Tag:

open access

    New Subject Guide | Free Online Resources

    by Amy Southgate
    written by Amy Southgate

    Have you ever found yourself knee deep in researching a topic online when you come across something that sounds like a perfect fit, and then –BAM! –You run into a paywall? There is nothing worse than being so close yet so far from the information, or content, you need. Not everyone is able to, nor wants to, pay access fees or subscriptions, so what can you do?

    Good news intrepid learner! There is a growing movement among academics, libraries and others to make high quality information freely available! The trouble with finding these awesome resources is that it’s often buried in search results that prioritize for-profit companies; or obscured by swaths of disreputable sources. Luckily we are here to help with a new library guide full of Free Online Resources!

    The guide covers important definitions of different kinds of free online resources before moving on to seven pages of awesome resources divided by type. 

    Cortical neuron stained with antibody to neurofilament subunit NF-L in green.
    Available through Wikimedia Commons.

    Journals and Articles connects you with search engines and collections of millions of academic journals and articles covering a wide variety of subject areas. 

    Books collects repositories, publishers and university presses that make eBooks freely available – plus a free audio book distributor. 

    Media  reveals music, images and videos for your entertainment, or to use in your own creative projects without the pesky royalties. 

    Courses empower lifelong learners to explore new subjects or grow their skill sets with free classes from experts. 

    Data helps you come to your own conclusions and enhance your research with datasets from governments and researchers. 

    Self Help Legal Resources empowers you to untangle complex legal concepts and make sound decisions about important life decisions. 

    Open Educational Resources presents resources for teaching classes or for self study.

    OER Commons is one example of an OER platform linked to from our guide

    As you can see self-education never needs to stop, and can’t be thwarted by paywalls (or pandemic related library building closures)!

    What do you want to learn about? Remember you can always Ask Us for help finding free online resources to suit your needs.

    1 comment
    0 FacebookTwitterEmail

  • Journals with Open Access Agreements for UAlberta Authors

    by Meredith Bratland
    by Meredith Bratland

    Good news! The library has signed two new agreements that open up access to University of Alberta research papers. The Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN) negotiated these agreements, with SAGE and PLOS, on behalf of its member libraries. CRKN is a national consortium of 81 libraries, mainly academic/research libraries, of which the U of A Library is a member. Sage Journals If you publish in one of more than 900 SAGE journals,…

  • New OA Database: Black Freedom Struggle in the United States

    by Erin Sanderman
    by Erin Sanderman

    Understanding the past is a powerful way to help keep it from repeating in the future. In trying to be a better ally to those in the Black community, I’ve found it particularly enlightening to learn and understand the fraught road towards equity and civil rights, which is sadly still being traversed. If you’re like me and seek to understand how we have gotten to this point we have some resources for…

  • Student Journal Spotlight: Axis Mundi

    by Emily Zheng
    by Emily Zheng

    About a dozen student-run journals operate as a part of UAlberta’s Library Publishing Program, which supports open access publishing using the open-source platform, OJS (Open Journal Systems). These journals are edited by students, and feature the work of hundreds of student researchers from a variety of disciplines. One of these journals is Axis Mundi: A Journal of Religious Studies. Axis Mundi is an online journal edited and maintained by Religious Studies graduate…

  • Researching While the Library is Closed: Recommendations from Digital Initiatives

    by Emily Zheng
    by Emily Zheng

    This is a challenging time for students and researchers alike, as we all adapt to working without many of the resources essential to our daily work. On the U of A Library Digital Initiatives team, staff has been working for years to build robust and interesting online research collections. Although we can’t wander among the shelves in person, we did ask our team to recommend some online collections that offer a similar…

  • Now Open! Library Publishing for Open Textbooks

    by Meredith Bratland
    by Meredith Bratland

    Alongside the University of Alberta’s mission of “For the Public Good” The University of Alberta Libraries is introducing an Open Educational Resources (OER) publishing program to increase access to and use of free and accessible textbooks and other learning resources. OER are teaching and learning materials that are accessible without cost and allow for free use, reuse and redistribution. OER often have a Creative Commons license that states specifically how the material may be…