We are grateful to US Rep. Zoe Lofgren @lofgren.house.gov for recognizing SPARC as "thoughtful advocates of open access" & entering our letter into the Congressional Record. Our core message: #OpenAccess is a remedy for publishing dysfunction — not its cause. Read here: sparcopen.org/wp-content/u...

InclusiveAccess.org – The Facts on Affordable Access Textbooks Inclusive Access and Affordable Access programs add the cost of textbooks into college tuition and fees. Do the advertised benefits outweigh the costs and challenges? Get the facts.

While inclusive access programs are advertised as a solution, they make it harder for students to make personal choices & fall short on making course materials affordable long-term. Raise awareness on your campus about automatic textbook billing with these free resources. www.inclusiveaccess.org

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: PIDs 101: Global PID Adoption Use Cases. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. Persistent identifiers (PIDs) are important research infrastructure that enable the reliable identification of people, outputs, organizations, and funding across the scholarly ecosystem. As institutio...

As institutions, governments, funders & publishers increasingly integrate persistent identifiers (PIDs) into workflows & policy requirements, adoption is accelerating. Learn more at our PIDs 101 webcast May 6 @ 12pm ET. Register now! sparcopen-org.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Introduction to Responsible Research Assessment Course | DORA

Help change the acadmic reward system away from impact factors. Check out DORA's free, self-paced course for people interested in driving research assessment reform. Register here: sfdora.org/courses/intr...

The USDA issued its updated public access policy, effective April 7, 2026. It requires immediate access to agency-funded publications and supporting data. See full publication and data management policy details: researchsharing.sparcopen.org

Catch our latest news story shining the spotlight on Wisconsin as a leader in #OpenEd! After its success with OpenRN, the state expanded #OER funding. WisTech Open has collaborated w/ faculty from multiple colleges to create 30+ textbooks, saving students $$ millions! sparcopen.org/news/2026/wi...

Author Rights & the SPARC Author Addendum SPARC provides a full set of resources, including an author addendum, to teach authors about their rights, and to help effectively manage copyright.

Make smart choices when it comes to publishing your work. When you sign a copyright transfer form, you can decide which rights you want to keep & which you want to give away. #OpenAccess #OpenResearch #OpenScholarship. Download our free copyright resources for authors: sparcopen.org/our-work/aut...

Countdown to International #OpenAccess Week six months from now: October 19-25, 2026! Look for announcements coming up soon about the theme and resources on the website for #OAWeek 2026 here: www.openaccessweek.org

Download our free #OER State Policy Playbook! Share policy recommendations with U.S. state legislators interested in tackling college affordability through #OpenEducation. sparcopen.org/our-work/oer...

Happening tomorrow: Thursday, April 9 at 12pm ET. We'll discuss ways organizations, governments & institutions are encouraging adoption of persistent identifiers (PIDs) from grassroots efforts to government policies & community strategies. It's not too late to sign up: sparcopen.org/event/pids-1...

SPARCvideo SPARC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that supports open systems for research and education that enable everyone, everywhere to access, contribute to, and benefit from the knowledge that shapes ...

Missed our past webinars? No worries. We've archived them for viewing at your convenience. Learn about #OpenAccess, #OpenEd, #PIDs, #PublicAccess policies, answers to faculty #AI concerns & more on our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/channel/UCwl...

Unbundling Profile: Colorado State University - SPARC

Find out what's happening on campuses that have walked away from big deals with publishers. The latest in our series of profiles features Colorado State. We cover preparation, outcomes, $$$ saved & advice from librarians to encourage others considering a similar move. sparcopen.org/our-work/big...

Just released! The final paper in our series w/ the @authorsalliance.bsky.social on legal pathways to #OpenAccess. Check it out!

2026 Call for Proposals — Open Education Conference

Today is the #OpenEd26 proposal deadline! Submit by 11:59pm PT, Friday, April 3. Presentations for the virtual conference may discuss #OpenEd at any level (K-12, college, university, vocational, lifelong learning) & are welcome from all over the world. openeducationconference.org/2026/call-fo...

Launch of global consultation: Equitable scholarly communication for UNESCO is launching a consultation to explore fair, inclusive ways to create, share, and access academic knowledge, and to address challenges in building more equitable systems.

UNESCO is seeking feedback on a fact sheet about equity in scholarly communication & open science. It includes language calling for “non-commercial, academic, and scientific community-driven publishing models as a common good.” Join SPARC & submit comments by April 13. www.unesco.org/en/articles/...

Join the SPARC member mailing list - SPARC

Keep up with the latest #OpenAccess #OER #OpenScience #HigherEd news! If you already work in the library of a SPARC member institution & would like to be on our mailing list, we'd be happy to add you. Or let us know if you'd like to inquire about SPARC membership. sparcopen.org/our-work/joi...

2026 Call for Proposals — Open Education Conference

Reminder: Submissions are due Friday, April 3 at 11:59 PT for #OpenEd26. This year's theme, "The Space Between," asks what's possible in the spaces we overlook between our policies & practices, our values & our impact, where we are & where we want to be. openeducationconference.org/2026/call-fo...

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: PIDs 101: Global PID Adoption Use Cases. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. Persistent identifiers (PIDs) are important research infrastructure that enable the reliable identification of people, outputs, organizations, and funding across the scholarly ecosystem. As institutio...

Save the date: May 6 at noon ET. Join our webcast on persistent identifiers (PIDs) for people working at academic institutions. We will cover PID adoption use cases & broadly applicable PID practices. Ask questions ahead of time in the registration form. sparcopen-org.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Coming up this Monday, March 30 at Noon Eastern:
US Repository Network Community Conversation on Persistent Identifiers (PIDs). It's not too late to register!
Click here: sparcopen-org.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Unbundling Profile: Colorado State University - SPARC

We've just added a new profile on Colorado State University to our series on institutions that have unbundled or canceled big deal journal contracts. Learn about their experience, lessons, savings & be inspired! sparcopen.org/our-work/big...

Rapid Reaction Takeaways from Libraries Navigating Changes in On-Demand Purchasing - SPARC

ICYMI! SPARC is tracking how libraries are navigating the sunsetting of Get It Now and Springer Nature pulling out of AGS. Libraries that used these to break big deals aren't going back, and they see this as an outreach rather than an access issue. sparcopen.org/news/2026/ra...

Attention friends in the #opendata community...
Check out this event April 28 hosted by the Data Foundation: datafoundation.org/events/view/...

International #OpenAccess Week is an opportunity to join together, take action & raise awareness of the benefits of openly sharing knowledge. Think ahead for how you are going to celebrate #OAWeek Oct. 19-25, 2026! www.openaccessweek.org

Reminder: The next US Repository Network community call will be Monday, March 30, at Noon ET. Find out more about how PIDs (persistent identifiers) are key research infrastructure that aid discovery, transparency & reproducibility. Register here: sparcopen-org.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Hats off to SPARC's Emily Ford @femilyr.bsky.social & ORFG @orfg.bsky.social for working to advance #OpenScholarship #OpenScience #OpenAccess!

#OpenEd26 Call for Proposals NOW Open! — Open Education Conference The Call for Proposals for the 2026 Open Education Conference is now open!  We enthusiastically invite proposals from anyone with an interest in sharing about open education. The conference ...

The deadline for #OpenEd26 is coming up: April 3!
Share what's happening in your neck of the woods with #OER #OpenEd #OpenEducation. Offer a 20- or 40- minute presentation, a panel, lightning talk or contributed paper. Students are welcome to submit! openeducationconference.org/news/2026/op...

Introduction to Responsible Research Assessment Course | DORA

Concerned about the impact of impact factors on research? Learn about responsible research assessment & and how it can improve evaluation practices. DORA @dorassessment.bsky.social is offering a free, self-paced course on driving research assessment reform. Register here: sfdora.org/courses/intr...

Textbook Billing Contract Library - SPARC "Inclusive access" comes with a lot of fine print. Explore the details of more than 70 contracts for automatic textbook billing from U.S. institutions.

Find out what's happening on your campus & others when it comes to "inclusive access" programs. We've collected automatic textbook billing contracts between #highered institutions & vendors, equipping advocates w/ info to work in the best interest of students. sparcopen.org/our-work/aut...

Impact Stories Archive - SPARC Open Access, Open Data, and Open Education have already resulted in significant advancements in disease prevention, economic development, crisis management, improved education, researcher career devel...

Make the case for #OpenScholarship w/ examples of how it's working! We have profiles of states, universities, funders & more embracing #OpenAccess #OER #OpenData #OpenScience & accelerating research, improving learning outcomes & fueling collaboration. sparcopen.org/impact-stori...

Join the US Repository Network community call Monday, March 30 at Noon ET. Learn more about how PIDs (persistent identifiers) are key research infrastructure that aid discovery, transparency & reproducibility. Register here: sparcopen-org.zoom.us/meeting/regi...