International Open Access Week is an annual online convention organized by the left-of-center SPARC organization and the Open Access Week Advisory Committee. ¹ The purpose of the convention is to promote the publication of  publicly accessible scholarly articles outside of the conventional commercial system used by most academic journals. ¹

Background

International Open Access Week was first organized in 2008 by SPARC and student organizations affiliated with the organization. ¹

Finances

International Open Access Week directs donations to the convention to SPARC, which is a project funded by the left-of-center New Venture Fund. ²

Annual Theme

International Open Access Week is organized around an annual theme that guides discussions to move away from commercial academic journals to publicly accessible journals. ³

In 2024, the annual theme for International Open Access Week was “Community over Commercialization.” ³ In a blog post relating to the theme, the organization stated that participants are advised to use the convention to prioritize approaches to open scholarship that best serve the interests “of the public and academic community.” ³

In 2020, the annual theme for International Open Access Week was “Open with Purpose: Taking Action to Build Structural Equity and Inclusion.”  ⁴ In a blog post published by International Open Access Week, the organization lauded itself for its commitment to this subject matter, highlighting that the annual theme for 2019 and 2018 were respectively “Open for Whom? Equity in Open Knowledge” and “Designing Equitable Foundations for Open Knowledge.” ⁵ The post went on to note that participants should be cognizant of “historic injustice and that addressing these inequities is a necessity[,]” when considering how to implement and expand open access resources. ⁵ The article tied the means of challenging historic inequities as placing “diversity, equity, and inclusion” policies at the center of open access work and to have these considerations “consistently prioritized year-round.” ⁵

Jenny Hoops, a participant in International Open Access Week and an open access publishing manager for Indiana University-Bloomington, stated that the theme’s title provides an opportunity for academic librarians to include “diversity and inclusion” in all levels of their work. ⁴ Hoops went on to explain how participation in International Open Access Week impacted projects at the Indiana University-Bloomington. Among other projects inspired by the convention, Hoops listed a list of online academic resources made free during the COVID-19 pandemic and a Black Lives Matter educational resource list of licensed and open access materials. ⁴

1. About.” International Open Access Week. https://www.openaccessweek.org/about#:~:text=International%20Open%20Access%20Week%20is,Open%20Access%20Week%20is%20%23OAweek
2. “Donate to Open Access Week.” International Open Access Week. https://www.openaccessweek.org/donate
3. “Theme for Open Access Week 2024 Continues Call to Put “Community over Commercialization.” International Open Access Week. https://www.openaccessweek.org/blog/2024/theme-for-open-access-week-2024-continues-call-to-put-community-over-commercialization
4. Hoops, Jenny. “Open Access Week 2020.” Indiana University-Bloomington. October 20, 2020. Accessed June 20, 2024. https://blogs.libraries.indiana.edu/scholcomm/2020/10/20/open-access-week-2020/
5. Shockey, Nick. “Theme of 2020 Open Access Week to be Open with Purpose: Taking Action to Build Structural Equity and Inclusion” International Open Access Week. August 31, 2020. Accessed June 20, 2024. http://legacy.openaccessweek.org/m/blogpost?id=5385115%3ABlogPost%3A191253