University Library News

Contributors: Charlene Martoni and Laura Burtle

About Open Access Week

Each October, libraries and institutions around the world celebrate Open Access Week, a global event that highlights the importance of open practices and encourages dialogue around equitable access to knowledge. Open access publishing is transforming the way knowledge is shared by working to remove barriers to information access and unlocking opportunities for collaboration, innovation, and discovery. From openly accessible (OA) resources and open educational resources (OER) to open textbooks, open data, and open source software (OSS), the open movement empowers educators, researchers, and learners to learn from and build on each other’s work. Academic libraries are leading the charge, helping communities navigate this dynamic landscape and embrace open scholarship.

New Happenings Nationally in Open Access

In the United States, open access is gaining powerful traction. A major directive from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) mandates that all federal agencies update their policies to make funded research freely available by December 31, 2025, with no embargo period. Agencies like the National Institute of Health (NIH) are already rolling out these changes, requiring immediate deposit of accepted manuscripts into public repositories like PubMed Central. These policies mark a pivotal shift toward openness, aiming to make publicly funded research truly public. Libraries are stepping up as essential partners—supporting researchers, guiding compliance, and championing a future where knowledge is accessible, adaptable, and shared widely. Learn more about the federal public access mandates on the GSU Library Open Access Research Guide.

The GSU Open Access Institutional Repository Got a Makeover!

Last spring, the University Library migrated ScholarWorks@Georgia State University to a new, open source repository. The new, open platform integrates with ORCiD, a personal, persistent identifier, and will soon integrate with DataCite, which provides persistent identifiers for research. Why does this matter? These metadata integrations link research and researchers!

You’re Invited to Celebrate Open and Affordable Education at GSU

Celebrate open and affordable education at Georgia State University by submitting proposals for our Open for Student Success Symposium by November 1, 2025. The next symposium will take place on March 4, 2026. This annual symposium is free, fully online, and open to all. Its goals are to:

• Highlight and celebrate innovation in open and affordable education.
• Build a growing body of openly accessible recordings and resources that advance the landscape of open knowledge.

Those interested in presenting are encouraged to submit proposals at lib.gsu.edu/open26 by November 1, 2025. 

More information is available at lib.gsu.edu/open, and inquiries may be directed to Librarian Charlene Martoni at cmartoni@gsu.edu.

Stay tuned for the rest of the week for more information about open access!