From October 21 to 27, librarians and researchers in SA joined the world to celebrate Open Access (OA) Week with the continuation of the 2023 theme: “Community over Commercialisation”.
This calls for a focus on prioritising approaches to open scholarship that serve the best interests of the public and the academic community. This is so because research institutions are affected by the rising costs of scholarly journals, combined with underfunding and budget cuts. As a result, people are denied access to publicly funded knowledge hidden behind paywalls.
OA to information is a free, immediate, online access to the results of scholarly research and the right to use and re-use those results. This can transform the way research and scientific inquiry are conducted. It has direct and widespread implications for academia, health, science, industry and society. Additionally, OA publication challenges established ideas about how scientific writing should be shared. Understanding the altruistic goals and potential benefits of OA, while remaining mindful of the challenges and barriers it may present, is key to addressing grand societal challenges.
The week-long celebration provides an ideal opportunity for the thoughtful exchange of ideas on OA and its related topics to inspire global momentum towards the open sharing of knowledge to address weird problems. The academic and research community can learn more about the possible advantages of OA, share their knowledge with peers and encourage broader involvement in establishing OA as the new standard for scholarship and research.
The concept of the community above commercialisation stems from the need to ensure not only the accessibility of scientific information but also the inclusive, equitable and sustainable character of its creation.
The benefits of OA are far-reaching and serve a global “greater good” through access without financial constraints. This accessibility has the potential to create profound, positive impacts worldwide in areas such as education, health, economy and government policy. Additionally, this broad exposure helps increase the value and citation impact of researchers’ work.
While OA offers an opportunity for the public and academic community to access knowledge, the challenges to fully implement the initiative are infinite. The biggest relates to the issue of commercialisation of research over the community. As publishers are in the business of making money, the question that is often raised is who should pay the money for OA publishing.
Somebody has to pay for OA as there is nothing for mahala. Other challenges are infrastructure, network and technology-related. For example, even if research is published OA, in some corners of the country, people may struggle to access knowledge due to lack of network coverage or gadgets.
Government, universities and research institutions should collaborate to ensure that knowledge produced in SA is made accessible through OA. The government can provide funding and regulate scholarly communication through a policy to ensure that all knowledge produced in SA is OA. This way knowledge can be accessed by anyone who is connected.
Knowledge is power when it is shared and used. This can only happen when there are no restrictions to access research output. This, therefore, calls for a library of the future that can be accessed openly by anyone irrespective of affiliation.
* Prof Ngoepe is the executive director for library and information services at Unisa
OPINION | Access to info mahala breaks knowledge barriers
Image: 123RF/DEAN DROBOT
From October 21 to 27, librarians and researchers in SA joined the world to celebrate Open Access (OA) Week with the continuation of the 2023 theme: “Community over Commercialisation”.
This calls for a focus on prioritising approaches to open scholarship that serve the best interests of the public and the academic community. This is so because research institutions are affected by the rising costs of scholarly journals, combined with underfunding and budget cuts. As a result, people are denied access to publicly funded knowledge hidden behind paywalls.
OA to information is a free, immediate, online access to the results of scholarly research and the right to use and re-use those results. This can transform the way research and scientific inquiry are conducted. It has direct and widespread implications for academia, health, science, industry and society. Additionally, OA publication challenges established ideas about how scientific writing should be shared. Understanding the altruistic goals and potential benefits of OA, while remaining mindful of the challenges and barriers it may present, is key to addressing grand societal challenges.
The week-long celebration provides an ideal opportunity for the thoughtful exchange of ideas on OA and its related topics to inspire global momentum towards the open sharing of knowledge to address weird problems. The academic and research community can learn more about the possible advantages of OA, share their knowledge with peers and encourage broader involvement in establishing OA as the new standard for scholarship and research.
The concept of the community above commercialisation stems from the need to ensure not only the accessibility of scientific information but also the inclusive, equitable and sustainable character of its creation.
The benefits of OA are far-reaching and serve a global “greater good” through access without financial constraints. This accessibility has the potential to create profound, positive impacts worldwide in areas such as education, health, economy and government policy. Additionally, this broad exposure helps increase the value and citation impact of researchers’ work.
While OA offers an opportunity for the public and academic community to access knowledge, the challenges to fully implement the initiative are infinite. The biggest relates to the issue of commercialisation of research over the community. As publishers are in the business of making money, the question that is often raised is who should pay the money for OA publishing.
Somebody has to pay for OA as there is nothing for mahala. Other challenges are infrastructure, network and technology-related. For example, even if research is published OA, in some corners of the country, people may struggle to access knowledge due to lack of network coverage or gadgets.
Government, universities and research institutions should collaborate to ensure that knowledge produced in SA is made accessible through OA. The government can provide funding and regulate scholarly communication through a policy to ensure that all knowledge produced in SA is OA. This way knowledge can be accessed by anyone who is connected.
Knowledge is power when it is shared and used. This can only happen when there are no restrictions to access research output. This, therefore, calls for a library of the future that can be accessed openly by anyone irrespective of affiliation.
* Prof Ngoepe is the executive director for library and information services at Unisa
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