International Open Access Day planned

The first international Open Access Day will be held on 14 October 2008. This day, which is being organised by SPARC (the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition), the Public Library of Science (PLoS), and Students for FreeCulture, hopes to help the higher education community and general public understand more clearly the opportunities of wider access and use of content.

Open Access Day will invite researchers, educators, librarians, students, and the public to participate in live, worldwide broadcasts of events.

The event will also mark the launch of the new 'Voices of Open Access Video Series.' In these videos, a teacher, librarian, researcher, student, patient advocate, and a funder, will speak on why they are committed to open access.

'Making full use of the internet to share and reuse content without restriction is pushing scientific communication into the future,' said Peter Jerram, CEO of PLoS.

'Open Access Day will provide a perfect way for folks to come together, consider, and celebrate the ramifications of the global shift we’re experiencing,' said Heather Joseph, executive director of SPARC.