I’m a strong believer in information for all and open access.

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As I’ve spent more time in academia, and particularly since becoming a library employee, I have developed a deeper appreciation for having open data and open access. To me, sharing your data and your findings with others makes intuitive sense. I remember times in my undergrad degree when I would need to access certain publications and hit roadblocks or paywalls. This was a major hindrance to being able to complete certain assignments, and ultimately could have limited my overall education. Luckily, because of our library subscriptions, this didn’t happen often and did not have much of an impact, but it did make me think about those who do not have access. I believe that promoting more open data and open access will expand the growth and development of research across all fields.

This issue touches on the concept of Research Data Management (RDM), a growing topic of conversation in academic libraries. RDM is all about managing data that have been produced by academic researchers with the thought of discoverability, accessibility, and reuse. Researchers need motivation and incentive to share their data, and this is something that universities and government agencies, notably the Tri-Agencies (i.e. CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC), are diligently working on. There is also a need to develop a standardized plan and platform in managing these data, and much progress has already been made in this direction. 

I feel strongly that all Canadians, regardless of ethnicity, visible minority status, education, or academic affiliation, should have access to as much data as can be shared in a safe and responsible way. This lead me to work with Heather Morisson’s team in 2018 in an effort to gather data on Open Access publishers to make them more accountable. 

For more information about information for all and specifically RDM, please see the following paper I wrote on the subject for Gestion des ressources infromationnelles course (ISI 5703): Research Data Management (RDM) in Canadian Academic Institutions.

For more information on RDM in general, please see the following resources: