Open Access Week 2013 Final Report

International Open Access Week is an annual occasion for the international research and academic communities to learn about the benefits and opportunities of open access, the goal of which is to "...inspire wider participation in helping to make Open Access a new norm in scholarship and research." Open Access Week 2013 occurred in the last full week of October, the 21st through 27th. This was the sixth year that Open Access Week was celebrated, and the fourth year it was observed at Florida State University. This year's theme for Open Access Week was "Redefining Impact." As open access is generally heralded by librarians, events and initiatives around that topic are hosted by Florida State University Libraries. Following the lead of other universities that hosted Open Access Week events, the 2010 and 2011 programs included lectures, panels and discussions. While the programs were generally well-regarded and in line with current events and interesting topics, they were largely attended by open access advocates and librarians. As the goals of FSU's open access program became clearer, the decision was made that lectures and panels hosted in the library were not achieving the desired effect of raising campus-wide awareness about open access. The 2012 initiative for Open Access Week took the form of an information campaign, including eight posters, informational brochures, and staff time spent at an information table in the main floor of the library. While unable to measure effectiveness by numbers of attendees, it became apparent that the level of knowledge about open access is increasing as outreach takes new flavors.