Open Access Publishing in the Sciences

As part of Open Access Week 2011, Hunter College will be hosting a talk by Robert Schatz, North American Sales Manager for open access publisher BioMed Central. Mr. Schatz will offer an overview of open access publishing in science, technology, and medical fields, along with an inside look at the workings of BioMed Central and its parent company, Springer Science & Business Media. Librarians and working scientists or researchers alike are invited to attend.

The event will take place on Thursday, Oct. 27, from 3-5 pm. The venue is the Gene Center (at Hunter College), in its Internet2 Video Collaboration Facility, 695 Park Avenue, Room HN 310. We hope to see you there!

Download the flyer

Open Access Week @ City Tech Library

Using Open Educational Materials in Your Courses

Tuesday, October 25, 2011
3:30-5:00pm
Rm A543, City Tech Library (Atrium Building), City Tech

High-quality open access curricular materials are increasingly available online, and can provide an alternative to traditionally-published, high-priced textbooks. In this workshop we’ll discuss strategies for incorporating freely-available open access and public domain resources into your courses. Bring your syllabus or assignment and we will work together to add resources to your course website on Blackboard, the City Tech OpenLab, or other online platforms.

Coffee & cookies will be served.

Open Access Happy Hour: Your Rights as an Author

Wednesday, October 26, 2011
5:30-7:00pm
Rm A632, Faculty Lounge (Atrium Building), City Tech

You know what you write, but do you know your rights? Copyright is a bundle of rights that apply to work you produce in any medium. How can you choose a publisher and negotiate your contracts to make the most of your rights as a scholar, researcher, author, and creator? Come enjoy wine & cheese with your colleagues and learn how to preserve your rights to reproduce, distribute, and display the work you create.

RSVP: Prof. Maura Smale, msmale@citytech.cuny.edu

OA Week Authors’ Rights Event @ Brooklyn College, 10/27/11

You Know What You Write, But Do You Know Your Rights?
Understanding and Protecting Your Rights as an Author

Thursday, October 27, 2011
12:30 – 2:00 p.m.
Brooklyn College Library, Room 412C

Light lunch will be provided
Space is limited, so RSVP is required
RSVP to Professor Jill Cirasella, cirasella@brooklyn.cuny.edu
(Brooklyn College faculty have priority at this event, but other CUNY faculty are welcome to attend if there is space.  Email cirasella@brooklyn.cuny.edu to inquire.)

When you publish a journal article, you sign a copyright agreement. Do you know what you’re agreeing to when you sign it? Different journals have different policies:

  • Some journals require you to relinquish your copyright. (After you sign this kind of agreement, you have to ask permission or even pay to share your article with students and colleagues!)
  • Some journals allow you to retain some rights (e.g., the right to post the article online).
  • Some journals leave copyright in your hands. (You simply give the journal a non-exclusive license to publish the article.)

How can you find out a journal’s policy? How can you negotiate your contract to make the most of your rights as a scholar, researcher, and author? Come learn over lunch how to preserve your rights to reproduce, distribute, and display the work you create.

This workshop is being offered as a part of Open Access Week (October 24-30, 2011). For more information about the problems with traditional journal publishing and the promise of open access publishing, and to learn about Open Access Week events across CUNY, visit https://openaccess.commons.gc.cuny.edu/.