Having partnered with the UMN libraries in increasing OA awareness, GAPSA also passed this resolution and has committed itself this year to increase awareness of the benefits of increasing access to information. Knowledge should belong to everyone, especially when the government already paid for this research in the form of taxes and research funding. We have also encouraged faculty to sign a pledge in favor of Open Access publishing. The libraries created a series of handouts and the following website – https://www.lib.umn.edu/scholcom/open-access-umn
RESOLUTION
Graduate and Professional Student Assembly – University of Minnesota
Date : September 12, 2012
Author: Alfonso Sintjago, Executive Vice President
Topic: Open Access Journals
WHEREAS, Open Access advances scholarship, research, and public knowledge by making peer-reviewed journal articles freely available online, where they are readily accessible to students, researchers, and the public; and
WHEREAS, university libraries nationwide and the University of Minnesota have modified their subscriptions to academic journals to accommodate for the rising cost of subscriptions; and
WHEREAS, the cost of subscribing to academic journal continues to increase and outpace inflation by over 200% in recent years, despite cost-saving improvements in the distribution and communication technologies utilized by academic journals; and
WHEREAS, the national government spends over $60 billion annually on research projects and a large number of academic publications are funded by student tuition while some publications continue to remain inaccessible to the general public and students after graduation; and
WHEREAS, many authors do not obtain direct royalties from the publication of their academic articles and have an interest in increasing the impact and visibility of their work; and
WHEREAS, academic journals may be able to adopt an open access funding model while remaining financially sustainable, decreasing the cost of knowledge, and increasing access to information; and
WHEREAS, the Graduate Student and Professional Assembly previously supported the passing of the Federal Research Public Access Act, S. 1373 emphasizing the relevance of open access journals for graduate and professional students.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Graduate Student and Professional Assembly will collaborate in the hosting of a yearly panel along with the University of Minnesota Libraries to discuss the state of Open Access in the University of Minnesota; and
BE IT RESOLVED the Graduate Student and Professional Assembly will conduct an awareness campaign regarding the benefits of open access for students and faculty members at the University of Minnesota; and
BE IT RESOLVED the Graduate Student and Professional Assembly will support the further development and expansion of an institutional
fund to underwrite University of Minnesota authors’ costs in making their published works openly accessible as supported by both the Office of the Vice President for Research and the University Libraries.
