Open Access Week 2019: Equity in Open Knowledge

I know. The term “equity” is trending. But there is something to the hype. The theme for this year’s Open Access (OA) Week, which we celebrate from October 21st-27th, is “Open for Whom? Equity in Open Knowledge”

We’ve made some real strides with OA over the years, that is, making research literature freely available on the Internet with few copyright or license restriction. The list of reputable OA publishers is growing, we’re developing more comprehensive appraisals of a journal’s quality, and we’re making impactful strides to rebalance the economics involved in communicating research. But when I say “we,” I unfortunately do not mean that all scholars, authors, researchers, and practitioners, geographically or economically speaking, are equally represented.

As Nick Shockey, founding Director of the Right to Research Coalition, among other things, poses these timely questions in his blog post about this year’s OA Week theme:

• Whose interests are being prioritized in the actions we take and in the platforms that we support?
• Whose voices are excluded? Are underrepresented groups included as full partners from the beginning?
• Are we supporting not only open access but also equitable participation in research communication?

The answers to these questions are not all obvious or easily acted upon. But these questions are our challenge. They provide focus and guidance for how to continue to grow, repair, and refine how we create and communicate research. Read more about OA at https://sites.tufts.edu/scholarlycommunication/open-access/

Post contributed by Judy Rabinowitz