The Evolution of Open Access: What Might Happen Next?

Abstract

As Open Access becomes established as a permanent fixture in the scholarly communication area, the challenges and opportunities presented by the Open environment increase in scale and complexity. This talk will examine some of the key trends pointing towards additional opportunities for large-scale change in not only how we access and use scholarly research outputs - but also how they are disseminated, curated and evaluated. Heather Joseph serves as the Executive Director of the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC), an international coalition of academic and research libraries working to expand the global, cost-effective digital communication of research results. As SPARC’s Director since 2005, Ms. Joseph leads the strategic and operational activities of the organization, and has focused SPARC’s efforts on supporting emerging publishing models, enabling digital archives, and establishing open access policies on the national and international levels.