Tag Archives: open access

Lessons from the Past – Open Access Primary Sources and COVID-19

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In celebration of Open Access Week 2020, this is the fifth and final blog in a series written by the UConn Library Scholarly Communications Coordinating Group (SCCG) to explore how Open Access has impacted the COVID-19 pandemic. To learn more about the SCCG and find more resources, see our Scholarly Communications webpage.

As the novel coronavirus has spread across the globe, it has sparked comparisons to past global health crises, such as the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919. Seeking to make sense of the pandemic’s impact, scholars, physicians, public health officials, and journalists alike have turned to the past, drawing upon historical accounts and knowledge of these past events to inform our response today. 

Archives, libraries, museums, and agencies around the world have developed open collections of historical resources and primary sources related to global pandemics, epidemics, and other public health crises. From governmental, political, and public health actions to personal accounts, these freely accessible resources provide important insight and context into how societies responded to and learned from these events, helping us to not only understand our current environment but also to better prepare for the future.  

Resources: 

How is Open Access impacting the global search for a COVID-19 vaccine?

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In celebration of Open Access Week 2020, this is the third blog in a series of five written by the UConn Library Scholarly Communications Coordinating Group (SCCG) to explore how Open Access has impacted the COVID-19 pandemic. To learn more about the SCCG and find more resources, see our Scholarly Communications webpage.

An international effort is underway which includes seventy five countries collaborating on the financing of and research for a vaccine for the COVID-19 pandemic. They will partner with 90 lower-income countries, for a total of 165 countries working together, representing more than 60% of the world’s population. 

Each member country will receive a share of the vaccine doses proportional to their population, regardless of whether they can afford full membership. This is a global collaboration to accelerate the development and production of, and equitable access to, COVID-19 tests, treatments and vaccines. The open access gateway for information on this effort is CURE: Covid-19 Universal REsources Gateway  This is a joint initiative between UNESCO, the Indian Statistical Institute, and the Network of Scientific Journals from Latin America, Caribbean, Spain and Portugal (Redalyc.) 

The United States is not currently part of this global initiative, under President Trump. In the United States, A Framework for Equitable Allocation of Vaccine for the Novel Coronavirus was issued in September, 2020, by the National Academies of Science, Engineering & Medicine. The report was requested by and sponsored by the NIH and the CDC. The report was written to aid in policy and decision-making in the United States and beyond to plan for equitable distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine.

How is Open Access impacting the availability of data during COVID-19?

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In celebration of Open Access Week 2020, this is the second blog in a series of five written by the UConn Library Scholarly Communications Coordinating Group (SCCG) to explore how Open Access has impacted the COVID-19 pandemic. To learn more about the SCCG and find more resources, see our Scholarly Communications webpage.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, access to data has become vitally important as infection rates and deaths are tracked, local resource information is made available, and researchers work together to sequence the virus and create a vaccine.  

Data dashboards have become a quick, easy way to share numbers and visual information about the pandemic. The Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 Map has become well-known and shows real-time information about the pandemic in an easy to read format.  

The open data available is also bringing known disparities in the healthcare system into a fresh light.   

Open data in these cases can help you make informed choices about staying safe in your community, can help you understand the ongoing pandemic, and can highlight areas where you can take action and stay informed about how the pandemic is affecting others around you.  

How is Open Access impacting the availability of research articles on COVID-19?

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In celebration of Open Access Week 2020, this is the first blog in a series of five written by the UConn Library Scholarly Communications Coordinating Group (SCCG) to explore how Open Access has impacted the COVID-19 pandemic. To learn more about the SCCG and find more resources, see our Scholarly Communications webpage.

Open book icon.

During a time of global pandemic some countries, publishers, and institutions are making access to research articles on COVID-19 publicly accessible. In a crisis it’s crucial that important research not be barred from use by subscription paywalls. 

The emergency measures in academic libraries in response to COVID-19 have made available for the first time vast quantities of previously unavailable digital resources for research and teaching. This has demonstrated the great value and savings in time, travel expenses, and even carbon emissions that open educational and scholarly resources can make possible. The success of these temporary measures greatly strengthens the case for the expansion of Open Resources in academic libraries on both practical and economic grounds. There are major cost savings embedded in the embrace of Open Resources, sometimes not readily apparent on the balance sheet, but nevertheless indisputably demonstrable upon close examination. 

Some examples of open access in this time are below. For much more information, check out SPARC Europe’s The Coronavirus and Open Science: Our reads and Open use cases. 

Examples of countries working together to make research widely available: 

⦁ Twelve countries’ science advisors wrote an open letter to publishers of science research content to make all research on the coronavirus and COVID-19 available for free through PubMed Central or other nationally recognized repositories. https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/063.nsf/eng/h_98016.html 

⦁ The Chinese Academy of Sciences has created an online platform for distributing scientific research of COVID-19 studies.  http://english.cas.cn/newsroom/cas_media/202004/t20200407_232199.shtml

Examples of publishers making research information available: 

⦁ A variety of STM publishers made content about Coronavirus and Covid-19 openly available because of the pandemic: https://www.stm-assoc.org/about-the-industry/coronavirus-2019-ncov/ 

⦁ More than 30 publishers have made their Coronavirus and Covid-19 content available immediately through PubMed Central and other public repositories. https://wellcome.org/press-release/publishers-make-coronavirus-covid-19-content-freely-available-and-reusable 

Examples of organizations making research information available: 

⦁ OpenAire, a European based collaboration of partners and stakeholders, has “created a specific Community to collect all research results that could be relevant for the scientific community worldwide working on the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) and SARS-CoV-2.”  https://www.openaire.eu/openaire-activities-for-covid-19 

⦁ The Inter Academy Partnership, a collection of 140 national, regional and global member academies, have put out a communique calling for collective open action against Covid-19. https://www.interacademies.org/node/52980