The fourth annual LyrOpen Fair was held virtually during April 21 - May 1, 2025, with five webinars exploring the open research and scholarship ecosystem. Our theme this year is Making Connections Visible. Presentations included a variety of speakers, and detailed information about each session, including recordings, is available below.

Session 1: Making Connections Visible: Open Across Lyrasis

Monday, April 21, 1 - 2 p.m. EST

Lyrasis is deeply engaged in advancing openness across the scholarly communication landscape through the libraries, archives, museums, and related knowledge communities it serves. This webinar explored interconnections of open ecosystem work happening in or supported by Lyrasis’ three divisions — Content & Scholarly Communication Initiatives (CSCI), Ebooks & Community Engagement (EBCE) and Community Supported Technologies & Hosting Services (CSTHS).

Attendees will gain insights into:

  • The role of open access in making research and scholarship more widely available.
  • How open infrastructure, open standards for digital content distribution and open persistent identifiers (PIDs) support interoperability and sustainability.
  • The importance of open-source solutions in empowering communities and advancing knowledge-sharing.

Speakers:

  • Bridget Almas, Director of Operations for Community Supported Technologies, Lyrasis
  • Christine Di Bella, ArchivesSpace Senior Program Manager, Lyrasis
  • James English, Director of Business Development for Ebooks and Community Engagement, Lyrasis
  • Arran Griffith, Fedora Program Manager, Lyrasis
  • Sharla Lair, Senior Strategist, Open Access & Scholarly Communication Initiatives, Lyrasis
  • Michele Mennielle, Global Engagement Manager, Lyrasis
  • Sheila Rabun, Senior Strategist, Research Infrastructure Programs, Lyrasis
  • Maureen Walsh, Chair of DSpace, The Ohio State University

Session 2: Connecting the World: Why Open Scholarly Ecosystem Matters?

Thursday, April 24, 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. EST

This session focued on open research and scholarly ecosystem from South America and Africa. Initiatives, such as SciELO in Brazil, and The Africa PID Alliance in Kenya, have connected research beyond borders. Our guest speakers shared their work in this space as well as their perspectives on why open matters in the scholarly ecosystem. Attendees will broaden their knowledge and understanding of Open initiatives from local context to the global landscape.

Speakers:

  • Celeste Feather, Senior Director for Content and Scholarly Communication Initiatives, Lyrasis
  • Alex Mendonça, Preprints & Online Submission Coordinator, Scientific Electronic Library Online
  • Joy Owango, Director and Co-founder, Training Center in Communication, and Project Lead, The Africa PID Alliance

Session 3: Engaging at Scale: National and International Initiatives

Monday, April 28, 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. EST

This session offered an in-depth showcase of how Lyrasis is engaging with the wider national and international community through various initiatives and programs such as OA 2020, SCOAP3, U.S. National PID Strategy, Research Activity Identifier (RAiD), Open Access Scholarly Publishing Association (OASPA), Open Book Futures and DIAMAS, LA Referencia and more.

Speakers:

  • Celeste Feather, Senior Director for Content and Scholarly Communication Initiatives, Lyrasis
  • Sheila Rabun, Senior Strategist for Research Infrastructure Programs, Lyrasis
  • Sharla Lair, Senior Strategist, Open Access & Scholarly Communication Initiatives, Lyrasis
  • Michele Mennielli, International Outreach Representative, Lyrasis

Session 4: Advancing the Narrative: How Lyrasis Members Champion OA Initiatives

Tuesday, April 29, 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. EST

This session is composed of two components focused on reflecting member and partner organizations local efforts to advance open access and infrastructure in the scholarly community. The first reviewed the broad support that Lyrasis members (and non-members) have contributed to open access initiatives. The second featured three guest speakers that will showcase how Lyrasis members are, or can be, engaging in Open Access initiatives at their own institutions and in partnerships with external organizations. 

Speakers:

  • Isabel Espinal, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Arts and Humanities Coordinator & Academic Engagement Librarian
  • Kate McCready, University of Minnesota/BTAA, VPO for Academy Owned Scholarly Publishing
  • Harrison Inefuku, Scholarly Publishing Services Librarian, Iowa State University/Iowa State University Press

Session 5: Engaging with Open Access as Liberal Arts Colleges

Thursday, May 1, 12 - 1 p.m. EST

This panel shared perspectives on open access and open infrastructure from library leaders at American liberal arts colleges. These perspectives are a vital complement to the voices of large research universities, which frequently figure more prominently in conversations about Open. Panelists discussed how and why their college libraries participate in open access and open infrastructure programs, benefiting their communities, engaging with campus stakeholders, and influencing library services and collections.

Speakers:

  • Theresa Arndt, Associate Dean for Collections & Discovery Services, Dickinson College
  • Anne Houston, Director of Libraries & College Librarian, Swarthmore College
  • James Simon, Assistant Director of Collections & Discovery, Davidson College
  • Luke Vilelle, University Librarian, Hollins University