Open Access Week: Who Owns Our Knowledge?
October 20-26th is International Open Access Week. This year’s theme is “Who Owns Our Knowledge?” which challenges everyone to consider how they can control the knowledge they produce in a time of great change.
The 2025 theme asks a pointed question about the present moment and how, in a time of disruption, communities can reassert control over the knowledge they produce. It also challenges us to reflect on not only who has access to education and research but on how knowledge is created and shared, where it has come from, and whose voices are recognized and valued.
This year expands on the organizer’s previous focus on “Community over Commercialization” and builds on efforts to grow approaches such as Diamond OA, encouraging editorial boards, a move away from proprietary databases, and other non-commercial projects. Focus is also being paid to how AI effects academia and research, and how that might shape the future.
In the library we’re working to support Open Access through our Read and Publish service.
We work with publishers to establish transformative agreements that either discount or often completely waive publishing fees for authors who want to publish Open Access. These agreements foster community stewardship through open access and encourage a shift away from paywalling research.
As of October 2025 the library has agreements with 11 platforms, including Cambridge Journals and Sage Premier, and grants access to more than 5,500 different journals. Since it’s inception the service has helped save $197,910 for faculty.