Create Change has released a new interview with Daniel Ferreras, associate professor of foreign languages at West Virginia University.
... Why have you been an advocate of open access?
Information wants to be free. The more we share knowledge, the faster knowledge will advance. I am somewhat surprised by the reluctance of some faculty members to provide open access to their work. It seems natural that, as members of the academic community, we should share our findings with our peers and our students, and promote evaluation and discussion of our work. This can only be beneficial for the community as well as for our own advancement. We should not ignore the fact that a faculty member is responsible for research as well as for teaching and service, therefore our research activities are actually already funded by our salaries. To prevent access to our research appears then not only counterproductive but also in contradiction with the very definition of our activity.
You’ve been quoted as saying “students will show us the way” in these endeavors. Can you explain what you mean by that?
The youth are in touch with modernity at large. ... They have embraced the electronic age of communication without doubt or fear. Scholars can learn from the students, as much as they learn from us. ...
Posted by
Gavin Baker at 8/25/2008 08:29:00 PM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
