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...

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...

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...

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!

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...

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/...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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!

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...

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...

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...

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...

Open educational resources #OER has increasingly become a go-to strategy for legislators seeking to make #highereducation more affordable & effective. SPARC helps you keep up with what's happening in your state. #OpenEducation #OpenEd sparcopen.org/our-work/sta...

We have answers to your questions about federal public access and data sharing requirements, including the new NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) updates. Go to the SPARC resource page: researchsharing.sparcopen.org & view our PAPPG webinar: www.youtube.com/watch?v=20_M...

Start planning for the next International #OAWeek happening Oct. 19-25, 2026! See our series of profiles of organizations & projects advancing #OpenAccess here: www.openaccessweek.org/theme-profiles www.openaccessweek.org

The use of impact factors in the evaluation of researchers has contributed to the distortion of scientific publishing practices and research practices, noted France's CNRS as it walked away from Web of Science, using $$$ saved to promote #OpenScience & #OpenData. www.cnrs.fr/en/update/cn...

Find #OEWeek events happening near you! #OpenEducation #OER #OpenEd oeweek.oeglobal.org/activities/

We are thrilled to announce Emily Gore has been selected as the next chair of our Steering Committee & Emma Molls will serve as vice chair. Congratulations and thanks for sharing your many talents with SPARC! sparcopen.org/news/2026/em...

Check out this article coauthored by SPARC's Corinna Turbes @corinnaturbes.bsky.social & Christopher Steven Marcum @csmarcum.sciences.social.ap.brid.gy. It addresses misconceptions about the NIH Public Access Policy & scholarly publishing. #OpenAccess upstream.force11.org/cost-of-conf...

Happy #OpenEducation Week March 2-6! Be inspired by all that's happening to advance #OpenEd by watching the newly released video recordings of sessions from the #OpenEd25 Conference. openeducationconference.org/news/2026/ha...

Share your #OpenEducation experience! #OpenEd26 is accepting proposals to present at its virtual conference. The theme: “The Space Between.” All are welcome (including students) regardless of country, educational background, or professional role to submit. openeducationconference.org/news/2026/op...

SPARC is tracking how libraries are navigating the sunsetting of Get It Now and Springer pulling out of AGS. TL;DR: libraries that used these services 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...

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued a notice about new DMSP format effective for applications with due dates on or after May 25, 2026. The new format is a significant departure from the current narrative format. Read the NIH notice here: grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

Encouraging news from France: The National Centre for Scientifics Research (CNRS) announced it is walking away from its Web of Science subscription - noting impact factors distort research practices. Money saved will be redirected to #OpenScience & #OpenData initiatives. www.cnrs.fr/en/update/cn...

ICYMI: This Undark piece on the many problems with APCs is worth a read: undark.org/2026/01/07/a...

A win for public access to scholarship by The George Washington University faculty, research staff & students! Last week, the campus adopted an #OpenAccess policy. Now, works by GW authors will be available at no charge in the library's repository. gwhatchet.com/2026/02/19/o...

It's not too late to sign up for our USRN community call today, Monday, Feb. 23 @ Noon ET. Dealing with AI Bots in Repositories will feature Kathleen Shearer & Paul Walk. Register here: sparcopen-org.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Coming up Monday! USRN community call on Feb. 23 @ Noon ET. Kathleen Shearer & Paul Walk will talk about COAR's Dealing with Bots Initiative. Register: sparcopen-org.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

The Wayback Machine has become an essential resource for journalists, researchers, courts & the public. Read more from our friends at @archive.org about what's at stake when news organizations block their content from being archived. www.techdirt.com/2026/02/17/p...

Learn about NSF's new public access expectations included in the new Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) updates. Go to SPARC's resource page: researchsharing.sparcopen.org & view the recording of our recent webinar on PAPPG: www.youtube.com/watch?v=20_M...

Good news! The U.S. Congress approved $7M in new funding for the Open Textbook Pilot grant program in the U.S. Dept. of Ed’s budget. This program has funded a wide range of impactful #OER projects since 2018, saving students millions. Watch our policy page for updates. sparcopen.org/our-work/ope...

We're glad to amplify the good work of @bioone.bsky.social! We celebrate this milestone of Subscribe to Open (S2O), a model that is emerging as a promising means of funding sustainable #OpenAccess for publishers & library systems of all sizes.

ICYMI: We recently posted an impact story on how #OER in Massachusetts is improving college affordability & learning outcomes for students in #highered. sparcopen.org/impact-story...

Have questions about AI-driven bots & the impact on #OpenAccess repositories? Join the USRN community call Mon., Feb. 23 @ 12 ET to hear Kathleen Shearer & Paul Walk discuss the outcomes of @coar-repositories.bsky.social’s Dealing with Bots Initiative. Register: sparcopen-org.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

For those navigating new NIH requirements, SPARC's @corinnaturbes.bsky.social & co-author Christopher Steven Marcum explain the realities. Top of list: Authors can comply at zero cost by depositing their author accepted manuscript directly into PubMed Central. upstream.force11.org/cost-of-conf...

It's your work. Know your rights. When you sign a copyright transfer form, you can decide which rights you want to keep & which you want to give away. Check out our copyright resources for authors here: sparcopen.org/our-work/aut...