The 2016 SPARC MORE Conference brought together a diverse array of perspectives to work on every aspect of creating a system that serves scholarship, disseminates knowledge, and feeds the public good. Speakers included representatives from a preeminent private foundation, university presidents, young researchers, new faculty, librarians, and technical staff - all part of a dedicated community working to set the default to open.
The 2016 SPARC MORE Conference brought together a diverse array of perspectives to work on every aspect of creating a system that serves scholarship, disseminates knowledge, and feeds the public good. Speakers included representatives from a preeminent private foundation, university presidents, young researchers, new faculty, librarians, and technical staff - all part of a dedicated community working to set the default to open.
Those gathered at the March 7-9 conference were both “unabashedly idealistic” and “relentlessly pragmatic” about open access, open data, and open educational resources, said SPARC Executive Director Heather Joseph at the closing session in San Antonio. Participants were encouraged to think about the outcomes that they wanted to achieve through advocating for open access (and open data, and OER), and to consider open as a strategy to help the community solve big problems, and capitalize on new opportunities. Rather than simply advocating “open” as the end game, discussions centered around the importance of effectively finishing the sentence “open in order to….” (i.e., opening up access to textbook in order to make college more affordable; or opening access to data in order to prevent the Zika virus from fueling a pandemic…).
As you work to turn your passion for open into action, here are some highlights and takeaways from the SPARC MORE 2016 Conference:
- Video recordings of all SPARC MORE sessions can be found on SPARC's YouTube channel
- Gates Foundation embraces Open and raises the bar for others
- What university leaders can do to promote Open & how librarians can help
- Moving books into Open Access
- Early Career Researchers Forge New Paths to Advocate for Open
- The Open Agenda and new faculty: Connecting early
- Workshop: Improving Campus Open Access Policies
- SPARC 2014: A transformative experience
- SPARC Africa: Building on a shared culture
- Photos from MORE Meeting
2016 SPARC MORE Meeting Sponsors
SPARC is incredibly thankful for the generous support of our MORE Meeting sponsors:
Wi-Fi Sponsor
Luncheon/Reception Sponsors
Showcase Sponsors
Supporting Organizations
Program Committee
The SPARC MORE Program Committee includes: Heather Joseph (SPARC), Jean-Gabriel Bankier (bepress), Joni Blake (Greater Western Library Association), Amy Buckland (University of Chicago), David Ernst (University of Minnesota), Rupert Gatti (Open Book Publishers), Diane Graves (Trinity University), Debra Kurtz (DuraSpace), Erin McKiernan (Wilfrid Laurier University), Emma Molls (Iowa State University), William Nixon (University of Glasgow), Donna Okubo (PLOS), Kostas Repanas (Agency for Science, Technology & Research), Jeff Spies (Center for Open Science), Jennifer Sturdy (Berkeley Initiative for Transparency in Social Sciences), Shan Sutton (University of Arizona), Greg Tananbaum (SPARC), Lee VanOrsdel (Grand Valley State University), Alex Wade (Microsoft Research), Kelsey Wiens (Creative Commons South Africa).