Month: October 2019

OA at Michigan Tech

Open access is alive and growing at Michigan Tech!

This map shows the global reach of open access at Michigan Tech. Digital Commons @ Michigan Tech, the university’s digital repository, provides open access to original research, open education resources (or OERs), graduate works, 3D models and more. Digital Commons @ Michigan Tech demonstrates our growing commitment to the benefits of an open exchange of ideas.

To learn more about Digital Commons at Michigan Tech or how you can contribute to open access at the university, contact library@mtu.edu.

Open Access Research

In 2013 the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy issued a memorandum requiring major federal research funding agencies to establish requirements for public access to research publications and data. In the years since federal agencies and some of the large private research funding agencies have issued mandates ensuring public access to the research results and data they fund.

While it makes sense that public access to research results should grow from publicly funded research, other benefits from open research are equally important. The public, embodied in the roles of scholars, fellow researchers, consumers and laypersons benefit from transparency in research, proper data management and equity in access.

But how does the researcher benefit? Are there “perks” for the researcher who opens their research results and data to the larger community? Researcher and lecturer Sabine Lengger shares her thoughts on open research and how it’s a win-win for researchers.

What do you think of open research? Join librarians interested in open access for an Open Access Week event in the Library Cafe area on Wednesday, October 23rd at 2:00pm. Be sure to bring your questions and thoughts to engage in a lively discussion. Or join us at Thursday’s C-cubed luncheon where we will have a table and be ready to talk about the ups and downs of open access.

Welcome to OA

Open access or OA is a digital publishing model in which a work is freely available to the user. While the creator of the work retains copyright and right of attribution, the user may generally download, print, share, describe or display the work. The goal of OA is to make information freely available on a global scale in order to further exploration of existing ideas and inform the development of new ones.

In the academic world, open access means free access to research results and research data as well as free use and adaptation of educational tools and resources. This video provides an overview of open access and its importance in a real-world situation.

Want to discuss open access and how it applies at Michigan Tech? Join librarians interested in open access for an Open Access Week event in the Library Cafe area on Wednesday, October 22nd at 2:00pm. Be sure to bring your questions and thoughts to engage in a lively discussion. Or join us at Thursday’s C-cubed luncheon where we will have a table and be ready to talk about the ups and downs of open access.

Protect Your Innovation

Do you have an innovative idea or an innovation that you want to protect and yet promote? How do you know if someone hasn’t already developed something similar?

If you would like to learn more about intellectual property as a business tool, please join us for Protect Your Innovation, a Husky Innovate and Patent and Trademark Resource Center collaborative workshop that will be held from 5 – 7 p.m. Wednesday (Oct. 9) in Library 244. We will discuss the fundamentals of intellectual property such as patents, trademarks, licensing and trade secrets, including how to initiate a prior art discovery with resources here at the Library. Register for the seminar at https://bit.ly/ProtectYourInnovation .

Our workshop will start with an introduction into the practical considerations and trade-offs involved in protecting your idea and how intellectual property protections can be used as a tool to develop your innovation. Michigan Tech’s own IP expert, Licensed Patent Agent and Associate Vice President for Research Administration Jim Baker, and local Michigan Tech Enterprise Corporation (MTEC) SmartZone CEO Dan Jamison will open up the conversation with compelling scenarios and be available for questions throughout the event. Annelise Doll and Katie Edson will provide us with an overview and hands-on search activities available at the local Patent and Trademark Resource Center offered through the US Patent and Trademark Office.