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Why Open Access Matters for Students

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Open Access Week 2022

Imagine a world where researchers from all over the world share their data and findings freely, where scientists can build on research that began in another hemisphere, or use data collected by researchers intended for completely different projects. Imagine the progress we could achieve as a species if information wasn’t hidden behind expensive journal subscriptions or paywalls. Every day we inch closer to that future as we begin to adopt more and more elements of Open Access – “the free, immediate, online availability of research articles coupled with the rights to use these articles fully in the digital environment.” Open Access allows for free communication of ideas regardless of institutional affiliation or wealth, allowing greater opportunities for scholars and visionaries in every field. 

This year’s theme for International Open Access Week (October 24th-30th) is “Open for Climate Justice.” The climate crisis is impacting today’s youth in a completely different way from older generations as members of Gen Z have grown up with climate anxiety and have more at stake for the future of earth’s climate than older generations. This also means that young adults are more invested in dismantling systems of oppression that feed into climate change, and as future scholars and researchers, have the greatest opportunity to advocate for Open Access.

Climate justice “acknowledges climate change can have differing social, economic, public health, and other adverse impacts on underprivileged populations.” Working towards climate justice means blending activism, scientific research, social justice initiatives, indiginous knowledge, politics, and every angle in between to create lasting and meaningful change. Working toward creating a more equitable society is inextricably linked to caring for the planet and reversing the effects of the climate crisis. Access to information is one step in creating a just system – scholars at larger institutions have access to more information, more costly journal subscriptions, and more resources than individual researchers, or even students and faculty at smaller or less well-resourced institutions. Climate success stories seem few and far between these days, but ensuring that researchers and activists on the front lines of the climate crisis have access to all the information, data, and collaboration they need is a valuable step in the right direction.

Open Access also means making learning tools like textbooks more accessible to students, lowering the barriers that face low-income students and their families. Professors don’t always have many choices for assigning low-cost or open access textbooks, but free teaching and learning resources are becoming more popular in the shift toward Open Access. At USF, instructors can apply for a grant to make textbooks or other educational resources Open Access for USF students and beyond, but there is still a long way to go in making scholarship and textbooks universally affordable. 

Get Involved:

  • USF’s One Earth Initiative – Participate in letter writing campaigns, talks, and workshops for Campus Sustainability Month.
  • Penguin Watch – Identify and tag Antarctic penguins from the comfort of your laptop. Help scientists establish data about the numbers, locations, habits and health of penguins in a range of Southern Ocean sites in an effort to understand the effects of climate change, fisheries, and human disturbance of the Antarctic ecosystem.

Read and Listen: