Often during discussions about Open Access there is a group that is overlooked. Usually Open Access is declared a librarian thing. Maybe it'll even be considered a faculty thing. And while free and open access to information is a library thing and a faculty thing, we all tend to forget it isn't just those. Students do research, too. Open Access is and should be as important to students as it is to faculty and librarians.
Whether you're an Expos student working on an investigative report or a grad student researching your doctorate, you need information. You need access to the endless amounts of research that countless others before you have generated and published, whether it's the latest in biofuel research or archaeological find in the Flint Hills. And helping to connect you with the information you need is what Open Access Week is all about: free and unfettered access to the research and data you need for your own work.
That's also what the Right to Research Coalition is all about. They're an international student group with a mission: they believe that "No student should be denied access to the research they need". Check out their Student Statement on the Right to Research for more information or take a look at their Advocacy and Education tools.
While there currently isn't a student association at K-State affiliated with R2RC don't despair! You can still be an Open Access advocate here at K-State. If you are writing a paper to publish, check out OA journals in your field to publish in. Talk with your professors to see if they're publishing their research in OA journals and advocate they do so. Deposit your scholarly work in K-REx and suggest your classmates and faculty do so as well. Use articles from OA journals in your research. Or check out the R2RC webinar that we will be showing on Wednesday at 11am in Hale 301.
And, while you're at it, take a look at the Special Merit video from the Sparky Awards by a group of students at Boston University.
This is our third open access post for the week. Hope you're enjoying the series.
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