Photograph of President John F. Kennedy speaking at a rally in Fort Worth, Texas, 22 November 1963. Courtesy of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum.

In honor of Open Access week, graduate assistants at Scholarly Communications and Publishing compiled a round-up of some breaking news stories related to Open Access!

The​ ​remaining​ ​JFK​ ​Assassination​ ​Records​ ​will​ ​be​ ​made​ ​available​ ​this​ ​week.​​ ​On​ ​October 26,​ ​1992,​ ​the​ ​first​ ​President​ ​Bush​ ​signed​ ​the​ ​JFK​ ​Assassination​ ​Records​ ​Collection​ ​Act, stipulating​ ​that​ ​all​ ​withheld​ ​records​ ​should​ ​be​ ​released​ ​within​ ​25​ ​years.​ ​We’re​ ​coming​ ​up​ ​on​ ​that day.​ ​​See​ ​the​ ​records​ ​released​ ​so​ ​far​​ ​or​ ​​learn​ ​more​ ​about​ ​the​ ​records​​ ​from​ ​the​ ​National Archives.

Stephen​ ​Hawking’s​ ​doctoral​ ​thesis​ ​is​ ​now​ ​openly​ ​available​​ ​through​ ​the​ ​Cambridge University​ ​institutional​ ​repository,​ ​Apollo.​ ​​According​ ​to​ ​the​ ​Guardian​,​ ​it​ ​is​ ​already​ ​Apollo’s most-downloaded​ ​item.​ ​Read​ ​​Properties​ of​ Expanding​ Universes​​ ​yourself,​ ​or​ ​explore​ ​Illinois’ institutional​ ​repository,​ ​​IDEALS​,​ ​for​ ​more​ ​open-access​ ​scholarship.

Five​ ​German​ ​researchers​ ​have​ ​resigned​ ​from​ ​editorial​ ​positions​ ​at​ ​Elsevier​ ​journals​ ​over open​ ​access​ ​disputes.​​ ​​According​ ​to​ ​Science​,​ ​“The​ ​researchers​ ​want​ ​Elsevier​ ​to​ ​accept​ ​a​ ​new payment​ ​model​ ​that​ ​would​ ​make​ ​all​ ​papers​ ​authored​ ​by​ ​Germany-based​ ​researchers​ ​open access.”​ ​The​ ​leaders​ ​of​ ​Projekt​ ​DEAL,​ ​which​ ​is​ ​organizing​ ​the​ ​protest,​ ​expect​ ​the​ ​number​ ​to grow.​ ​See​ ​also​ ​​Elsevier’s​ ​guide​ ​to​ ​publishing​ ​open​ ​access​ ​in​ ​Elsevier​ ​journals​.​ ​IDEALS encourages​ ​authors​ ​to​ ​negotiate​ ​for​ ​the​ ​right​ ​to​ ​publish​ ​open​ ​access.

Learn more about Open Access at the University of Illinois.