Libraries
The Libraries of the Big Ten Academic Alliance are aligned in the vision of uniting our separate collections into one collection, shared and fully networked: the BIG Collection. By this phrase we mean a holistic and comprehensive understanding of what a library "collection" is: not simply the things we hold, but our services; our people; our expertise; our technology; and our infrastructure.
In advancing this future of interdependence and excellence, we are guided by our North Star in everything that we do:
In order to advance a just, trustworthy, scalable & sustainable open knowledge ecosystem, make open, more equitable scholarship our lead purpose.
On these pages, you'll find more about the services, programs, and community that are advancing this vision in a principles-centered, mission-driven, values-aligned way.
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BTAA and Wiley Announce Open Access Publishing Pilot
The Big Ten Academic Alliance announced an agreement with global research and education leader Wiley for a one-year contract extension with an open access option, as a pilot in collective action toward the Big Collection.
The agreement enables researchers at 13 participating flagship universities and 17 affiliated campuses to publish accepted articles open access in all of Wiley's hybrid open access journals, for an estimated more than 2,700 open access articles in 2022.
“We’re pleased to be able to take collective action and partner with Wiley as we explore how to move toward a more open and equitable future,” stated Maurice York, Director, Library Initiatives at the BTAA. “This pilot agreement will allow us to learn more about how the consortium can successfully participate in open access scholarship and make member research available to a broader audience.”
The agreement also provides access to all of Wiley’s subscription content across the consortium. The agreement aims to advance the goals of the BTAA's Big Collection to move toward a sustainable open scholarship ecosystem.
On behalf of the BTAA University Librarians, John Wilkin, Dean of the Libraries and University Librarian for the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, said "As leaders of our individual libraries, we are enthusiastic about the way that this agreement addresses our institutional interests while ensuring that our collective impact is more than the sum of its parts."
“The essential role that high-quality research plays in society has never been clearer,” said Liz Ferguson, Senior Vice President, Wiley Research Publishing. “Researchers across the BTAA advance knowledge on a variety of pressing topics, and it’s a pleasure to be an early partner for them and their institutions in the joint goal of making more peer-reviewed research openly available.”
For more about BTAA Open Scholarship agreements, please contact Maurice York, Director of Library Initiatives.