AGBU Papazian Library Celebrates International Open Access Week 2019

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YEREVAN, Armenia – On October 28, 2019, as part of the International Open Access (OA) Week 2019, the AGBU Papazian Library of the American University of Armenia (AUA) hosted the Open Access Publishing in Armenia event. It was designed to explore strategies that other universities are developing for establishing OA Institutional Repositories (IR) to create a sustainable platform for OA publishing in Armenia. The event was organized as part of a two-year Eurasia-funded joint project on “Developing a Sustainable Platform for Open Access (OA) Publishing in Armenia” with the University of Bergen. The project partners are the Public Administration Academy of the Republic of Armenia (PAARA) and AUA’s AGBU Papazian Library.

The speakers from the AGBU Papazian Library and PAARA introduced the OA IRs of their universities created on DSpace, focusing on the policies and regulations, as well as Open Licensing procedures. 

The event also featured the announcement of the new Erasmus+ project called “Strengthening Research Management and Open Science capacities of HEIs in Moldova and Armenia” (MINERVA). The project is intended to create and develop conditions for implementation of the core principles of Open Science at universities in Moldova and Armenia. It will also improve institutional HR policies and practices through a series of changes in the by-laws to facilitate developing researchers to better meet demand in the labor market and to enhance career development.

Participants from several state academic libraries in Armenia engaged in an active discussion about the concept of education and research without boundaries. All the stakeholders present at the event shared their experiences in establishing IR and emphasized the importance of collaborating with national educational authorities. 

The participants were also introduced to the OA Portal in Armenia that contains scholarly publications of the RA National Academy of Sciences, as well as downloadable OA policy templates and related resources developed by the Electronic Information for Libraries (EIFL) OA program. 

Based on the experience gained from various ongoing projects implemented within the framework of IR and OA initiatives, collaboration with local research and educational institutions and advocacy for open access to scholarly communication and support for the creation of Armenian language plagiarism checker. 

“The creation of Open Access Platform in Armenia will increase impact and visibility and enhance the dissemination of Armenian scholarly output,” noted the working team members.

In conclusion, the key stakeholders present at the event agreed to support the MINERVA project for creating the IR national platform by organizing various awareness raising workshops for the academic community on copyrights and OA publishing, IR, and also by drafting relevant national policies and regulations. 

Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia, affiliated with the University of California, and accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission in the United States. AUA provides local and international students with Western-style education through top-quality undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs, promotes research and innovation, encourages civic engagement and community service, and fosters democratic values.