SPARC

OER State Policy Tracker - SPARC Stay up to date on OER policy in your state with SPARC's tracker, updated weekly. Also be sure to check out our State Policy Playbook!

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...

Open Education Week Events Calendar Explore all events and activities happening around the world during Open Education Week. All times are displayed in your local time.

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

Emily Gore and Emma Molls elected to lead SPARC Steering Committee - SPARC

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...

The Cost of Confusion: Dispelling Myths about the NIH Public Access Policy and Article Processing Charges Last July, the NIH issued an RFI on limiting direct spending on article processing charges (APCs). Over 900 public responses offered valuable perspectives but also exposed widespread misconceptions ab...

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 Open Education Week! OpenEd25 Recordings Now Available — Open Education Conference March 2-6, 2026 is international Open Education Week . This week, teachers, learners, advocates, and professionals across the world are celebrating the benefits of open educational resources and pr...

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...

#OpenEd26 Call for Proposals NOW Open! — Open Education Conference The Call for Proposals for the 2026 Open Education Conference is now open!  We enthusiastically invite proposals from anyone with an interest in sharing about open education. The conference ...

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...

Rapid Reaction Takeaways from Libraries Navigating Changes in On-Demand Purchasing - SPARC

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...

For more context, SPARC has supported Walt Crawford's work to track the balance between journals that do and do not charge APCs. See the latest analysis of #OpenAccess articles & journals in his book here: waltcrawford.name/goa25.pdf

In Scientific Publishing, Who Should Foot the Bill? Publishers often charge authors to publish their publicly-funded research. Will a federal crackdown make a difference?

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

Officials unveil open access policy years after Faculty Senate resolution The adoption of the policy follows advocacy from faculty after the Faculty Senate narrowly passed a resolution in 2015 supporting an open access policy.

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...

Preserving The Web Is Not The Problem. Losing It Is. Recent reporting by Nieman Lab describes how some major news organizations—including The Guardian, The New York Times, and Reddit—are limiting or blocking access to their content in the Internet Ar…

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...

Open Textbook Pilot Grant Program - SPARC U.S. Department of Education grant program to expand student savings through open textbooks. Funding renewed for a fourth year.

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...

BioOne Achieves Inaugural Subscribe to Open Target, Opening 71 Titles for 2026 - BioOne Publishing BioOne is proud to report the achievement of a significant milestone in its mission to increase access to scientific research. BioOne’s Subscribe to Open (S2O) pilot has reached its sustainability thr...

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.

Massachusetts OER Champions Collaborate to Expand Materials that Boost Student Success - SPARC

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...

The Cost of Confusion: Dispelling Myths about the NIH Public Access Policy and Article Processing Charges Last July, the NIH issued an RFI on limiting direct spending on article processing charges (APCs). Over 900 public responses offered valuable perspectives but also exposed widespread misconceptions ab...

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...

Author Rights & the SPARC Author Addendum SPARC provides a full set of resources, including an author addendum, to teach authors about their rights, and to help effectively manage copyright.

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...

Save the Date: OpenEd26 is October 27-29 — Open Education Conference The Open Education Conference is going back virtual! The 2026 Open Education Conference (OpenEd26) will be held on October 27-29, 2026 as a fully virtual event with attendance welcomed from across th...

Attention #OpenEd Community:
This year's #OpenEducation conference will be virtual October 27-29, 2026. #OpenEd26
openeducationconference.org/news/2025/sa...

Big Deal Cancellation Tracking - SPARC

If you've walked away from a so-called "big deal," let us know. We keep a record of institutions that have canceled contracts with publishers, along with strategic considerations, outcomes & money saved. Click for a list & resources. sparcopen.org/our-work/big...

Massachusetts OER Champions Collaborate to Expand Materials that Boost Student Success - SPARC

The investment of education $$ in open textbooks is making an impact! We just posted a story on the work of #OpenEducation leaders Robert Awkward, Marilyn Billings, Ben Atchi​son, Susan Tashjian & others in Mass. to help faculty produce #OER books in high-demand fields. sparcopen.org/impact-story...

International Open Access Week International Open Access Week is held annually to inspire global momentum toward the open sharing of knowledge in order to address important social issues affecting people around the world. Open Acce...

Save the Date: International #OpenAccess Week will be October 19-25, 2026. #OAWeek is an opportunity to join together, take action & raise awareness of the benefits of openly sharing knowledge. www.openaccessweek.org

Rising Publication Costs Strain Researchers Open access publishing has led to researchers paying thousands of dollars to publish their work, limiting funds for research and leaving scientists with hard choices.

www.the-scientist.com/rising-publi...