Open Access Week 2026 Examines the Cost of Knowledge
“The Cost of Knowledge” is the theme for this year’s International Open Access Week (October 19-25). Organized by SPARC, a nonprofit organization with over 230 libraries and academic members across North America, Open Access Week aims to inspire wider participation in helping to make Open Access a new norm in scholarship and research.
Throughout the week, UO Libraries encourages the UO community to join presentations and panels celebrating Open Access Week at universities across the world. Topics include strategies for community-led digital infrastructure, the ongoing impacts of AI, the gap between what institutions say they value and what their systems actually reward, and much more.
Registration for many of the hybrid sessions is required; see the full program of events.
Sunset of the OA-APC Award; New Support for Book Publication Subvention
During the 2020-2021 academic year, the University of Oregon Libraries, in collaboration with the UO Senate Subcommittee on Open Access, launched an Article Processing Charge Award to all UO Researchers publishing in Open Access Journals.
Due to concerns about long-term sustainability of paying individual APCs, especially during the current budget environment in higher education, this program was sunset following the 2025-2026 academic year. Working with an already limited pool of funds, the program focused on supporting early career researchers in its final year.
Throughout its six-year pilot period, the OA-APC Award provided direct support for open access publishing to 130 University of Oregon authors, demonstrating strong campus demand for assistance with publication costs. Funded publications reflected the broad expanse of research subjects and depth of intellectual inquiry at the university.
“While the OA-APC Fund is concluding, demand for the fund demonstrates that publishing costs continue to be a barrier for many UO researchers and highlights the ongoing need for Open Access support,” said Head of Digital Publishing and Pedagogy Rayne Vieger, co-chair of the award committee.
“The library remains committed to supporting Open Access by helping our faculty leverage our existing publisher agreements, including those made available through our membership in the Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA),” she said. “We also continue to consult with researchers to help them understand their publishing options, including Green OA, publishing discounts and fee waivers.”
She noted that the library’s support for faculty publishing continues through its administration of the UO Book Publication Subvention Fund Pilot.
In partnership with the Office of the Provost, the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation, the Oregon Humanities Center and the College of Arts and Sciences, this new pilot program provides financial support to help faculty members offset the costs associated with publishing scholarly monographs. Eligible funding may be used for subvention charges, open publishing fees, indexing, copyediting, permissions and other publication-related expenses with university or academy-owned, non-profit presses.
“During the six-year run of the Libraries’ OA-APC Award, we were also able to support the OA publishing of seven books and had inquiries about more, so it’s exciting that campus will now have this deeper support for book publishing costs,” said Social Sciences Librarian Miriam Rigby, the award co-chair.
While Open Access is not required as part of the new pilot, it remains strongly encouraged.
Need more help navigating funding mandates, understanding your rights and making informed decisions about sharing your research? Our expert librarians have prepared a detailed guide to help you learn more about Open Access and scholarly communication.