Defending Academic Freedom in an Age of Censorship: Reflections from author Ash Lierman

"It is this, in turn, that leads me back to OBP [Open Book Publishers], Diamond Open Access in general, and the potential that it holds now more than ever. OA has often been recognized as playing a vital role in democratizing research and publication, especially for researchers from the Global South and other circumstances that may limit their access to funds and freedom of information. This is particularly true in the case of Diamond OA, which additionally supports equal access to publishing by scholars from the Global South by removing the barrier of publication fees. This equalizing power has been a driving force in its support from the library profession, and it was my values as a librarian around knowledge justice that led me to choose OA publishing for my own work. Now, with the threats that research faces in the U.S., OA offers to play the same role for many of us who have previously had the privilege of overlooking it."