Open Access (OA) has emerged as a significant area of academic library work across the higher ed landscape, impacting nearly everyone in the profession. It affects management at all levels, outreach, collection development, technical services, and public services operations, as well as dedicated scholarly communication staff. Open Access is evolving so quickly that getting and maintaining a hand-hold can be challenging—particularly for folks who are gaining responsibilities related to OA fo...| SPARC
Posted on July 24, 2025 by Chris Freeland| SPARC
To solve many of the world’s most pressing problems, open access advocates believe knowledge needs to be shared widely. Those who support publicly engaged or community-engaged research emphasize the benefit of science being broadly accessible and informed by the contributions of multiple partners and/or interest holders to amplify impact. | SPARC
The post SPARC Responds to Senate’s “Ten Times Faster” Science Initiative appeared first on SPARC.| SPARC
“Who Owns Our Knowledge?” is the theme for this year’s International Open Access Week (October 20-26). The 2025 theme asks a pointed question about the present moment and how, in a time of disruption, communities can reassert control over the knowledge they produce. It also challenges us to reflect on not only who has access to education and research but on how knowledge is created and shared, where it has come from, and whose voices are recognized and valued.| SPARC
Open Access (OA) has emerged as a significant area of academic library work across the higher ed landscape, impacting nearly everyone in the profession. It affects management at all levels, outreach, collection development, technical services, and public services operations, as well as dedicated scholarly communication staff. Open Access is evolving so quickly that getting and maintaining a hand-hold can be challenging—particularly for folks who are gaining responsibilities related to OA fo...| SPARC
As open education continues to gain traction across educational institutions, we’ve heard from the community about the need for more professional development focused on foundational concepts—especially for those stepping into open education work for the first time.| SPARC
U.S. Department of Education grant program to expand student savings through open textbooks. Funding renewed for a fourth year.| SPARC
Open Education encompasses resources, tools and practices that can be fully used, shared and adapted in the digital environment. Open Education maximizes the power of the Internet to make education more affordable, accessible and effective.| SPARC
The post SPARC Welcomes Corinna Turbes as New Government Relations Lead appeared first on SPARC.| SPARC
Effective June 1, 2025, SPARC will officially transition from operating as a fiscally sponsored project of the New Venture Fund to an independent nonprofit organization. We have successfully incorporated SPARC as a charitable nonprofit organization in Washington, DC., and have filed for our 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. We expect that an IRS determination will take ~6-8 months; however, while we wait for final approval, SPARC can fully operate as a nonprofit organization with our tax-exempt st...| SPARC
The post Carly Robinson Named SPARC Senior Policy Fellow appeared first on SPARC.| SPARC
SPARC is pleased to announce Emily Ford has been selected as the new Director of the Open Research Funders Group (ORFG). In this role, she will oversee the coalition of nearly two dozen philanthropic organizations around the globe involved with charitable, educational, or other activities serving the public good and committed to open sharing of research outputs.| SPARC
The post Defending Libraries in the Digital Age: Lila Bailey Calls for Library Legal Champions at Georgetown Law’s iPIP Clinic Celebration appeared first on SPARC.| SPARC
SPARC is excited to announce a second round of our Open Access 101 series, building on the significant response from the community to the first series hosted last year. These upcoming OA 101 sessions will deepen the conversation around key topics related to open access, including visibility and impact, problematizing “predatory” publishing, and authors rights. See full details below.| SPARC
The Affordable College Textbook Act seeks to reduce the cost of textbooks at colleges and universities by expanding the use of open textbooks.| SPARC
SPARC has hired Gabby Hernandez for a newly created position at SPARC as Open Education Community Manager. She works across SPARC’s open education portfolio to conduct outreach, develop programming, and foster community engagement to advance open educational resources and practices. Gabby started on March 3, 2025.| SPARC