This year’s theme asks a pointed question about the present moment and how, in a time of disruption, communities can reassert control over the knowledge they produce. It also challenges us to reflect on not only who has access to education and research but on how knowledge is created and shared, where it has come from, and whose voices are recognized and valued.
The University of New Mexico is proud to showcase the innovative work of faculty who are transforming teaching and learning through Open Educational Resources (OER).
From October 1 – October 31, 2025, a special poster display will be featured inside Zimmerman Library’s North Entrance. Visitors will be able to explore posters highlighting 12 different UNM classes currently using OER, spanning disciplines from Chemistry to Art History, World Literature, Architecture, Swahili, and more.
The display will also include an introductory poster about OER, explaining how these free and adaptable learning materials help increase student success, reduce textbook costs, and make education more accessible for everyone.
We invite students, faculty, and community members to stop by Zimmerman throughout the month of October to learn more about how OER is shaping the classroom experience at UNM.
π 10/6/2025
π 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
π Zoom; Register for the session
This session will provide faculty, researchers, and students with an overview of the newly redesigned UNM Digital Repository, including:
Laura J. Hall is the Division Head Resources Archives & Discovery at the University of New Mexico’s Health Sciences Library and Informatics Center (HSLIC). In this role, she provides leadership in collection development, preservation of special collections, technical services, and open access initiatives. Recently, she has specialized in AI integration in education, offering trainings such as the AI Crossroads series to support the university’s evolving educational landscape.
π 10/9/2025
π 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
π Zoom, Register for the session
Do librarianship journals really practice the values of open access? Librarians Blair Solon and Jennifer Jordan will present findings from their recent publication, “Identifying Open Access Practices in Librarianship Journals.” While librarians have long championed open access publishing, this study reveals varying inconsistencies and gaps in how journals actually apply these principles. From transparency challenges to uneven policies, this research presents a snapshot of the situation and why this is important to scholarly communication. Come to this exciting talk to hear more about librarianship journal open access policies.
Blair Solon is an Assistant Professor and Collection Analysis Librarian at the University of New Mexico University Libraries. She is responsible for making data-informed collection decisions for University Libraries collections.
Jennifer Jordan works as an Open Educational Resource (OER) Librarian in the College of University Libraries and Learning Sciences at the University of New Mexico. She is an assistant professor and the principal investigator on a federal open textbook grant focused on growing the use of Open Education in New Mexico, as well as an English teacher who developed OER curriculum with her peers at Central New Mexico Community College.
π 10/13/2025
π 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
π Zoom, Register for the session
The Health Sciences Library & Informatics Center is pleased to offer Open Access Publishing 101. This session will provide researchers and scholars with basic information about open access publishing including:
Robyn M. Gleasner is the Resource Management Librarian for the Resources Archives and Discovery Unit at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Library and Informatics Center. She is responsible for the selection and acquisition of resources for the UNM Health Sciences Center. She negotiates license agreements with vendors and is interested in publishing trends such as open access and emerging technologies such as AI.
π 10/15/2025
π 12:00 pm - 12:30 pm
π Zoom, Register for the session
Are you doing National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded research or applying for an NIH grant? Recent changes to the NIH Public Access Policy—created to increase equitable access to funded research—could impact your publications. In this workshop, we will briefly review the requirements of the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy, which applies to all peer-reviewed journal manuscripts from NIH-funded research accepted for publication on or after July 1, 2025.
Dr. Danielle Maurici-Pollock is the Research Data Specialist at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Library and Informatics Center.
π 10/21/2025
π 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
π Zimmerman Library Graduate Commons, Register for the event
This session is specifically designed for graduate students! We’ll tackle practices that support you creating research that is findable, accessible, and replicable:
Dr. Margo Gustina is Research and Data Services Librarian for the College of University Libraries and Learning Sciences at the University of New Mexico. Margo is passionate about access to information and data sharing. You can check out one of their in-progress research projects here.
π 10/21/2025-10/22/2025
π 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
π Smith Plaza, Between Zimmerman and the SUB
Join UNM OER and the Friends of the Public Library for a free book giveaway! The Friends will bring a wide selection of books for UNM students to take home.
Along with free books, you’ll also learn about the power of Open Access (OA) and Open Educational Resources (OER):
Stop by to:
Part of International Open Access Month 2025
π 10/22/2025 & 10/23/2025
π 7:00 pm
π Guild Cinema
As part of International Open Access Month, the public is invited to “Opening the Canon: Copyright, Access, and Creativity,” a lively evening of film, conversation, and discovery on October 22nd and 23rd at the Guild Cinema in Albuquerque at 7:00 pm each day. On October 22nd, Bryan Konefsky of Basement Films will guide a discussion on copyright, open access, creativity, and the art of working within a canon. He will also introduce the three films:
On the 23rd, the event will include only a showing of the three films, no discussion. This event will explore how works move from private ownership into the public domain, and what that means for creators, educators, and the public. The event will conclude with an open Q&A session with Konefsky. This event is free and open to the public. Opening the Canon is created through the support of the New Mexico Open Educational Resources Consortium, University Libraries, New Mexico Library Association, and Basement Films, which has been around for 35 years supporting underrepresented forms of media.
International Open Access Month is an opportunity for the academic and research community to continue to learn about the potential benefits of Open Access, to share what they’ve learned with colleagues, and to help inspire wider participation in helping to make Open Access a new norm in scholarship and research. Open-access (OA) literature is digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions. What makes it possible is the internet and the consent of the author or copyright-holder.
Open Access Month offers a chance to connect with the global momentum of openly sharing knowledge.
Bryan Konefsky recently retired from teaching for 25 years in the University of New Mexico’s Department of Film and Digital Arts. There, he taught critical studies courses that focused on experimental cinema/artists’ films. In the community Konefsky is the founder and director of Experiments in Cinema international film festival and the president of Basement Films (a non-profit arts organization). KonefskyΚΌs creative work has been supported by organizations such as The Trust for Mutual Understanding, The National Endowment for the Arts, The National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Banff Centre for the Arts. Konefsky has lectured, curated programming and taught workshops about artists’ films in countries such as Argentina, Cuba, France, Germany, Korea, Latvia, Russia, Serbia, Spain, and the UK.
π 10/24/2025
π 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
π Zimmerman Library B30, Register for the session
Track progress! Publish study registrations! Share protocols, instruments, data, and markdown files! Collaborate! Show the research products beyond your final publications in a single cross-study linked platform that ties your work from study design through pre-pub all in one place. Workshop participants will:
Dr. Margo Gustina is Research and Data Services Librarian for the College of University Libraries and Learning Sciences at the University of New Mexico. Margo is passionate about access to information and data sharing. You can check out one of their in-progress research projects here.
π 10/29/2025
π 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
π Zoom, Register for the session
Disappearing data! Unreadable ancient files! Ordinary researchers losing hours of their time trapped in data nightmares! This Halloween week, join UNM HSLIC's Research Data Specialist for an hour of spine-tingling, hair-raising data horror stories...and some advice to prevent them from happening to you. Feel free to lurk or bring some data horror stories of your own to share. Beware: This session is not for the faint of heart.
Dr. Danielle Maurici-Pollock is the Research Data Specialist at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Library and Informatics Center.