Open Access Week with UW Libraries

A Global Community For Action and Change

Open Access Week is a yearly, global event that brings communities together to “take action, and raise awareness around the importance of community control of knowledge sharing systems.”

The Open Access (OA) movement grew in response to an increasing awareness that the current scholarly publishing system no longer meets the needs of scholars and those who could benefit from their research. Making research openly available by bringing scholarly works out from behind publisher paywalls benefits individual researchers, the wider research community, and the public at large.

Open Access Week and UW Libraries

UW Libraries hosts a range of events during Open Access Week to highlight both the global issues that impact scholarly communication and specific resources provided by the Libraries to support the increased use of models, tools and practices that expand open access to research, information and knowledge. Events range from panel discussions on broad topics to instructional sessions on specific resources and tools available such as Publishing Support, Open Access Policies, Open Education Resources, etc. See also “Additional Resources” below.

2026 International Open Access Week: The Cost of Knowledge

“Increasing consolidation and commercial control over all aspects of knowledge comes at a cost. This year’s theme challenges us to consider the financial, human, and environmental costs of creating, sharing, and sustaining knowledge—particularly when these costs are driven by private rather than public interests.”