Past SPARC Events

April 24: SPARC Webcast: Addressing Vendor AI Restrictions

Academic publishers are increasingly seeking to restrict the use of AI, through both contract language and revisions to copyright notices. On April 24th at 3pm ET / 12pm PT, SPARC will host a one-hour webcast to better equip libraries in pushing back on these restrictions. The session will touch on successful institutional approaches to weakening these restrictions (Katie Zimmerman, MIT), ICOLC’s newly released guiding principles for AI clauses (Teri Gallaway, SCELC, ICOLC), and the continuing viability of fair use in light of these developments (Kyle K. Courtney, Harvard). Participants on the call will be invited to share recent experiences negotiating these terms and suggestions for better supporting libraries in this area.

Registration is required and open to anyone at a SPARC member institution.

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April 09: April OpenCon Librarian Community Call

2024 has already been an active year for policy, both for open research and open education. The Canadian Tri-Agencies are in the midst of active consultations to update their open research policy to require sharing results without delay. In the U.S., language that would have prevented implementation of the 2022 OSTP Memo was successfully removed from the House CJS appropriations bill before passage, and the Biden Administration has expressed strong support for requiring “inclusive access” textbook programs to be opt-in rather than opt-out. On April 9th at 12pm ET / 9am PT, the next OpenCon Librarian Community Call will feature Katie Steen-James, SPARC’s Manager of Public Policy and Advocacy, who will provide an update on these recent developments and answer questions about what’s next on the policy front for open research and education.

OpenCon Librarian Community Calls are limited to those working in libraries, and registration is required.

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March 07: Do We Need a National Open Education Strategy?

Open Education

Open education has made remarkable progress, yet the evolving landscape continues to present challenges. As open education work continues to grow at institutions, in states, and across regions, questions increasingly surface about how we might coordinate and advocate more effectively as a field. This includes how to advance open education policies at the national and state level, how to reach institutional leaders, and how to expand sustainable funding.

NCOER (a collaboration among the four regional education compacts), working together with DOERS3 and SPARC, invited members of the open education field to join us for an open conversation about the potential need for U.S. national open education strategy and discuss how we might better collaborate to advance shared priorities. This webinar will share the results of these conversations.

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February 09: Rapid Reaction Webcast: Negotiated Rulemaking & Automatic Textbook Billing

Open Education

The SPARC policy team will provide a briefing on how regulatory changes proposed in the U.S. Department of Education's negotiated rulemaking process could impact automatic textbook billing ("Inclusive Access" and "Equitable Access" programs).

Registration is open to members of the SPARC community and coalition partners. The webcast will be recorded and distributed to those who register.

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December 10: SPARC Member-only Meetup at CNI 2023

JW Marriott Washington Open Access

We are excited to have the opportunity to meet in person again this year. The meeting will include a brief presentation followed by a cocktail reception.

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November 07: Open Education Conference 2023

10 am ET  ·   Webcast Open Education

The Open Education Conference is an annual convening for sharing and learning about open educational resources, open pedagogy, and open education initiatives.

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October 23: International Open Access Week

Webcast Open Access

“Community over Commercialization” is the theme for this year’s International Open Access Week (October 23-29). This theme encourages a candid conversation about which approaches to open scholarship prioritize the best interests of the public and the academic community—and which do not.

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October 12: 2023 ACRL/SPARC Forum: Editorial Board Resignations to Align Journals with Community over Commercialization

12-1:30pm ET  ·   Webcast Open Access

The past year has seen a resurgence of journal editorial boards resigning in protest over commercial publisher policies. With a track record stretching back over a decade, these collective resignations are an effective strategy for creating immediate change and empowering researchers to take back control of their publication.

As in years past, many resignations center on objections to high publishing fees, but an increasing number are also driven by pressure to vastly expand publication volume and a dismissive attitude toward scholars’ visions for their journals. The common thread through each is the prioritization of commercialization over the best interests of the communities each journal seeks to serve.

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