My experience with open access publishing has different layers. As an author, I have published my research in public-facing outlets because I realized that it’s an efficient way to dialogue with a larger readership than the specialized colleagues in my field of research.
As a journal editor, I co-created an open-access journal with Katzyna Pieprzak and Aomar Boum, and this has been an incredibly rich experience for me. Institutionally, I think that Williams College needs to have an open access policy because all our peer institutions have one.
Last year, I co-edited a special issue of a journal and all my co-authors were able to publish their contributions through various packages of open access except for me because my institution did not have any. Open access disseminates research, helps with equity, particularly with for scholars in communities that can’t buy articles, and most of all brings research questions to a broader audience.
Brahim El Guabli
Associate Professor of Arabic Studies
For more information about Brahim’s work, visit: https://cgllc.williams.edu/profile/be2/
This story is published in celebration of International Open Access Week 2024. If you want to chat about OA and the library, reach out to your librarian liaison.
To read the complete set of the Open Access 2024 series, visit: https://library.williams.edu/category/openaccess/