The Activism Behind Open Access:

Before the early 2000s, the term ‘open access’ didn’t exist. It was a term coined in several public statements; the Bethesda Statement on Open Access Publishing in June 2003, and the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities in October 2003. The movement that would become known as open access, however, had started almost a decade before that. The concept of allowing unrestricted access to peer-reviewed, scholarly research began almost as soon as the internet became widespread in the 1990s. But there had still been some efforts made by computer scientists in the 1970s to archive their work using file transfers.

This month, Open Access Week is held between October 21st and October 25th, celebrating this fairly new social movement that has allowed ‘equity in knowledge’ and has contributed to efforts in making information accessible to all. Before the age of open access, scholarly research was something that could be only be attained by other researchers and universities, provided that they paid a subscription to certain journals and magazines. Academic research was published in these journals in print and stored in libraries and archives, making it difficult for members of the public to access this information unless they were affiliated with those places.

In 2010, a study showed that only 20% of all published research articles could be found by the general public. Today, a study in 2017 showed that the percentage of articles had increased to almost half using open access. This has allowed universities in weaker economic countries to have the same privilege as richer countries, giving them an equal opportunity to learn and contribute to knowledge. The Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) argues that ‘even the best ideas remain just ideas until they are shared,’ explaining that knowledge must be shared in the best interests of everyone if we are expected to make breakthroughs in research. Knowledge and information cannot just be reserved and held back for those who can afford to pay subscriptions and study. SPARC argues that even the ‘the Theory of Relativity was developed by a patent clerk.’

In 2008, SPARC organised the very first Open Access Week, holding events all around the world that reach out to even the poorest and most marginalised countries, sharing information, raising the visibility of scholarships and accelerating research. More information about their work and for the theme of 2019’s Open Access Week, visit their website here.