Open-access publishing aims to enhance collaboration and access to scholarly research for students, especially those facing high costs of journal subscriptions. Led by the Right to Research Coalition, which represents around 5.5 million students, efforts are being made to increase awareness and promote free access to academic materials. The coalition seeks to impact both traditional and online learners globally, expanding opportunities for those with restricted access to new research.

1. Open-Access Publishing Means More
Collaboration
The research paper routine of those seeking a college degree has become increasingly tech-driven.
Take a walk around campus libraries and you will find that many students are hunched over their
computers, typing away, using electronic catalogue systems or reading an e-book. To the uniformed
eye, it seems as if those students have better access to scholarly journals and research than ever
before. However, that is not the case.
The Right to Research Coalition is an advocacy group that seeks to "educate and connect students
about open-access publishing, and increase pressure on publishers and scholars to make their work
freely available online." They represent about 5.5 million students worldwide and recently revealed
their new website and blog in October.
The rising costs of college textbooks has continually been a point of contention for many college
students, however, the costs of journal subscriptions has risen without much attention. The coalition
leaders hope to give students a glimpse at how open-access publishing will impact "students'
individual research and on scholarship around the globe, especially as cash-strapped academic
libraries cut expensive journal subscriptions." Not only will this help traditional students with
research, but it will greatly impact those students that take online classes that may have a harder
time getting to a research library.
The director of the coalition, Nick Shockey merely wants to have a place where students can go and
"learn about these issues." Shockey really wants "to start teaching individual students."
After a few student organizations drafted the Student Statement on the Right to Research, the
Washington-based group, with the help of the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources
Coalition, was established in June 2009. It was with this declaration by students for students that the
advocacy for open-access publishing picked up steam in the classroom, while it had already been
around in scholarly and librarian circles for years.

2. Since then, the support amongst students has increased substantially. More than 28 member
organizations have joined, including the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students, the
American Medical Student Association and the United States Student Association to name a few. Mr.
Shockey continues to emphasize the "great opportunity to act on the national and state level" when
it comes to providing open-access publishing to students and to other scholars. Visit
https://www.alduspress.com/
Mr. Shockey and the coalition hope to expand beyond domestic borders and reach out across the
globe. For students and scholars that live "in countries where subscription and shipment costs
restrict access to new research", this online element will open many doors of opportunities and
knowledge. "Our goal is to disseminate this knowledge as widely as possible," says Mr. Shockey. It
will also give online program students the ability to access information that might have otherwise
been unavailable.
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