Contents
1. How much does research cost?
2. The UTM Library Open Access* Week Challenge
4. What does one article cost?: ✸ Here’s what you need to do for the CONTEST. ✸
1. How much does research cost?
Think about an average article in an academic journal. How much do you think it would cost a researcher to access everything in their reference list without access to a university library?
Your access to U of T Libraries gives you access to a vast wealth of knowledge – 15 million volumes in 341 languages, the library system currently provides access to millions of electronic resources in various forms – but that access isn’t free: the Library pays for it.
Researchers around the world without a post-secondary affiliation have to pay for research out of pocket, not just for everything they cite but for background reading too, and for many people, that’s simply not an option. That’s where open access* comes in. When we make our work available around the world, we contribute to equality in the scholarly process – and increase the impact of our work at the same time.
2. UTM Library Open Access* Week Challenge
How much does it actually cost to write a paper? Take a look at the article below, which is Gillespie, Alexandra. "Are The Canterbury Tales a Book?." Exemplaria, vol. 30 no. 1, May 2018. Taylor & Francis, https://doi.org/10.1080/10412573.2018.1436282.
Check out the References section at the end of the article, as well as 3. References: there are 87 sources – 57 books, 22 journal articles, 3 digital library websites, 2 magazines, 1 dissertation, and 1 report – cited in this paper, which you can see surrounding Professor Gillespie’s article. These sources are the foundation that new research is built upon.
Go to 4. What does one article cost?: ✸ Here’s what you need to do for the CONTEST. ✸
3. References
4. What does one article cost?: ✸ Here’s what you need to do for the CONTEST. ✸
To enter the contest, calculate how much the author would have needed to spend to produce this article without access to U of T Libraries.
- Your answer must be in Canadian dollars. You will need to convert some costs from other currencies!
- Add all the article prices together. You do not need to include the Gillespie article.
- Share your answer with us on Twitter or Instagram by tagging @utmlibrary and using the hashtag #OpenAccess.
All participants who submit the right answer will be entered into a draw for a $25 U of T Bookstore gift card!
Follow @utmlibrary on Twitter and Instagram for more #OAWeek news and information!
5. *What is open access?
Open access refers to scholarly research that is freely available online, without cost or most licensing restrictions. It is built upon the idea that research should be freely shared and should benefit everyone, everywhere.
To learn more about open access and how U of T Libraries supports it, visit https://onesearch.library.utoronto.ca/copyright/open-access.