Association of Architecture School Librarians
by Barbara Opar, AASL column editor and Architecture librarian at Syracuse University

Libraries across the country celebrate Open Access week in October. This year’s dates are  October  24th through the 28th.

Open Access Week is an international event now in its fourth year. The events planned by many libraries offer opportunities for the academic and research community to continue to learn about the potential benefits of Open Access, which provides a new way to disseminate scholarship and research.

Open Access makes free, immediate and online access to the results of scholarly research. Open access content can be used and re-used and can transform the way research and scientific inquiry is conducted. It offers immediate benefits for academic institutions. For the academic community, Open Access (OA) can maximize the impact of research by providing wider exposure. Researchers can more easily find information and can then build upon what has been has been done, thus enhancing scholarship. The number of research funding agencies, academic institutions and individual researchers, teachers and members of the general public supporting a move towards Open Access is increasing every year.

Here are a few peer reviewed Open Access journals that you may not have seen:

Architectural Roofing & Waterproofing: http://www.arwmag.com/
Art Design and Communication in Higher Education: http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/journals/view-Journal,id=139/
Crossings: Electronic Journal of Art and Technology: http://crossings.tcd.ie/
Interior Design: http://www.interiordesign.net/
Opolis: An International Journal of Suburban and Metropolitan Studies:  http://escholarship.org/uc/cssd_opolis
Plumbing and Mechanical: http://www.pmmag.com/
Residential Architect Online: http://www.residentialarchitect.com/default.aspx
Residential Design and Build: http://www.rdbmagazine.com/
SitePrep: http://www.siteprepmag.com/
Stone World: http://www.stoneworld.com/
Tile: http://www.tilemagonline.com/
Wood Digest: http://woodiq.com/default.aspx