PUL celebrates open research practices with Open Research Week
Picture this: it’s mid-March and you’re trying to enjoy a low-key spring break after a grueling start to the term. But in the back of your mind, you can’t shake the calendar’s steady crawl towards the due date for that paper, presentation, or poster you have to finish.
Princeton University Library’s (PUL) Open Research Week was designed to help students, researchers, and faculty tackle those lingering thoughts about upcoming projects by highlighting resources, tools, and services provided by PUL and our campus partners.
Organized by PUL’s Open Research Steering Committee, which includes Research Data Management Specialist Neggin Keshavarzian and Behavioral Sciences Librarian Meghan Testerman, the inaugural Open Research Week was held in May 2022. The week featured a kick-off event in the Collaboration Hub between Lewis Science Library and Engineering Library and included information about Library resources, food, games, and prizes.
One of those games was an adaptation of the Open Access Board Game designed by staff from Computing & Library Services at the University of Huddersfield to help students and researchers understand the concept of “Open Access.”
Neggin Keshavarzian and Meghan Testerman play a round of the Open Access Board Game with Princeton students
“Through the use of playful learning, the board game helps develop an understanding of the role of open access through the research lifecycle from the initial idea to the final publication,” explained Keshavarzian.
Other events during the week focused on creating lab manuals, understanding publishing options, and creating and printing 3D models. The Open Research Steering Committee also hosted a talk with professors Kristina Olson, Marina Rustow, and Frederick Wherry about their respective research processes.
“As the behavioral sciences librarian, one of the greatest demands I see for research support is in helping researchers manage, organize, and share the numerous research outputs that they are generating throughout the entire research lifecycle,” said Testerman. “Open research means sharing as many of those outputs with other researchers and the public as possible.”
Beyond Open Research Week, Keshavarzian also encourages Princeton students, researchers, and faculty to reach out to their subject librarians as they work towards meeting their research goals. “I would highly recommend getting to know your subject librarian! They can not only introduce you to the resources, tools, and services that we already have, but can also take requests for new purchases.”
For more information about open research visit PUL’s Research Data and Open Scholarship Libguide.
Meet Princeton University Library’s subject librarians
Published on July 28, 2022
Written by Brandon Johnson, Communications Specialist
Media Contact: Barbara Valenza, Director of Library Communications
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