International Open Access Week is October 20-26, 2025. The theme of OA Week 2025, "Who Owns Our Knowledge?" seeks to encourage a candid conversation about approaches to open scholarship that prioritize the best interests of the public and the academic community. Rutgers University Libraries offers free virtual programs highlighting Rutgers University's participation in open scholarship and how the Libraries support open access for our community of users.
Visit the 2025 Open Access Week Sessions to learn more and register for these free webinars!
Monday, October 20, 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM ET
Tuesday, October 21, 12:00 - 1:30 PM ET
Wednesday, October 22, 1:30 - 2:30 PM ET
Thursday, October 23, 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM ET
Thursday, October 23, 3:00 - 4:00 PM ET
Monday, October 20, 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM ET
Owning Our Knowledge: Meeting the Challenges to Open Access at Rutgers University
Rutgers has long been a leader in open access scholarship, championing the free exchange of knowledge through its pioneering Rutgers Open Access Policy and the SOAR repository (Scholarly Open Access at Rutgers). But the landscape is shifting rapidly. In this timely presentation, we’ll explore how emerging forces, especially web accessibility standards and the use of artificial intelligence through large language models, are reshaping how scholarly work is managed and discovered. Join us for a dynamic discussion on evolving journal policies, the responsibilities of authors and peer reviewers, and the regulatory and cultural currents influencing open access. Whether you’re authoring, reviewing, mentoring, or publishing, this session will offer valuable insights into the future of academic knowledge sharing.
Presenter: Rhonda Marker is Head, Open Knowledge Strategies at Rutgers University Libraries. Rhonda works with researchers, journal editors, faculty mentors, and technology partners to build and support open access platforms, making Rutgers research output more open, visible, and impactful. She actively collaborates with colleagues nationally and internationally through the Big Ten Academic Alliance's library program, the Library Publishing Coalition, and the Coalition of Open Access Policy Institutions.
Tuesday, October 21, 12:00 - 1:30 PM ET
Transformative Agreements: Supporting Open Access Publication Without APCs
Did you know that Rutgers-affiliated authors can publish open access with more than twenty top journal publishers without incurring costly Article Processing Charges (APCs)? Thanks to transformative agreements between Rutgers University Libraries and major publishers, authors avoided paying more than $3.4 million in 2024. Join in the conversation with Rutgers researchers and a publishing representative to find out more. Send your questions when you register and our panel will be happy to address them!
Panel
Jeffrey Carroll, moderator - Director of Collections Strategy, Rutgers University Libraries
Kellie O'Rourke - Head of Commercial Transformation for Open Research, Cambridge University Press
Lucy Revercomb - Student, New Jersey Medical School
Zara Wilkinson - Reference and Instruction Librarian, Paul Robeson Library, Rutgers University Libraries
Wednesday, October 22, 1:30 - 2:30 PM ET
Who Owns Our Teaching? Adopting and Creating Open Educational Resources
The Libraries' Open and Affordable Textbooks (OAT) Team's presentation will emphasize the impact of using and creating open educational resources (OER) and other affordable learning materials. Participants will learn how the benefits of OER go far beyond textbook affordability, supporting instructional innovation, diverse learning styles and students' preparation, and disciplinary relevance. As leaders in the use of OER, the presenters will share outstanding examples of how Rutgers University instructors have used OER in the curriculum. Included in the presentation is an overview and demo of Pressbooks, an open platform that simplifies the process of creating and publishing a text, making it accessible and practical for faculty authors. You will come away inspired to apply for an OAT Award in January when the new award cycle opens.
Presenters
Matthew Bridgeman, Information & Education Librarian, Robert Wood Johnson Library of the Health Sciences
Naomi Gold, Reference and Instruction Librarian, John Cotton Dana Library
Paige Morgan, Assistant Vice President for Collections and Digital Strategies
Zara Wilkinson, Reference and Instruction Librarian, Paul Robeson Library.
Thursday, October 23, 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM ET
We Are Enough: Practical Open Access for Everyone
This webinar is hosted by Penn State University Libraries, which has opened it to the public. Registration is required.
Whether you are a faculty member, a researcher, an independent scholar, a student, a librarian or library worker, or someone working in the publishing industry, we hope you'll join these three thought leaders who work with and write about open access.
Panel
Sarah Lamdan, Deputy Director of the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom, is the author of the widely acclaimed book, Data Cartels.
Samuel Moore, Scholarly Communication Specialist at Cambridge University Library, is one of the organizers of the Radican Open Access Collective. He is the author of the newly published book (September 2025), Publishing Beyond the Market: Open Access, Care and the Commons (University of Michigan Press).
Peter Suber is a leading theorist of the open access movement and author of the pioneering book, Open Access.
Thursday, October 23, 3:00 - 4:00 PM ET
Your Research Publication, Your Intellectual Property: Author Agreements and Negotiation
It can be exciting to get an article accepted – and you might be tempted to rush through signing the publication agreement or author contract without reading all the fine print. However: signing a contract without understanding it can mean giving away your intellectual property – and can have long-term negative consequences. In this session, you'll learn how to read author agreements, and how to negotiate them, so that you’re not giving away your work for free!
Presenter: Paige Morgan, Assistant Vice President for Collections and Digital Strategies, Rutgers University Libraries