On October 25, 2021, the UPI Library successfully held an international-class webinar titled “Optimizing Open Access Initiatives as Learning Resources in Higher Education.” This activity is part of a series of celebrations for the 67th UPI Library Anniversary, which falls on October 20, 2021. It is expected to become an annual tradition as part of the embodiment of the values carried out by the Indonesian Education University, namely scientific, educational, and religion.
This international webinar invites resource persons who are competent in Open Access Initiatives and their technical implementation in universities. This activity was opened by the Head of the Library, Dr. Riche Cynthia Johan, M.Sc., who submitted a report on the preparation and implementation of activities. Followed by the Opening Speech by the Vice-Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs, Prof. Dr. Didi Sukyadi, M.A. He emphasized how important it is to continue to innovate and serve the country during a limited budget and pandemic conditions. In addition to delivering remarks, he also inaugurated the newest service of the UPI Library, namely OALIB (Open Access Library). In addition, statements were also given by the Secretary-General of the Central Management of the Indonesian Higher Education Library Forum, Amirul Ulum, S.Sos. , M.Hum., who congratulated UPI’s 67th anniversary and the inauguration of UPI’s OALIB service.
The first resource person who gave his presentation was Dwi Fajar Saputra, S.Sos., M.M., from the Difoss Development Team, who developed the SETIADI repository software, also a Research. Id help desk personnel. With a presentation entitled “Implementation of Open Access in Higher Education: Opportunities and Challenges,” the man who is usually called Dudu emphasized the importance of taking advantage of existing opportunities and making the best use of barriers to be a driving force for innovation.
The second resource person is Ts Hj. Azizi bin Hj. Jantan, the Head of the Digital Library Office, PTAR UiTM Shah Alam. He explained a lot about his experience and his team developing an open-access called Open Access Discovery at UiTM, from idea initiation, software exploration, interface design, determining page addresses to which data will be harvested. Mr. Azizi also stated that although many definitions of open access services, the most important and need to be underlined is that “Access is free, shared with no restriction, and can be transformed into something new.”
The third resource person is the Head of the UPI Library, Dr. Riche Cynthia Johan, M.Si., which describes the preparation of the UPI Library in launching the OALib service. The idea of OALib emerged from the desire of the UPI Library to fulfill the need for information without restrictions, especially during the pandemic. It is hoped that, in the future, with OALib, the UPI library can actively contribute to preserving scholarly communication so that it can be accessed for a long time, increasing the number of e-resources that can be provided for users, improving the quality of learning and research, and of course will increase service quality.
This 2021 International Webinar was attended by 427 participants from various regions in Indonesia and multiple types of libraries. This webinar was also followed by one of the pioneers of Open Access and Open Science in Indonesia, namely Dr. Dasapta Erwin Irwan, S.T., M.T. Of course, this webinar would not have been possible without good cooperation between the UPI Library, UiTM Library, and West Java FPPTI. At the end of the session, the moderator closed with an insight that is quite important to remember. To make this open access movement a success, we cannot walk alone; libraries and librarians need to work hand in hand to make it work. Of course, this is also in line with the UPI Library’s tagline, namely “Bangkit-Bersinergi.”
News source: http://berita.upi.edu/percepatan-upi-selenggarakan-webinar-international-2021-optimizing-open-access-initiatives-as-learning-resources-in-higher-education/