Open Access & OER at UNB

Catherine Gracey, Open Scholarship & Applied Sciences Librarian

Open Access & OER at UNB © 2025 by Catherine Gracey is licensed under Creative Commons BY 4.0 International License

  1. Open Access
    1. Definition
    2. Why OA?
    3. Supports at UNB
  2. Connections between OA and OER
  3. OER
    1. Definition
    2. Why OA
    3. Supports at UNB

Today, we're going to cover:

"availability on the public internet, permitting any users to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of [research] articles, crawl them for indexing, pass them as data to software, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without financial, legal, or technical barriers other than those inseparable from gaining access to the internet itself. [cont.]"

– Conrad Anker

Open Access refers to the...

"The only constraint on reproduction and distribution and the only role for copyright in this domain should be to give authors control over the integrity of their work and the right to be properly acknowledged and cited."

– Conrad Anker

(BOAI, 2017)

Note that OA does not just mean free

To ensure the additional factors outlined in the previous definition, CC licenses can be applied to works. To learn more about specific licenses, review this presentation on Selecting a CC license

Why Open Access?

When research is paywalled, it can't reach everyone who might benefit from reading it

Equitable Access

If readers have to wait to access research, it prevents them from building off of it. This slows down the scholarly conversation.

No Delay

Much of the research funded in Canada is paid for by the taxpayer, so they should be able to reap the rewards.

Taxpayer funded

Open Access at UNB

As of 2023, UNB has adopted an Open Access Policy, which can be found here.

Note that this policy does not mean you must publish in an Open Access journal, but that you should deposit to our institutional repository

  • APC Discounts
    • We have deals with publishers to discount fees associated with OA publishing
  • Institutional Repository
    • Inputting your work into our IR meets TriAgency requirements for OA, and is entirely free
  • Copyright Support
    • We can guide you on the use of CC licenses and other copyright considerations

Open Access Support at UNB Libraries

Both Open Access and Open Educational Resources share the goal of making information more accessible and equitable. They are both possible because of the internet and the sharing practices that exist there. They involve licensing to specify this openness, usually with CC licenses.

Connections between OA & OER

The next slide will spell out some of the differentiators between the two.

  • Sometimes used as umbrella term, but generally refers to scholarship outputs
  • Despite a less restrictive definition, sometimes doesn't allow for remixing, etc.

Open Access

Open Educational Resources

  • Refers to educational content
  • Must be meet 5R requirements (retain, reuse, remix, redistribute, revise) to be considered true OER

Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching, learning, and research materials that are either (a) in the public domain or (b) licensed in a manner that provides everyone with free and perpetual permission to engage in the 5R activities (retain, reuse, revise, remix, redistribute)

–Creative Commons

Open Educational Resources (OER) are...

Why OER?

Textbooks and other learning materials are becoming so expensive they are entirely inaccessible to some students/people

Equitable Access

Resources perceived to be free (like library resources) have copyright limitations, and don't necessarily allow for long term access by users

Limitations of 'free'

Educators should be able to have high-quality materials that fit their content. Static resources can't always meet these needs but OER can be adapted to

Flexibility

  • Support Finding OER
    • We can search for relevant resources, and help you evaluate them
  • Support Adapting OER
    • We can advise on best practices around accessibility, and utilizing different software
  • Support Creating OER
    • Through AtlanticOER, we can connect you to funding opportunities 

OER Support at UNB Libraries

Check out our OER guide to learn more

References

“5.1 Open Access to Scholarship” (https://creativecommons.org/course/cc-cert-edu/unit-5-cc-for-academic-librarians/5-1-open-access-to-scholarship/) by Creative Commons. CC BY 4.0.


“5.2 OER, Open Textbooks, and Open Courses” (https://creativecommons.org/course/cc-cert-edu/unit-5-cc-for-academic-librarians/5-2-oer-open-textbooks-and-open-courses/) by Creative Commons. CC BY 4.0.