The Macau Open Access Seminar, co-hosted by the Macao Academic Library Alliance (MALA) and University of Macau (UM), was held on 22 Oct 2024, at the UM Library to echo the International Open Access week 2024. The seminar is part of a celebration series to mark the 10th Anniversary of the establishment of Macao Academic Library Alliance (MALA), a collaborative initiative involving ten higher education institution libraries in Macau.
The Open Access week continues with the theme from last year, “Community over Commercialization,” addressing the importance of prioritizing community-driven initiatives over profit from open access publishing.
The seminars featured speakers from IEEE, ACS and IPO publishing, giving the library and researcher’s perspective on open access. Speakers highlighted issues on promoting equitable access to open access development and benefits. Reseachers also shared criteria for evaluating the quality of OA journals, tips in avoiding predatory journals, and how to enhance research impact through OA publishing. The library also played an active role in supporting OA publishing by introducing different funding mechanisms like inclusion of transformative agreements and collaboration among research offices in nagivating funding opportunities.
Panel discussion on Open Access Publishing by different stakeholders, including researchers, publishers and library representatives.
A highlight of the seminar included the launch of the Open Access Resources Portal, a sub portal under the MALA hub that collects open access resources published by Macao academics, local organizations and government units. The portal enables users to search across all Macao OA in a one-stop search platform, aligning with the global movement towards open science and transparency in research and education.
Launch of the Macao Open Access Resources Portal on 22 Oct 2024.
The seminar was an impactful experience with a panel dicussion to raise awareness on OA for all participants, as well as a forward-thinking discussion on the future of open access. There is a need for different stakeholders like publishers, researchers, institutions, and governments to enhance funding models, as well as stronger policies to support OA initiatives. A balance between community proirities and commercial interests is also a crucial component for sustainability of OA. Collaborative efforts are the key to create an integrated and effective system to support scholarly communications.