International Open Access Week 2025 is taking place from October 20 to October 26. This week-long celebration highlights open access (OA) publishing, which aims to break down barriers to information, thereby increasing the opportunity for everyone to engage with and benefit from the latest scholarly work.

To celebrate, the Leatherby Libraries has a range of workshops and resources for Chapman students, staff, and faculty to learn more about how OA resources can help them on their research and academic journeys. Continue reading to find out how you can participate in Open Access Week!

Open Access Week Activities

OA Week Tabling

  • Starting on Monday, October 20, through Friday, October 24, you can stop by the Leatherby Libraries’ Open Access Week table on the first floor lobby to grab information about OA resources available at the Leatherby Libraries, and pick up some swag!
  • While you’re there, make sure to check out our newest book display that includes titles exploring the benefits of OA publishing and how to get started on your OA journey.

OA Week Library Workshops

  • Our LRDS team will be hosting four specially curated Library Workshops to help you learn how to use OA resources.

OA Publishing Options at Chapman: Increase Your Scholarly Reach!

Monday, October 20, 2025, from 11:00 – 11:45 AM.
Hybrid (Online/In-Person)

Learn about the opportunities available for Chapman faculty, staff, and students to publish their research OA for free! Whether it’s to comply with funding mandates or to increase the visibility of their scholarship, many researchers are choosing to make their work publicly available through open-access publishing these days. Chapman University offers numerous opportunities for researchers to publish open-access articles at no cost, either through one of our agreements with commercial publishers such as Elsevier, Springer, or Wiley, or through the SOARS (Supporting Open Access Research and Scholarship) Program.

Discover the Potential of Open Educational Resources

Wednesday, October 22, 2025, from 10:00 – 11:00 AM
Hybrid (Online/In-Person)

Discover how Open Educational Resources (OER) can reduce costs, increase access, and enrich learning. This workshop introduces the core principles of OER, guides faculty on how to find and adopt quality resources, while helping students locate OER for their studies and advocate for their use.

Approachable Version Control with Git & GitHub Desktop

Thursday, October 23, 2025, from 3:00 – 4:00 PM
Online

This workshop will introduce learners to the basics of version control and the practice of using the prominent version control system, Git, through the GitHub Desktop GUI client. The first part of the workshop will cover how Git works and what terms like “fork” and “commit” mean. The second part will consist of several exercises where participants will create repositories and make pull requests.

Intended for all Chapman University audiences. No prior experience with Git required!

What to Consider When Choosing Where to Publish – OA Options and Helpful Strategies

Friday, October 24, 2025, from 9:00 – 10:00 AM
Hybrid (Online/In-Person)

This workshop will teach students and faculty how to evaluate OA publishers and journals to maximize impact and avoid questionable or predatory publishers. You will also learn about several library resources, including Cabell’s, Journal Citation Reports, and Ulrich’s, as well as open tools like the Directory of Open Access Journals to help find possible platforms for publishing your research.

Leatherby Libraries’ Online OA Resources

  • Open Access LibGuide: Check out our OA LibGuide to view resources and links that have been carefully curated by our Chair of Resources and Scholarly Communications. This LibGuide serves as a valuable starting point for authors at any stage of their publishing journey. Within the guide, you will find helpful information on the numerous benefits of OA publishing, strategies for complying with various funding mandates, and guidance on how to identify and assess potential open access publishers to ensure quality and credibility.
  • Open Access & Scholarly Publishing Webpage: We are excited to introduce the newly launched Leatherby Libraries webpage dedicated to OA resources! This comprehensive site brings together an array of LibGuides developed by the Leatherby Libraries’ Chair of Library Resources and Scholarly Communications. The site is user-friendly, allowing researchers and scholars to navigate through various resources that support OA publishing easily

For any questions about OA and how the library can help you navigate OA resources to support your research journey, please contact our Chair of Resources & Scholarly Communications, Kristin Laughtin-Dunker, at laughtin@chapman.edu or reach out our LRDS team at lrds@chapman.edu.