Grand Valley Lanthorn :: Student Senate promotes open access for all

"Grand Valley State University’s Student Senate members are spreading awareness about the importance of free information this week during International Open Access Week. At Thursday’s Student Senate meeting, guest speaker Lee Van Orsdel, dean of University Libraries, explained a little more about the Open Access program, which aims to make scholarly research articles accessible to the public for free rather than requiring readers to pay publishers for subscriptions. Van Orsdel said older generations haven’t demanded free access to information, and in the past it has been the norm that scholars give the rights of their works to the publishers. Then, either libraries or students have to pay the publishers to access the content. Since the invention of the Internet, the idea that all information should be accessible and free for anyone has been planted in the minds of the current generation. 'Information is truly meant to be shared,' Van Orsdel said, adding that she believes this generation will be the one to make sure that free and open access to scholarly articles, journals and research will become a reality. Student Senate will partner with University Libraries, News and Information Services, the Honors College and the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship to hold a Facebook campaign this week to raise student awareness of the importance of open access for everyone. Student senators and others will be changing their Facebook cover photos and profile pictures to items that promote International Open Access Week. Participants will also be posting status updates about open access with links to videos with more information about the program and how students can get involved. However, this is only the first step in raising awareness and creating open access for everyone ..."