Open Access past events

2023

Events

Catalyzing Open Science (4TH SPACE)

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The Concordia Open Science Working Group (COSWG) invites you to join us in charting the path forward for the implementation of open science at Concordia University. Led by Nicolás Alessandroni and Krista Byers-Heinlein, COSWG consists of 20+ professors, librarians, post-doctoral fellows, and graduate students from across different academic units and departments. COSWG recently published a report outlining a series of practical recommendations for fostering Open Science at Concordia University - now openly available on Concordia University’s institutional repository, Spectrum.

Thursday, October 26, 2023, 2 - 4 p.m.
Location: 4th Space
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Open for Community: Across Platform Demos and Conversations (4TH SPACE)

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This event offers a series of show-and-tell demonstrations of Concordia-led innovation and work-in-progress on community-driven open initiatives, followed by a lively discussion. Participants will have the chance to explore a range of open genres and platforms (i.e.: Manifold for book publishing, Pressbooks for open textbooks, Spectrum for open-access articles and more, Dataverse for data, blogs, and more). We will look at open scholarship and educational content alongside the potential for cross-platform use to reach multiple audiences.

Friday, October 27, 2023, 4 - 5:30 p.m.
Location: 4th Space
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Des ressources éducatives libres pour toutes et tous (4TH SPACE)

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Cette présentation vous permettra de découvrir les nombreuses ressources éducatives libres francophones offertes aux étudiants et aux enseignants par l’Université Numérique française. L’Université Numérique propose des ressources pédagogiques libres validées scientifiquement dans les domaines de la santé et du sport, des sciences de l’ingénieur, de l’économie et de la gestion, des humanités, de l’environnement et du développement durable et de la technologie.

Thursday, November 9, 2023, 10 - 11:30 a.m.
Location: 4th Space
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Workshops

3D Modelling 102: OpenSCAD

So you want to model things in 3D, but you’re unfamiliar with how to do it or the software you’re using doesn’t give you the fine control you need? Come to our workshop. For this session, we are going to focus on building practical structures for lab environments. OpenSCAD is free, open-source software for detailed, programmatically defined, primitive based rendering software. If that sounds complicated, you will be pleasantly surprised at how easy and intuitive the software is once you get started.

Thursday, October 5, 2023, 2 - 4 p.m.
Location: LB-205 (Webster Library)
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Introduction to OpenRefine

OpenRefine is a powerful, free tool that simplifies working with messy data. During this workshop, attendees will learn how OpenRefine can be used to clean and normalize data sets, reorder columns, filter data, and transform data sets into different file types.

Thursday, October 12, 2023, 1 - 2:30 p.m.
Location: LB-322 (Webster Library)
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Introduction to Linux

In this hands on session participants will get an overview of different Linux distros (versions), install a Linux system on their existing system (using a VM) and learn the basics of working with the linux operating system (file structure, command line).

Wednesday, October 18, 2023, 3 - 5 p.m.
Location: LB-205 (Webster Library)
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Find and Make Open Scholarship with Creative Commons Licenses

Learn how to get, collaborate on, and share research or creative works with Creative Commons (CC) licences. Researchers frequently use these licences to enable open scholarship or open science processes. Whether you need images for a presentation, are seeking information for your own work, or want to mix sounds into new music, Creative Commons licences enable you to access and share with people around the world. In this workshop you will find out what the Creative Commons is and how to use CC licences. We will practice working with CC content and look at the ramifications of applying different licences to our own work. We will also explore some useful tools for finding CC-licensed work.

Tuesday, October 24, 2023, 2023, 1 - 3 p.m.
Location: Online
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Hunting for Open Educational Resources Suited to Your Discipline

This workshop introduces the basics of Open Educational Resources (OER) such as renewable assignments and open textbooks and their place in the open ecosystem. You will learn to search for and discover OER relevant to your courses and disciplines. In an open document, we will collaboratively search OER repositories for materials that can be added to Concordia’s OER By Discipline Resource Guide, which you might find useful to your studies. Through collaborative small group discussions and guided practice, you can contribute a tangible benefit for yourself and your fellow students, and leave equipped to advocate more effectively for OER in your classrooms.

Wednesday, October 25, 2023, 1 - 2:30 p.m.
Location: LB-205 (Webster Library)
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Zotero for Bibliographies and More!

Zotero is a free and open-source bibliography builder that helps you collect, organize, cite, and share your research. Create reference lists in APA, MLA and other formats and organize your citations with tags and collections. Anyone can get a Zotero account for free and this workshop will tell you everything you need to know to get started.

Thursday, October 26, 2023, 2023, 2:30 - 4 p.m.
Location: Online
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Open Educational Resources and accessible teaching

Open Educational Resources (OER) have a role to play in tailored learning alongside the accessibility and affordability of education. This 45-minute session will provide: 1) An overview of discipline-specific open educational resources; 2) Adopting open textbook projects; 3) Using creative commons licences; 4) Enhancing the accessibility of educational resources.

Monday, October 30, 2023, 11 - 11:45 a.m.
Location: H-629
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Using Zotero for Grads

In this hands-on workshop you will learn how to use Zotero, a desktop and web-based tool that you can use to organize the references you find in library catalogues and databases, insert citations in your papers, and prepare bibliographies or reference lists quickly and effectively, in a wide variety of citation styles (e.g. APA, MLA, Chicago, et cetera). We will look at how to integrate Zotero with Microsoft Word, LibreOffice, and Google Docs. We will also cover how to share folders and citations (e.g., for collaborative projects or to disseminate reading lists). No experience with Zotero is necessary.

Wednesday, November 1, 2023, 1 - 2:30 p.m.
Location: Online
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2022

Book Launch and Fireside Chat with Alex D. Ketchum

Date and time: Thursday, October 27, 2022, 4:30 – 6:00 p.m.

Location: 4TH SPACE, J.W. McConnell (Library) Building (LB-103)

Concordia University Press and 4th Space launch Engage in Public Scholarship! A Guidebook on Feminist and Accessible Communication with an event to celebrate Open Access Week. Dr Ketchum will be joined by Dr Natalie Kouri-Towe in a conversation about finding better ways to share knowledge and connect with public audiences through acts of public scholarship – whether this is through social media and online content, or through in-person events and exhibitions. They will also discuss how to make public scholarship accessible and inclusive for as many groups and ability types as possible by encouraging scholars to design with disability in mind and to publish work in open access formats. This event will be in-person as well as streamed live online. Engage is available in a free digital open-access edition, as well as in a print edition for sale.

Event details

Workshops

Using and sharing Open Access content: Creative Commons licences

Learn how to get, collaborate on, and share open access research or creative content with Creative Commons (CC) licences. Whether you need images for a presentation, are seeking information to inform your own research, or want to mix sounds into new music, Creative Commons licences enable you to access and share with a greatly expanding, global body of work.

Date and time: Tuesday, October 25, 2022, 9–11 a.m.

Location: LB-205 (Webster Library)

See full event details and link to register

Paying too much for textbooks? Open Educational Resources have a future through collaboration

This workshop introduces the basics of Open Educational Resources (OER) such as renewable assignments and open textbooks and their place in the open ecosystem. Given the challenges and significant benefits of integrating OER into course content, such as saving students money, this is an opportunity to ask questions, including about the implications of OER for affordability, accessibility, and social justice, and participate in growing the availability and relevance of OER at Concordia.

Date and time: Thursday, October 6, 2022, 2–3:30 p.m.

Location: Online (link will be emailed to those who register)

See full event details and link to register

Introduction to OpenRefine

OpenRefine is a powerful, free tool that simplifies working with messy data. During this workshop, attendees will learn how OpenRefine can be used to clean and normalize data sets, reorder columns, filter data, and transform data sets into different file types.

Date and time: Wednesday, October 12, 2022, 2–3:30 p.m.

Location: LB-205 (Webster Library)

See full event details and link to register

Digital display project: Seer

The Concordia Library is presenting an interactive digital experience, Seer, which will ask people to explore questions about our world through open access research sources. Seer helps people discover, in a playful context, how open access benefits everyone, even outside of academia.

The Seer project provides an interactive interface using a fantasy-game style motif. The display exposes people to intriguing, bite-sized facts in response to a series of pre-determined questions. Users will discover the open access and freely available research sources of these facts and learn about open access licences. As people examine the questions, they will also be prompted to form critical approaches toward the information.

This Concordia Library project will disseminate its code as free and open source software, enabling others to replicate it with the same or new content. Try the web browser version of Seer now.

2021

Using and sharing open access content: Creative Commons licences

Learn how to get, collaborate on, and share open access research or creative content with Creative Commons (CC) licences. Whether you need images for a presentation, are seeking information to inform your own research, or want to mix sounds into new music, Creative Commons licences enable you to access and share with a greatly expanding, global body of work. In this workshop you will find out what the Creative Commons is and how to use CC licences. We will practice working with CC content and look at the ramifications of applying different licences to our own work. We will also explore some useful tools for finding CC-licensed work.

Open Educational Resources: Making course materials affordable and accessible

Open educational resources (OER) have gained considerable momentum in Canada and around the world, significantly lowering the cost of course materials and enabling access for all. As part of Open Access Week, this session will give an overview of OER, go over the major OER repositories, and introduce the OER program at Concordia.

Accessing Open Data

This presentation will give an overview of the main open data sources at the federal, provincial and municipal level. For instance, we will talk about Statistics Canada, l’Institut de la statistique du Québec and the geospatial data from the Ministère de l’Énergie et Ressources naturelles (MERN). We will also cover the Montreal Open Data Portal. The focus will be identifying the best tools We will conclude by introducing the question of Research Data Management and where to find data produced by faculty and graduate students.

Cet atelier présentera l’éventail de données ouvertes, aussi bien données statistiques que géospatiales, qui s’offre aux chercheurs québécois et canadiens. L’accent sera mis sur les données produites par les différents gouvernements aux niveaux fédéral, provincial et municipal. On y verra notamment les produits de Statistique Canada, de l’Institut québécois de la statistique, les données géospatiales du Ministère de l’Énergie et Ressources naturelles (MERN), et le portail de données ouvertes de la Ville de Montréal. Nous traiterons aussi de la question des licences d’utilisation.

Proposal to publication: What authors should know about scholarly book publishing

The peer-reviewed monograph is one of the primary ways by which in scholars in many disciplines share and disseminate their research. In this workshop, Concordia University Press's acquisition editor and managing & production editor will give a brief overview of scholarly book publishing in the humanities and qualitative social sciences.

2020

Proposal to publication: What authors should know about scholarly book publishing

The peer-reviewed monograph is one of the primary ways by which in scholars in many disciplines share and disseminate their research. In this workshop, Concordia University Press's acquisition editor and managing & production editor will give a brief overview of scholarly book publishing in the humanities and qualitative social sciences.

Using and sharing open access content: Creative Commons licences

Learn how to get, collaborate on, and share open access research or creative content with Creative Commons (CC) licences. Whether you need images for a presentation, are seeking information to inform your own research, or want to mix sounds into new music, Creative Commons licences enable you to access and share with a greatly expanding, global body of work. In this workshop you will find out what the Creative Commons is and how to use CC licences. We will practice working with CC content and look at the ramifications of applying different licences to our own work. We will also explore some useful tools for finding CC-licensed work.

Open Educational Resources: Making course materials affordable and accessible

Open educational resources (OER) have gained considerable momentum in Canada and around the world, significantly lowering the cost of course materials and enabling access for all. As part of Open Access Week, this session will give an overview of OER, go over the major OER repositories, and introduce the OER program at Concordia.

Accessing Open Data

This presentation will give an overview of the main open data sources at the federal, provincial and municipal level. For instance, we will talk about Statistics Canada, l’Institut de la statistique du Québec and the geospatial data from the Ministère de l’Énergie et Ressources naturelles (MERN). We will also cover the Montreal Open Data Portal. The focus will be identifying the best tools We will conclude by introducing the question of Research Data Management and where to find data produced by faculty and graduate students.

2019

Proposal to publication: What authors should know about scholarly book publishing

Concordia University Press's acquisition editor and managing & production editor will give a brief overview of scholarly book publishing in the humanities and social sciences. Topics discussed will include: strategies for turning a dissertation into a book manuscript; how to identify a press that publishes in your area; drafting a book proposal; the peer review process; book production processes and your role; and open access scholarly book publishing.

Using and sharing open access content: Creative Commons licenses

Learn how to get, collaborate on, and share open access research or creative content with Creative Commons (CC) licences. Whether you need images for a presentation, are seeking information to inform your own research, or want to mix sounds into new music, Creative Commons licences enable you to access and share with a greatly expanding, global body of work. In this workshop you will find out what the Creative Commons is and how to use CC licences. We will practice working with CC content and look at the ramifications of applying different licences to our own work. We will also explore some useful tools for finding CC-licensed work. Presentation

"I paid $0 for my textbooks!" - How open educational resources make course materials affordable

The cost of textbooks has skyrocketted in the last 20 years. Open educational resources (OER) have gained considerable momentum in Canada and around the world, making course materials more affordable and less restrictive in access. As part of Open Access Week, this session will give an overview of OER and its place in the open ecosystem. The new OER initiative at Concordia will also be shared. Presentation

Round table discussion on Wikipedia, translation, and open access

Featuring Anna Luisa Daigneault of Living Tongues, Daniel Bögre Udell of Wikitongues, and a member of the Atikamekw Wikipetcia project. This discussion will cover current issues related to translation and open-access in relationship to Wikipedia and Wikimedia.

Copyright and your thesis

This GradProSkills workshop aims to raise awairness of copyright issues in writing a thesis. After presenting general information about copyright, we will discuss how it applies to you as the author of a thesis. First and foremost, we will cover copyright ownership and licensing of your thesis. For example, all thesis written at Concordia University, since 2008, are available via an open archive called Spectrum on the internet site of the Libraries. Following this, we will discuss the use of copyrighted content within your thesis, such as images, tables, etc. The two main points to consider are exceptions to copyright as well as the process to seek permission.

Selecting quality open access journals for publishing your research

This presentation will review the options to consider when choosing open access journals as venues to publish your research. Starting with a brief overview of open access publishing options and article processing charges, we will delve into some of the red flags associated with lower quality open access publications, and finish off with a variety of resources available to help you through the process of assessing and selecting the open access journal that's right for you. Presentation

Open source hardware in research

This presentation will provide an overview of the open source hardware movement and discuss how open source hardware is being used in research.

Open access information desks

Got questions about Open Access? We're here to help! Librarians will be ready to answer your questions at different locations throughout the university during Open Access Week. Come say hi! And find out more about Open Access.