Open Access Resources Trends in Academic Libraries: Core Benefits and Current Roadblocks to OA

The Authority File

In this four-part series, we speak with Emily Farrell, Global Commercial Director for Open Research at Taylor & Francis, and Jennifer Townes, Open Access Librarian at Emory University, about current and future open access resource trends. Our guests bring the librarian and publisher perspectives to the OA discussion, parsing through questions of how librarians and publishers can support open resources and the main challenges to OA funding and sustainability. Emily and Jenny also chat about the growing concern of research integrity—in particular, ChatGPT and paper mills—and important OA milestones in the future, such as new partnerships between libraries and publishers and developments in open monograph publishing models.

In this first episode, Jenny and Emily provide background on how their roles and responsibilities support open access. Next, they discuss the core benefits of OA, highlighting factors like the rapid dissemination of scholarly research and broader, more accessible access for scholars and the general public. Finally, they close with current roadblocks impacting OA adoption for all members of the scholarly ecosystem—researchers, publishers, librarians, readers—and where they see the opportunity for change.

Missed an episode? Subscribe to our monthly newsletter, Choice Podcast Updates, and check out the Authority File Round-Up on our blog, Open Stacks!