Open Access Week Workshop: The Cost of Knowledge - Three Perspectives on the Price of Open Access

Open access was meant to remove barriers to knowledge — but it has simply moved the cost, rather than eliminated it. For this year's International Open Access Week theme, "The Cost of Knowledge," this panel traces that cost across three different vantage points: the student author trying to publish, the editor trying to keep a journal running without charging authors, and the broader unsustainability of publishing models based on charging authors.

The panel will feature Lauren Kaseman, MD candidate at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Francisco J. Bonilla-Escobar, MD, PhD. Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Medical Students, a Diamon OA Journal that is published by the Pitt Open Library Publishing (POLP) at the University Library System. and Lauren Collister, PhD, Research Engagement Manager at Invest in Open Infrastructure, and one of the authors of “The system is obviously bonkers”: The APC Trap and the bind of scholarly publishing across four research intensive institutions in the U.S.

Moderated by Jonah McAllister-Erickson, Scholarly Communication and Research Impact Librarian: Health Sciences Library System and Phoebe Duke-Mosier, Scholarly Publishing Librarian: University Library System.

Registration is required for this event.

Thursday, October 22, 2026

3 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Online

Open Access Week (October 19-25) is an annual global event that serves as an opportunity for the academic and research community to continue to learn about the potential benefits of Open Access, share what they’ve learned with colleagues, and help inspire wider participation in helping to make Open Access a new norm in scholarship and research. This year's theme, "The Cost of Knowledge," challenges us to consider the financial, human, and environmental costs of creating, sharing, and sustaining knowledge—particularly when these costs are driven by private rather than public interests.