusive, irrevocable, royalty-free, worldwide, perpetual license to make available their scholarly articles.
Check out our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for further details on the Open Access Policy.
For more information about the Open Access Movement, please see the following resources: