Leading up to Open Access Week we are sharing examples from “100 Stories: The Impact of Open Access,” a 2016 research project that examines the variety of ways open access works impact institutions, researchers, and readers. Join us next Wednesday for brand new examples of impact in our webinar “100 Stories of Impact: One Year Later.”
Today’s examples focus on the impact of open access on readers: advancing knowledge and pushing research progress forward faster.
Informing Patients and Caregivers: Oncologist develops treatment plan from open access article
An oncologist in Moscow was able to use research that he found on the university’s repository in order to treat a patient, stating [via a feedback form in Thomas Jefferson University’s Jefferson Digital Commons]: “Thank you so much for the article ‘Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor (MPNST) An overview with emphasis on pathology, imaging and management strategies,’ it already turned out to be very helpful in treatment and examination approach choosing for a 13-year patient with MPNST (proved by biopsy) and NF1. I’m working as an oncologist in Moscow pediatric clinic and this is one of my patients.”
Affecting Public Policy: Governor’s Office reassesses labor policies
The New York Governor’s Office found collective bargaining agreements from the New York State Employment Relations Board online in Cornell University ILR School’s DigitalCommons@ILR and used it as a resource in reassessing labor policy.
Advancing Innovation: New patents matched against University’s patent portfolio
Iowa State University patents have been downloaded over 16,000 times by 275 institutions. 35% of the patent downloads have been from high-profile corporations such as IBM (33), Unilever (11), Dow-Corning (7), Hewlett-Packard (6), and Deere & Co (5).
Improving Access to Education: Computer Science Textbook adopted and remixed for use in classroom
Gettysburg College Professor Charles Kann’s computer science textbook, Introduction to MIPS Assembly Language Programming, is used by his own students and has been adopted at Linfield College and at Maryville College. The book has a CCBY license, which enabled Maryville Professor Robert Lowe to re-mix the contents into a wiki format which facilitated study in the context of his course.
