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USA policy for public access to research
 In a significant policy move, the Biden administration has announced that by the end of 2025 all taxpayer-funded research must be made freely and publicly accessible, along with associated data. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) updated US policy guidelines to make the results of taxpayer-supported research immediately available to the American public at no cost. Head of the OSTP, Dr Alondra Nelson, says “when research is widely available to other researchers and the public, it can save lives, provide policymakers with the tools to make critical decisions, and drive more equitable outcomes across every sector of society.” The timeline gives agencies, researchers, publishers, and scholarly societies some flexibility on when to adapt to the new policies.
Open Access Australasia wholeheartedly welcomes this change in policy and makes this statement of support. Director, Dr Ginny Barbour has written articles for Campus Morning Mail & The Conversation discussing the significance of the US decision.
Reaction to the news has been overwhelmingly positive (except from some of traditional publishers). Here's a selection from around the world:
Open Access Week 2022
Planning is well underway for #OAWeek22. This year we will be continuing with the format which has proved so successful over the past two years, with a number of expert panels and speaker events held online via zoom across the week. Topics include climate justice in the Pacific & supporting vulnerable communities, understanding climate science data, climate journalism & open science, citizen science, open access myths, tackling climate (in)justice, Wikimedia collaborations for knowledge sharing and hacking a guide to open climate resources for teachers. Registrations will open closer to Open Access week but the full program of events are up on our new Open Access Week 2022 webpage. We also have a place on our site to list external events from around the region. If you are planning one, please send the details of your event to sandra@oaaustralasia.org
General News
 FinELib & OLH strike 3-year deal
The consortium of Finnish universities, research institutions and public libraries (FinELib) and the not-for-profit Open Library of Humanities have signed a three-year deal providing support for OLH through its Library Partnership Subsidy Model. The partnership with OLH is FinELib’s first with a scholar-led diamond OA publisher. Journals that have joined OLH include Glossa: a journal of general linquistics, Ethnologia Europaea, Architectural Histories as well as OLH's flagship journal, the multidisciplinary Open Library of Humanities Journal. Read more.
Millions of images from Ebony and Jet Magazines to become OA
 The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) and the Getty Research Institute have taken ownership of the collections and plans to preserve and facilitate public access. The archive includes over four million prints and negatives, which up until now have been widely inaccessible to the public. The Getty Trust is further committing $30 million to the organization and digitization of the archive, which will allow researchers easier access. Read more.
Call for monkeypox research to be made OA
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) has joined the global science community in calling on publishers to make all monkeypox-related research immediately available to the public. Our friends at SPARC have called on the White House to go further and make ALL research immediately available to the public. Read more.
Repositories
Transformative agreements are not the key to open access
Executive Director of the Confederation of Open Access Repositories (COAR), Kathleen Shearer, wrote an article for the Times Higher Education blog questioning the path ahead for read & publish agreements, and says without a fuller embrace of repositories the transition will be slow, partial and siloed.
EU: Facts and Figures for open research data
 The European Commission has released figures and case studies related to accessing and reusing the data produced in the course of scientific production. Read more.
Job@open
Wikimedia Australia seeking Executive Officer
An exciting opportunity to join a national association and global open knowledge movement at a time of organisational growth and major new initiatives. Wikimedia Australia is the Australian chapter of the international Wikimedia Foundation. As an independent, not-for-profit organisation and registered charity, we support our members, the broader community and partner organisations to contribute to Wikipedia, Wikidata and other Wikimedia platforms through events, training and partnerships. More information here.
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