What is OpenSky?

OpenSky is an open access repository of scholarly works published by scientists, researchers and other staff at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR). OpenSky both preserves the intellectual assets of the organization and provides free, easy, and meaningful access to world-class research and other work conducted by UCAR and NCAR staff.

Although OpenSky will begin this work by storing, preserving and facilitating access to all contributed materials, it will be much more than a virtual warehouse of pdfs. OpenSky will provide a suite of services tailored to help UCAR and NCAR authors organize, preserve, and track their works, share resources more quickly and meaningfully with peers and colleagues, negotiate supportive publishing agreements, and explore publishing alternatives that support enhanced access to scholarly works.

OpenSky supports UCAR's new Open Access Policy, that formalizes its half-century long commitment to

  • "support, enhance, and extend the capabilities of the university community, nationally and internationally," and
  • "foster the transfer of knowledge and technology for the betterment of life on Earth."

Should you have questions about the rights afforded to you as an author, please contact Special Projects Librarian, Jamaica Jones.

What's in store for OpenSky?

OpenSky is going to change significantly over the coming months. These changes will occur in stages, and the final product - a fully featured OpenSky website - will be launched as part of the UCAR and NCAR 50th anniversary celebrations in June 2010.

To learn more about the planned development of OpenSky, please visit the Development page.

OpenSky

Welcome to OpenSky, the future site of the institutional repository managed by the NCAR Library. In its early stages of development, OpenSky's evolution is going to be highly dynamic, and this site will change regularly. To remain up-to-date with the latest news, we encourage you to check back frequently, and to contact Jamaica Jones, Special Projects Librarian, with any questions you may have.

What is Open Access?

The Open Access (OA) movement is a fast-growing, international effort by libraries, institutions and citizens to provide free, easy, online access to research and other scholarly materials. It is a movement that has gained substantial ground, and has had a significant effect on scholarly publishing practices. By formalizing its own Open Access Policy and developing OpenSky, UCAR joins many other world-class institutions and agencies that have voiced their support for free and open access to research.

For more information on these efforts and issues, please see the Open Access page. To learn more about contributing to OpenSky, check out the Contribute page.