October 20, 2025 – The Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) is proud to join the global celebration of International Open Access Week (October 20–26), a moment to reflect on equitable access to knowledge and the ways communities can reclaim control over the research they produce and share.
This year’s theme, “Who Owns Our Knowledge?”, asks us to consider not only who has access to research but also how knowledge is created, shared, and managed, ensuring that communities maintain agency over their own scholarly outputs.
CARL supports this vision through initiatives that strengthen Canadian open access infrastructure and community-led knowledge sharing, including:
- Scholaris and its Expert Groups: CARL continues to support Scholaris, the shared institutional repository service developed with OCUL and Scholars Portal, through three dedicated Expert Groups. These groups provide guidance and practical recommendations on key areas such as metadata and discovery (S-MDEG), electronic theses and dissertations (S-ETEG), and digital preservation (S-DPEG). Drawing on the expertise of library professionals across Canada strengthens open repositories nationwide and helps ensure that authors and their institutions retain control over their research outputs.
- Communities of Practice (CoPs): CARL hosts and supports several CoPs that help advance open access, including the Bibliometrics & Research Impact CoP, Library Publishing CoP, and Canadian Repositories CoP. These groups have fostered knowledge sharing and collaboration through events and initiatives such as Flipping to Diamond OA, an Open Repositories 2025 Recap, and discussions on implementing DORA, helping communities guide and retain control over the creation and dissemination of research.
- Visiting Program Officers (VPO) for Open Science and Artificial Intelligence: CARL created two VPO positions in the past year to advance Open Science and AI initiatives that support community ownership of knowledge. The Open Science VPO leads efforts on diamond and green OA, as well as an integrated approach to research data management. The VPO for AI and Library Services guides responsible, community-centered AI adoption, developing best practices and monitoring policy and technology to ensure communities retain control over research outputs affected by AI.
Through efforts such as these, CARL demonstrates that open access is not only about removing barriers to knowledge access but also about ensuring that scholars, institutions, and communities retain control over their own research contributions. By empowering local expertise and fostering community-led initiatives, we aim to create a sustainable, equitable research ecosystem that benefits all.
#OAWeek Social Media Campaign
Throughout the week, CARL will be sharing and reposting exciting Open Access initiatives and events from our member libraries and partner organizations on Bluesky. Stay tuned for daily updates and join us in celebrating Open Access Week 2025! Visit CARL’s Bluesky.
Learn more about International Open Access Week 2025 and this year’s theme at https://www.openaccessweek.org/
