The Open Access Directory Turns One

The Open Access Directory is now a year old, and SPARC has issued a press release about this event.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

The Open Access Directory, hosted by Simmons College, is a wiki where community contributors create and maintain simple, factual lists about Open Access to science and scholarship. Launched just one year ago, and operated entirely by an international corps of volunteers, the OAD quickly blossomed from six to 40 lists and has served more than 250,000 unique users.

Designed by Robin Peek (Associate Professor, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Simmons College) and Peter Suber (Research Professor of Philosophy at Earlham College, Visiting Fellow at Yale Law School, and Senior Researcher at SPARC), the OAD has quickly become a "go-to” resource in the academic community.

The Directory’s "signature” lists include:

"The Open Access Directory has become a central and relied-upon resource that is also a gathering place for everyone looking to learn more about the benefits of Open Access," said Heather Joseph, Executive Director of SPARC. "In planning last year’s Open Access Day, it became clear that OA champions in every corner of the world have valuable tools, key advancements, and breaking news to share. The OAD is the place they can meet and share these resources. Congratulations to the editors of the Open Access Directory on their first birthday!"

The Open Access Directory will serve as a central component in the program for the upcoming Open Access Week (October 19 to 23, 2009), which will feature educational resources that local hosts can use to customize events to suit local audiences and time zones. Two sample program tracks, highlighting "Author’s rights and author addenda—For researchers," and "Institutional Advantages from Open Access—For administrators," have been released for participants to use to design or inspire their plans for the week.

Sample tracks point first to OASIS (the Open Access Scholarly Information Sourcebook), which delivers resources for multiple constituencies and awareness levels. Both OAD and OASIS resources are community-driven tools that invite registered users to expand and refine available content. The organizers of Open Access Week invite feedback on the sample tracks as well as contributions to OASIS and the OAD. Additional sample tracks will be developed with advice from registered Open Access Week participants.

Here are the editorial staff members of the OAD:

  • Editors and Administrators
    • Robin Peek. Editor. Associate Professor, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Simmons College
    • Jean-Claude Guédon. Associate Editor. Professor of Comparative Literature, University of Montreal
    • David Goodman. Associate Editor, and wiki consultant. Princeton University Library, retired (Administrator at Wikipedia, and Editorial council, Citizendium)
    • Athanasia Pontika. Assistant Editor. Doctoral Student, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Simmons College
    • Terry Plum. Technology Coordinator. Assistant Dean for Technology and Director, Simmons GSLIS at Mount Holyoke College
  • Editorial Board
    • Charles W. Bailey, Jr. Member. Publisher, Digital Scholarship
    • Leslie Chan. Member. Program Supervisor for New Media Studies, University of Toronto Scarborough
    • Heather Joseph. Member. Executive Director, Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC)
    • Melissa Hagemann. Member. Open Society Institute
    • Peter Suber. Member. Research Professor of Philosophy at Earlham College, Visiting Fellow at Yale Law School, and Senior Researcher at SPARC
    • Alma Swan. Member. Key Perspectives Ltd
    • John Wilbanks. Member. Vice President, Creative Commons
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Author: Charles W. Bailey, Jr.

Charles W. Bailey, Jr.