UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State University Libraries will participate in the 14th annual global observation of Open Access Week, Oct. 24–30, by hosting a virtual panel of Penn State faculty at noon Tuesday, Oct. 25. The panelists will discuss questions related to this year’s theme for Open Access Week, which is “Open for Climate Justice.”
The climate justice movement acknowledges that climate change has many adverse effects on the world and its people, which are not being “borne equally or fairly, between rich and poor, women and men, and older and younger generations,” according to the United Nations. Open Access Week is focusing on Climate Justice this year because openness to climate research allows for more equitable knowledge sharing and may help address the inequities that shape the impacts of climate change and our response to them.
The Penn State faculty serving as panelists for this event are:
- Hester Blum, Department of English, College of the Liberal Arts
- Eric Crandall, Department of Biology, Eberly College of Science
- Roberto Fernández, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering
- Helen Greatrex, Department of Geography, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, and Department of Statistics, Eberly College of Science
- Margarita López-Uribe, Department of Entomology, College of Agricultural Sciences
- Mark Sentesy, Departments of Philosophy and Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies, College of the Liberal Arts
Each researcher will be asked to respond to a set of questions about how openly available research and data have impacted their research on climate justice. They will also be asked to share how making their research openly available has made a difference for climate justice.
According to SPARC, the advocacy organization that established International Open Access Week, the annual event “is a time to coordinate across communities to make openness the default for research and to ensure that equity is at the center of this work. Selected by the Open Access Week Advisory Committee, this year’s theme is an opportunity to join together, take action, and raise awareness around how open enables climate justice.” The Libraries are proud to participate in this year's theme and help advocate for openness in academic research in order to support equity and justice.
The University Libraries welcomes participants from across all campuses and the community. The event will be free held via Zoom. Registration is required in order to attend.