FOR RELEASE: IMMEDIATE
DATE: 2/22/05
CONTACT: LESLIE SCHALER, COMMUNICATION ASST., (413) 545-0162

 

UMASS AMHERST LIBRARY ANNOUNCES OPEN ACCESS COLLOQUIUM

“In the Public Interest: Expanding Access to Scholarly Research”

     Amherst , MA . - The UMass Amherst Libraries will host “In the Public Interest: Expanding Access to Scholarly Research” on March 3, 2005, from 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. in the Cape Cod Lounge of the UMass Amherst Student Union. Two experts, John Willinsky and Jane Griffith, will discuss the issues and implications of Open Access to scholars, publishers, and investigators.

     John Willinsky is a Professor in the Department of Language and Literacy Education and Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia . He is a principal investigator in the Public Knowledge Project (PKP) ( http://www.pkp.ubc.ca/ ).

     The Public Knowledge Project employs a team of computer, information, and social scientists, in its work with scholarly societies, professional organizations, and policymakers to develop and research online systems that hold some promise of improving the scholarly and public quality of academic research. It is dedicated to exploring whether and how new technologies can be used to improve the professional and public value of scholarly research.

     Jane Griffith is the Assistant Director for Policy and Legislative Development at the National Library for Medicine in the National Instit ute s of Health (NIH). She has worked for more than 25 years in the field of information science and technology policy analysis.

     NIH has announced plans to facilitate enhanced public access to NIH health-related research information. The economic and business implications of any changes to the current paradigm must be considered as NIH weighs options to ensure public access to the results of studies funded with public support without compromising the quality of the information being provided. NIH has established and intends to maintain a dialogue with publishers, investigators, and representatives from scientific associations and the public to ensure the success of this initiative.

     There will be a wine and cheese reception to follow the colloquium.

     Sponsors of the event are the Vice Provost for Research, the Dean of the Graduate School , the Research Library Council, and the UMass Amherst Libraries.

OPEN SOURCE PUBLISHING TOOLS DEMONSTRATION

     John Willinsky will offer a “live” demonstration of open source publishing tools from 1:00 - 2:00 in the Calipari room of the Du Bois Library. He will present the management and publishing systems that the Public Knowledge Project has developed for improving both the accessibility and scholarly quality of research journals and conferences. The demonstration will illustrate how such systems might increase local research capacities while improving global access, as well as contrib ute to the scholarly and public qualities of the journal literature. This session will be of special interest to all faculty, researchers, and editors associated with scholarly publishing and scholarly associations, as well as librarians and IT staff with an interest in open source and open access tools.

     For more information, contact Danielle Kovacs, Special Collections and University Archives, (413) 545-2784.