University of Calgary Students' Union passes resolution to support OA

On November 23, 2009, the Students' Academic Assembly (SAA) at the University of Calgary passed a resolution supporting Open Access. Here is the text of the resolution:

WHEREAS Open Access is defined as free, unrestricted access to high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship over the Internet[1],

WHEREAS the SU recognizes that the development of scholarly research is funded by the public through government grants and student tuition,

WHEREAS the SU believes that Open Access improves the educational experience for students,

WHEREAS the SU believes that all students should have access to full scholarly records as they are pursuing their education regardless of an institution’s ability to afford scholarly research subscriptions,

WHEREAS the SU believes open access allows for researchers to maximize the impact of their research through increased visibility in a timely manner,

WHEREAS the SU supports and is encouraged by the initiatives and funding the University of Calgary Library and Cultural Resources have dedicated to Open Access[2],

BE IT RESOLVED THAT the SU calls upon each University of Calgary faculty and researcher to support Open Access initiatives, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the SU continue to advocate for Open Access in all of its advocacy initiatives[3]

Moved: M. Martin
Seconded: D. Pagan

[1] “Student Statement on the Right to Research,” Available: www.righttoresearch.org
Accessed: November 18, 2009.
[2] Initiatives as of October 2009 have included the $100,000 Open Access Authors Fund, being an active partner in the national Synergies project that stores and provides open access to research in Canada, the organization of Open Access Week and expanding the University of Calgary Press to include open access publishing, e-books and print on demand.
[3] Examples would include advocacy at the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA), Council of Alberta University Students (CAUS), Canadian Roundtable of Academic Materials (CRAM) and SPARC.

This resolution came in part out of the OA Week activities at the University of Calgary, in which the University of Calgary Students' Union (SU) was very active. This policy is now an official lobbying priority for the SU.

The SAA also endorsed SPARC's Student Statement on the Right to Research.

Thanks to Meg Martin for all the information.


Disclosure: I work in Libraries and Cultural Resources at the University of Calgary.