The Value of Open Access to Undergraduate Research

Open Access – “the free, immediate, availability on the public Internet of those works which scholars give the world without expectation of payment” – is one of the prime motivators in the transformation of scholarly communication in the twenty-first century academy. While most of the attention of the movement has been focused on the work of faculty and graduate students, undergraduate researchers have the potential to be catalysts for revolutionary change. Today’s undergraduates will be the scholars, professors, researchers, and librarians of the future, and their understanding of the Open Access movement will transform the academy over the coming decades. It is vital that we as educators encourage and nourish their involvement in and knowledge of Open Access initiatives.