Open Access Week is October 19 through October 23, 2009.  What is Open Access (OA) and why do we need a week devoted to it?  Peter Suber, one of the leading proponents of Open Access briefly explains it this way, “OA literature is digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions. What makes it possible is the internet and the consent of the author or copyright-holder.  OA is entirely compatible with peer review, and all the major OA initiatives for scientific and scholarly literature insist on its importance. ”

More of a visual learner? Take a look at this video: Open Access 101.

The Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) created Open Access Week to “to broaden awareness and understanding of Open Access to research, including access policies from all types of research funders, within the international higher education community and the general public.” This year’s Open Access Week is supported by SPARC, The Public Library of Science, Students for Free Culture, Open Access Scholarly Information Sourcebook, Open Access Directory, and Electronic Information for Libraries.

You can find out more by visiting the UB Libraries Scholarly Communication web page on Open Access, picking up a handout at any of the UB Libraries Reference Desks and reading the Electronic Highways column in this week’s Reporter.