Open Access @ Stellenbosch University

“Community over Commercialization” is the theme for this year’s International Open Access Week

(October 23-29). This theme encourages a candid conversation about which approaches to open scholarship prioritize the best interests of the public and the academic community—and which do not.  According to UNESCO, by prioritizing the community we can prevent the “inequitable extraction of profit from publicly funded scientific activities”.

The theme can be applied to various case scenarios you might find within the research cycle process.  Stellenbosch University Library will engage in an active panel discussion that will address the aspects of transformational agreements and its impact on the publisher, author, and research-intensive institution.  The research community is hereby invited to join and actively participate in this discussion and find out how these agreements work within the SU research community.

Programme:

Type: Panel discussion

Place: Stellenbosch University Library, Auditorium

Date: 23 October 2023

Time: 11h00 – 12h00

Audience: in-person or online

Please register at the following link: http://library.sun.ac.za/en-za/Research/oa/week23/Pages/default.aspx

Examples of possible questions:

1. What is lost when corporations control knowledge production rather than researchers themselves?
2. What is lost when authors research output becomes just a number?
3. Considering current economic conditions, how does Stellenbosch University Library plan to continue to support the SU research community?

Should you have any questions for the panel, please send it to scholar@sun.ac.za

Please take note that the discussion will be streamed, and the recording will be available on YouTube after the event.

Enquiries: Songezo Mpikashe

It Matters How We Open Knowledge: Building Structural Equity.

The theme proposed this year is based on the draft UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science.  It embraces Open Science and the importance of equity of knowledge and the fair participation for all producers and consumers of knowledge.  This intended model is based on open by default for future scholarship. This includes the diversity of knowledge, practices, workflows, languages, research outputs, research topics, diverse research communities, scholars, the wider public and knowledge holders, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and social actors from different countries and regions.

Join us for some interesting topics on the 26th of October 2021. Follow the link to register: https://bit.ly/3ne72Sv

International Open Access Week is an annual scholarly communication event which focuses on Open Access and related topics and takes place every year in the last week of October. The theme for this year’s Open Access week is “Open with Purpose: Taking Action to Build Structural Equity and Inclusion”. In light of this theme, the Library and Information Service decided to put the spotlight on Open Data as an aspect of Open Science and inform the research community regarding the importance of Open Data as well as showcasing the growth of SUNScholarData, the institutional Research Data repository managed by the Library. Read the full article here. For additional information on the Library’s Open Access initiatives, a video is available here.

Internasionale Ooptoegang Week is ‘n jaarlikse gebeurtenis in terme van wetenskaplike kommunikasie wat op Ooptoegang en verwante temas fokus en vind jaarliks tydens die laaste week van Oktober plaas. Die tema vir vanjaar is “Open with Purpose: Taking Action to Build Structural Equity and Inclusion”. In lyn met hierdie tema het die Biblioteek- en Inligtingdiens vanjaar besluit om die kollig op Oop Data as ‘n aspek van Oop Wetenskap te plaas en om die navorsingsgemeenskap bewus te maak van die belangrikheid van Oop Data. Die biblioteek bestuur SUNScholarData, die institutionele navorsingsdatabewaarplek, en wil ook graag die groei van hierdie platform uitlig. Lees die volle artikel hier. Vir meer inligting oor die Biblioteek se Ooptoegang inisiatiewe, kyk gerus die volgende video.

The Open Repositories Steering Committee is now accepting applications for fellowships to attend OR2020 in Stellenbosch, South Africa.

The fellowship programme allows a limited number of qualified librarians, repository managers, developers, or researchers in digital libraries or related fields to participate in the conference.

The fellowship covers travel, accommodation, meals and incidentals, as well as full conference registration, including the poster reception and conference banquet.

Applicants must address the following:

1) Financial need;

2) Reasons you wish to attend and how participating in Open Repositories will support your professional development and/or educational goals;

3) How you will share what you learn with others, and;

3) Willingness to participate in the conference as evidenced by submission of a conference proposal, live-blogging or tweeting, and/or shared note-taking during the conference.

Preference this year will be given to applicants from the African continent, although all applications will be considered.

Application deadline:  20 January 2020

Notifications:  17 February 2020

Apply now:  https://forms.gle/YQEGhSi8r5rmXRFVA.

The 15th International Conference on Open Repositories, OR2020, will be held in Stellenbosch, South Africa, from 1-4 June 2020. The organisers are pleased to invite you to contribute to the program.

This year’s conference theme is:

Open for all

In today’s world, access to knowledge by all is viewed by some as a fundamental freedom and human right. In our societies, open knowledge for all can enable sustainable development and growth on many levels. How well do repositories support knowledge in the service of society? How well do they enable local knowledge sharing and support not only academic use, but also use in education and practice?

Invitation to participate

OR2020 will provide an opportunity to explore and reflect on the ways repositories enable openness for all. We hope that this discussion will give the participants new insights and inspiration, which will help them to play a key role in developing, supporting and sharing an open agenda and open tools for research and scholarship.

We welcome proposals on the overall “Open for All” theme, but also on other administrative, organisational or practical topics related to digital repositories. We are particularly interested in the following sub-themes:

Equity and democratization of knowledge / Beyond the repository / Open and sustainable / Policies, licensing and copyright laws / Discovery, use and impact / Supporting open scholarship and cultural heritage

The following submission categories are available:

Presentations / Panels / 24/7 presentations / Posters / Developer track / Workshops and tutorials

Please see detailed information on the Call for proposals page of the Conference website.

Enquiries

Website / Twitter / Facebook / Hashtag

International Open Access week is celebrated every year globally during the last week of October. The theme this year is “Open for Whom? Equity in Open Knowledge”.

In celebration of Open Access week the Academy Science of South Africa in partnership with the Library and Information Service will be hosting a dialogue on Open Access publishing lead by Prof Jonathan Jansen. More information on the event is available here.

During Open Access week the Library also uses the opportunity to draw attention to our own Open Access initiatives, which are the following:

• SUNScholar institutional repository
  • Launched in 2008
  • Provides access to over 55 800 research outputs of SU (including theses, dissertations and articles)
  • Approximately 600 000 visits and 250 000 downloads per annum
• SUNJournals open access journal hosting platform
  • Launched in 2011
  • Currently hosts 25 journals affiliated with SU
  • Over the last three years these journals collectively hosted more than 300 research outputs contributed by Stellenbosch University researchers
• SUNDigital Collections digital heritage repository
  • Launched in 2013
  • Showcases library Special Collections
  • 12 917 items in 30 collections
  • Approximately 14 000 visits and 10 000 downloads per annum
• SUNScholarData research data repository
  • Launched in 2019
  • A repository for SU researchers to share and disseminate their research data in accordance with good research data management practices
  • Facilitates the findability, accessibility and reusability of the university’s research data

South African Journal of Higher Education has just published its latest
issue at https://www.journals.ac.za/index.php/sajhe.
We invite you to visit our web site to read articles and items of interest.

Thanks for the continuing interest in our work,
SAJHE Support Team

South African Journal of Higher Education
Vol 33, No 3 (2019): General
Table of Contents
https://www.journals.ac.za/index.php/sajhe/issue/view/133

African Journal of Business Ethics has just published its latest issue at
http://ajobe.journals.ac.za/pub. We invite you to review the Table of Contents here and then visit our web site to review articles and items of interest.

African Journal of Business Ethics

ajobe.journals.ac.za

The African Journal of Business Ethics (AJoBE) is the official journal of the Business Ethics Network (BEN) Africa. It was established in 2005 with the express purpose of promoting business ethics scholarship on the African continent.