On June 15, 2017, the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) hosted the first in a series of professional development webcasts for librarians who advocate for openness in research and education on their campuses.

UCR Library’s own Director of Research Services, Brianna Marshall, was a presenter on their June webcast, Scrappy Strategies: Advancing Open on Campus with Limited Resources. Her co-presenters were Anita Walz of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and Micah Vandegrift of Florida State University.

The webcast identified high-yield action steps for advancing open access, open education, and open data / data management on campus, with strategies to increase impact even when challenged by limited time or funding.

“Open access to publications, data sets, and educational materials creates a more equitable scholarly ecosystem, which in turn can facilitate breakthroughs to benefit society,” Marshall explained. “Many of us have been in the frustrating situation of identifying an ideal resource for our research, only to find that it’s locked behind a paywall. While the UCR Library strives to provide access to as many quality databases as possible, libraries are burdened with rising journal costs that make this difficult.”

Support for open research is an integral part of Marshall’s approach to librarianship. “I believe it should be a critical value of libraries,” she added. “Federal funders now require grant seekers to share resulting publications and data sets openly. The UCR Library can provide guidance on making your research more open, so reach out to us if you’d like to hear more!”

Both a replay of the webcast and the presentation slides are available online. A follow-up discussion via live Twitter chat will take place on July 13 at 12:00 pm PST, using the hashtag #OpenPros.