Open access (OA) initiatives are rapidly gaining traction because of the increased subscription-based journal costs, access inequalities, advancements of digital technology, demand for greater transparency and collaboration, and funding agencies’ mandates calling for research published using their funds to be made publicly available.

Libraries, more than any other organisation, have been at the forefront of this evolving field of scholarly communications, helping to build institutional repositories, host open access books and journals, and publish open access textbooks, among other projects. Recently, libraries have been negotiating Transformational Agreements (TAs) to shield scholars from the astronomical Article Processing Charges (APCs) that journals demand for them to publish open access content. Despite all its achievements, it remains unclear if this approach has resulted in the fundamental transformation that proponents of open access and libraries had hoped for. Many OA supporters and libraries still believe that more can be done to advance OA despite all these efforts. As a result, libraries must launch creative campaigns to bolster their OA advocacy and guarantee that authors are aware of its advantages. Open Access (OA) projects generally aim to boost scientific innovation, foster cooperation, and democratically share knowledge.

The Library scheduled an open access (OA) webinar series, #BeOpenAccessSmart to share some open access insights with researchers. Mr. Thanos Giannakopoulos, Chief of the Information Management Section of the United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld Library, will lead the first-ever webinar. The session, titled “(G)AI, Open Access, and Sustainable Development: The Evolving Role of Libraries in a Transforming World,” will explore how (G)AI, Open Access, and sustainable development intersect. It will examine how libraries are becoming more and more important in advancing AI literacy, protecting data privacy, emphasising the need to lessen bias, and encouraging open access for all. Stellenbosch library aims to share practical approaches to appropriately addressing (G)AI while promoting international knowledge exchange and fair access to information. This webinar will take place on 17 September 2024 and the engagement will enlighten researchers on publishing in Open access, artificial intelligence and the role of the Stellenbosch library in the promotion of open access.

Date: 17 September 2024, 14:30 – 15:30 (SAST/CET) or 08:30-09:30 (ET)

Register here:  https://sun.ac.za.libcal.com/event/12695996

For further information: Please contact Sakhile Mngomezulu tel: 021 808 9907