Celebrate the freedom of information during the UB Libraries’ Open Access Symposium.

Held near International Open Access Week, a global event that aims to raise awareness about the importance and benefits of removing restrictions from research findings, government documents and other sources of knowledge, the Open Access Symposium aims to create conversation around the movement’s impact on teaching and scholarship.

The symposium will take place Oct. 15 in the Faculty Collaboration Studio, 6 Norton Hall, North Campus. Lunch will be served. Click here to register online.

The events, which are free and open to the public, include:

Keynote Address, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: Jennryn Wetzler, assistant director of open education at Creative Commons, will deliver “Access to Essential Information Now,” an interactive presentation that explores examples of open access and their impact around the world.

Scholars Panel, 1-2:15 p.m.: Hear from a panel of UB faculty and staff on “The Accessibility of Scholarship: Broadening Expertise from the Academy to the Individual.” The panel includes:

• John Campbell, interim chair, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery,
• Jeff Good, chair, Department of Linguistics,
• Joseph Lane, director, Center for Assistive Technology,
• Marie Elia, processing archivist, UB Libraries,
• Molly Poremski, digital collections librarian, UB Libraries.

Film Screening, 3-4 p.m.: Watch “Paywall: The Business of Scholarship,” a documentary on the need for open access to research and science, and the motivation behind the large revenues and profit margins of top academic publishers.

All of the events will be live-streamed. Viewing instructions can be found online.