Opentober is the CSU Libraries’ month-long celebration of the Open Access movement.
Open Access encourages the free availability of online literature, including research articles, with the rights for all to use these articles to promote research, benefit innovation, discovery, education, and share information in the belief that openly sharing the results of research helps research advance.
Opentober surrounds International Open Access Week, Oct. 20-26. The official kickoff event will be live-streamed in the Library Event Hall at 1 p.m. on Oct. 20.
Wikipedia Editathon
The centerpiece of CSU’s Opentober events is a really WOW-E! – an all-day Water on Wikipedia Editathon on Oct. 21. Universities across the West will also be collaborating on the topic as part of one of the largest Open Access projects in the world, Wikipedia.
People from around the university and the community are invited to come together to increase and improve the quality of information on the free online encyclopedia. No previous editing experience necessary. Free food and editing support will be provided, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
Find out more about the Editathon.
For a serious look at what Open Access means to the world of scholarly publishing, Dean of Libraries and VP of IT Pat Burns will be joined by Assistant Deans Dawn Paschal and Meg Brown-Sica to discuss “The Tyranny of Journal ‘Big Deals’: Inaccessibility for Many, Unsustainability for All,” Oct. 23, 3-5 p.m. in the Library Event Hall.
Coffee and movies for free
Open Access can be fun, too. Allegro Coffee,will be handing out free coffee four mornings ihis month just outside the library. Grab some information about all Opentober events with every steaming cup.
And you won’t want to miss the Opentober Movie Nights @ Morgan, several must‐see movies that are in the public domain, accompanied by free food and fascinating commentary by local speakers.
All films will be shown in the Library Event Hall, beginning at 5 p.m. Admission is free, of course.
The first movie, Oct. 2, is “The General,” Buster Keaton’s 1926 silent classic about a stolen Civil War locomotive. Commentary by Robert Gudmestad, associate professor of history.
Oct. 9 will be the 1936 cautionary tale, “Reefer Madness.” Speakers include CSU faculty and staff members Nick Marx, Jenn Matheson, Josh Zugish and Ginny Sawyer. Please note: Audience participation will not be tolerated.
And the month wraps up on Oct. 30 with the film that started the zombie apocalypse, George A. Romero’s 1968 “Night of the Living Dead.” Remarks by Rick Lyons, director of the Infectious Disease Research Center. In this case, costumes are appreciated.
Find out more about the Open Access movement and why it should matter to you at the website for the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC).
