Open Scholar Café series returns to support ISU researchers

Author: Abbey Elder

In 2021, the University Library launched Open Scholar Café, a monthly virtual forum for members of the Iowa State University community to meet and discuss open research and scholarship with their peers. After a hiatus in fall 2022, the Café is back, with a new lineup of topics representing the wide range of open science and scholarship of interest to the Iowa State community.

Titles and descriptions for this spring Café lineup are provided below. To learn more or suggest a topic for a future Open Scholar Café, visit the Open Scholarship Services website.

1. The Impact of the OSTP memo: An analysis of U.S. federally funded publications, 2017-2021

Wednesday, Feb. 15, 9 a.m. CST

In August 2022, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released a memo regarding public access to scientific research that results from U.S. federal funding. This updated guidance eliminated the 12-month embargo that had been allowed under a previous OSTP memo. In this session, Eric Schares, engineering and collection analysis librarian, looks at an analysis of federally funded research from the past five years to detail the impact to publishers, journals, research organizations, and Open Access status.

2. Digital Scholarship and Initiatives show-and-tell

Wednesday, March 22, 10 a.m. CST

The Library's Digital Scholarship and Initiatives department (DSI) partners with students and faculty interested in using digital tools and collections in their research. In this session, Digital Collections Librarian Laura Sullivan and Digital Scholarship Librarians Erin Ridnour and Michael Cummings discuss the ways they can help support open scholarship through the library's digital collections, hosting services, and other digital tools. Following a brief presentation, the panel will answer participant questions about how DSI can help meet research goals.

3. Publishing assignments as OER

Wednesday, April 19, noon CST

This month, Abbey Elder, Open Access and scholarly communication librarian, shares her experience developing assignments with instructors to support the publication of student projects as open educational resources (OER). Engaging students in meaningful content creation can be an impactful practice, but it requires careful and ongoing communication with students to be done well. In addition to sharing her own experiences facilitating these "open pedagogy" assignments, Elder will highlight major studies in this area and how Iowa State instructors and students can leverage open pedagogy in their teaching to support student engagement and learning.