Open Access Week 2025 at Rutgers University Libraries

Universitywide Oct 10, 2025

Decorative poster image for Open Access Week.

Who Owns Our Knowledge? That is the theme for this year’s International Open Access Week—an annual, weeklong event that brings together individuals and institutions from around the world to highlight the importance of making scholarly research freely available to all. Beginning October 20, Open Access Week 2025 will encourage a candid conversation about approaches to open scholarship that prioritize the best interests of the public and the academic community.

Rutgers University Libraries are offering four free, virtual programs about Rutgers’ participation in open scholarship and how the Libraries support open access for our community of users.

Owning Our Knowledge: Meeting the Challenges to Open Access at Rutgers University

Monday, October 20, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Rutgers has long been a leader in open access scholarship, championing the free exchange of knowledge through its pioneering Rutgers Open Access Policy and the SOAR repository (Scholarly Open Access at Rutgers). But the landscape is shifting rapidly. In this timely presentation, we’ll explore how emerging forces, especially web accessibility standards and the use of artificial intelligence through large language models, are reshaping how scholarly work is managed and discovered. Join us for a dynamic discussion on evolving journal policies, the responsibilities of authors and peer reviewers, and the regulatory and cultural currents influencing open access. Whether you’re authoring, reviewing, mentoring, or publishing, this session will offer valuable insights into the future of academic knowledge sharing.

Presenter Rhonda Marker is the head of open knowledge strategies at Rutgers University Libraries. She works with researchers, journal editors, faculty mentors, and technology partners to build and support open access platforms, making Rutgers’ research output more open, visible, and impactful.

Transformative Agreements: Supporting Open Access Publication Without APCs

Tuesday, October 21, noon to 1:30 p.m.

Did you know that Rutgers-affiliated authors can publish open access with more than 20 top journal publishers without incurring costly Article Processing Charges (APCs)? Thanks to transformative agreements between Rutgers University Libraries and major publishers, authors avoided paying more than $3.4 million in 2024. Join in the conversation with Rutgers researchers and a publishing representative to find out more. Send your questions when you register and our panel will be happy to address them!

The panel of presenters includes Jeffrey Carroll (moderator), director of collections strategy, Rutgers University Libraries; Kellie O'Rourke, head of commercial transformation for open research, Cambridge University Press; Lucy Revercomb, student, New Jersey Medical School; and Zara Wilkinson, reference and instruction librarian, Paul Robeson Library, Rutgers University Libraries.

Who Owns Our Teaching? Adopting and Creating Open Educational Resources

Wednesday, October 22, 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

The Libraries' Open and Affordable Textbooks (OAT) Team's presentation will emphasize the impact of using and creating open educational resources (OER) and other affordable learning materials. Participants will learn how the benefits of OER go far beyond textbook affordability, supporting instructional innovation, diverse learning styles and students' preparation, and disciplinary relevance. As leaders in the use of OER, the presenters will share outstanding examples of how Rutgers instructors have used OER in the curriculum. Included in the presentation is an overview and demo of Pressbooks, an open platform that simplifies the process of creating and publishing a text, making it accessible and practical for faculty authors. You will come away inspired to apply for an OAT award in January when the new award cycle opens.

The panel of presenters includes Matthew Bridgeman, information and education librarian, Robert Wood Johnson Library of the Health Sciences; Naomi Gold, reference and instruction librarian, John Cotton Dana Library; Paige Morgan, assistant vice president for collections and digital Strategies, Rutgers University Libraries; and Zara Wilkinson, reference and instruction librarian, Paul Robeson Library.

Your Research Publication, Your Intellectual Property: Author Agreements and Negotiation

Thursday, October 23, 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.

It can be exciting to get an article accepted, and you might be tempted to rush through signing the publication agreement or author contract without reading all the fine print. However, signing a contract without understanding it can mean giving away your intellectual property—and can have long-term negative consequences. In this session, you'll learn how to read and negotiate author agreements so that you’re not giving away your work for free!

Presenter Paige Morgan is the assistant vice president for collections and digital strategies for Rutgers University Libraries.

Big Ten Partner Event

Rutgers community members are also encouraged to attend the following event hosted by Penn State University Libraries, which is open to the public and features prominent thought leaders in the open access movement:

We Are Enough: Practical Open Access for Everyone

Thursday, October 23, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Whether you are a faculty member, a researcher, an independent scholar, a student, a librarian or library worker, or someone working in the publishing industry, join these three thought leaders who work with and write about open access.

The panel of presenters includes Sarah Lamdan, deputy director of the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom and author of the widely acclaimed book, Data Cartels; Samuel Moore, scholarly communication specialist at Cambridge University Library, one of the organizers of the Radican Open Access Collective, and author of the newly published book, Publishing Beyond the Market: Open Access, Care and the Commons (University of Michigan Press, September 2025); and Peter Suber, a leading theorist of the open access movement and author of the pioneering book, Open Access.

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