Integration of Open Access Agenda in Research and Civic Literacy

Use the link to access the full text paper presented at the IFLA Satellite Pre-Conference: Information for Civic Literacy, August 8-10, Riga, Latvia.  A brief overview of the pre-conference event reads as follows: ”Organised by the IFLA Information Literacy Section and the IFLA Africa Section through its Special Interest Group Access to Information Network - Africa (ATINA/RAIA). Hosted by the Riga Central Library and the National Library of Latvia, in collaboration with the Education, Culture and Sports Department of the Riga City Council.”  The abstract of the paper reads as follows: “Since the day of the first printing press, i.e. the famous Gutenberg Press in 1440, which lay the foundation for mass publication, publications have continued to proliferate and have surpassed the wildest dreams of the Gutenberg’s inventors with the internet, arguably the greatest revolution (in  the infosphere) of all time, and Google taking the lead in Open Access (OA). As a result of the internet, the publishing industry is increasingly taking on a new shape where Open Access plays a crucial role for increased information access to some of the remotest parts of the world that exist in Africa, and elsewhere, that would not have had access to information – 2 freely - as they do today. Thus, the publishing industry is swiftly moving away from print/traditional publishing to electronic publishing  and from the control of large, traditional publishing firms to small, private or personal publishing initiatives and activities, introducing new, but pleasant, challenges such as those originating from social media. In this paper, we examine Open Access (OA) within the context of civic literacy as a whole and, in particular, in Africa . Our work is based on personal knowledge and experiences, observations and desk research.”