RCSI Library and Open Access

October 23^rd to 29^th was Open Access Week. Open Access (OA) and data management are areas growing in priority for research funding agencies and in higher education. International Open Access Week is a global campaign, now in its 10th year,  to raise awareness about these fields and how they can improve research impact and knowledge sharing. So what is Open Access and how does it benefit researchers, institutions and the public? 

RCSI Library got involved with a number of talks and drop in sessions highlighting the importance of OpenAccess for research. On Tuesday Associate Librarian Andrew Simpson gave a talk on Open Access and Research Data. He discussed the expectation of funders in terms of open data and how to create a data management plan.

The perils of bad data management were also highlighted; Andrew played a short video produced by Karen Hanson, Alisa Surkis and Karen Yacobucci. Of NYU Health Sciences Library – it’s well worth a watch!

On Wednesday, Gráinne McCabe, Scholarly Communications and Research Support Officer, hosted a drop in session at the library Expo Stage where she answered questions from researchers on the RCSI repository –such as how can one use it to enhance your research profile and how to submit publications for Open Access. 

Tip: Remember to keep pre-prints & post-prints of articles as publisher permissions for what version can go Open Access can vary. 

RCSI Library was also  tweeting and Facebooking interesting Open Access tidbits throughout the week; follow us @RCSILibrary on Twitter  and like us @rcsilibrary on Facebook!

Colm O'Connor