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Rutgers University Libraries Open Access Week 2025

Welcome

Welcome to the 2025 Open Access Week Programs

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!

 

International Open Access Week - Who Owns Our Knowledge

2025 Open Access Week Sessions

Sessions in Brief

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, 2025

Owning Our Knowledge: Meeting the Challenges to Open Access at Rutgers University

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.

Register here

Link to Recording

Tuesday, October 21, 2025

Transformative Agreements: Supporting Open Access Publication Without APCs

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

Register here

Link to Recording

Wednesday, October 22, 2025

Who Owns Our Teaching? Adopting and Creating Open Educational Resources

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.

Register here

Link to Recording

Thursday, October 23, 2025

We Are Enough: Practical Open Access for Everyone -- Your Research Publication, Your Intellectual Property: Author Agreements and Negotiation

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

Register here