The Library Unbound: Milne Library News

Campus spotlight: Aleksander Gregov -- Open Access Week 2021

Open Access scholarship seeks to make research and creative works available online to everyone. Every October the world celebrates Open Access Week (this year it is October 25-31). In the run up to Open Access Week, Milne Library is featuring members of our campus who participate in and create open access scholarship. 

This week, we talk to Aleksander Gregov, the student Editor of the SUNY Oneonta Academic Research (SOAR) journal. SOAR is an open access, peer-reviewed and student-run journal for social science research. Aleksander is overseeing the creation of a new issue of SOAR this fall with a board of student editors and faculty mentor Gregory Fulkerson (Sociology). 

Campus spotlight: Aleksander Gregov

Status: Undergraduate
Open Access Project: SUNY Oneonta Academic Research (SOAR)

What does open access mean to you? 

To me, open access means the ability to freely divulge oneself in learning without economical constraint. If one desires to understand a topic, open access provides them with the ability to discover as much as they desire.

Please describe your project(s) and especially the open access elements.   

SOAR is a research journal that publishes undergraduate work. Open access is involved as every issue is open to download and view on our website. Anyone is able to view the writings that SUNY Oneonta students have put countless hours of effort into.

What inspired you to work on this project?  

What inspired me to work for this project is the voice students would have. It is common practice in the collegiate world to forget about the work one has put into a research paper once it is submitted and graded. However, SOAR provides the opportunity to keep a student’s work alive and may help inspire or provide knowledge to anyone who views a student’s work on the journal.

What is something you have learned from your work? 

From my work, I have learned how uplifting and inspiring it is to share other students’ work. SOAR provides every student an opportunity to communicate about topics in which they are passionate about. No longer does someone’s work have to sit in a computer folder, but can be seen by everyone and can also add to the breadth of knowledge the academic world already tries to expand.  

Image credits: 

• Photo courtesy of Aleksander Gregov
• SOAR journal logo (c) Marissa Hogan, student artist
• "Ask me about OA" button from openaccessweek.org, CC-BY 4.0