UTA Libraries Celebrates Open Access Week 2025

Every October, universities and organizations worldwide celebrate Open Access Week, a global movement dedicated to making knowledge free, shareable and accessible to everyone. 

This year’s theme, “Who Owns Our Knowledge?” invites all of us, students, faculty and researchers, to reflect on what happens to the work we create once it is out in the world.  

Do we retain ownership of our ideas? Who benefits from our discoveries? And how can open access empower us to take control of our own knowledge? 

Open access helps ensure that research and educational materials, created by and for our community, remain available to everyone who wants to learn, teach or explore new ideas. It is about supporting ownership, equity and opportunity for all Mavericks. 

“Open Access Week is about advocacy and awareness,” said Vanessa Garrett, Digital Publishing Librarian. “It is a chance to look closely at how information is shared and who gets to control it. Open access allows creators to retain ownership of their work while making it freely available so others can build on it in meaningful ways.” 

Events for Open Access Week 

This year’s Open Access Week lineup features three can’t-miss events designed to connect Mavericks with the power of open access, from hands-on activities and giveaways to interactive sessions exploring archives, digitization and open publishing. 
 

• Monday, Oct. 20, Noon–1:30 p.m., Central Library Parlor (Hybrid) 
  Going Open in Cyber Psychology: Benefits and Challenges to Partnering with the Libraries on Open Publishing 
   
  Join us for a luncheon lecture featuring three UTA professors who have partnered with the Libraries on open publishing projects. Hear firsthand their experiences creating and sharing open educational resources (OERs) and how going open benefits teaching and research. Lunch will be provided. 
   
• Tuesday, Oct. 21, 10:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m., Library Plaza 
  Who Owns Our Knowledge?: Public Forum 
   
  Grab a doughnut, win a prize and join the conversation. This come-and-go event, led by UTA’s student advocacy group OESAG (Open Education Student Advocacy Group), invites Mavericks to share their perspectives on open education and access. 
   
  Through quick, interactive activities, students will explore what it means to own their learning and discover how open educational resources can save money and enrich their courses. 
   
  “The concept of having textbooks created by their professors, free to them, is mind-blowing,” Garrett said. “Some students have even co-written OERs alongside faculty, becoming co-authors in their own right.” 
   
• Thursday, Oct. 23, Noon–2 p.m., Central Library Room 315A,  
  Who Owns Our Knowledge?: Using Digitization and Transcription to Promote Access to Archival Materials 
   
  Step into the past and see how UTA Libraries preserves history for the future. This hands-on session, in collaboration with Special Collections and Digitization Services, brings archival materials to life. 
   
  Watch how audio and video from VHS and cassette tapes are transformed into digital formats on MavMatrix. Then try your hand at transcribing historical letters, helping make them searchable and usable for researchers worldwide. Space is limited and refreshments will be provided. 

Why Open Access Matters to Mavericks 

For students, open access is more than just no-cost or low-cost textbooks. OA gives students access to learning from materials created by their own professors, which makes education more personal. 

For faculty, it is about visibility and impact. Open-access publishing ensures that your research reaches broader audiences, within and beyond academia, without barriers. 

And for the broader community, it is about sharing knowledge that fuels discovery, creativity and progress. 

“Open Access Week is a reminder that the knowledge created at UTA belongs to the people who make it,” Garrett said. “By participating, we celebrate that knowledge and take steps toward a more open academic world.” 

Don’t miss Open Access Week at UTA Libraries, Oct. 20–23.