The University of Tennessee Libraries invites faculty, students, and researchers to participate in Open Access Week 2026, a series of free educational events designed to demystify open access and showcase tools for sharing your work with the world.

October 20-22, 2026, brings four workshops covering digital archives, patent data, institutional repositories, and data sharing, along with an in-person resource fair at Pendergrass Library.

All events are free and open to the university community.
Registration links and a full schedule are available through the UT Libraries website.
Additionally, participants can explore global Open Access Week events at openaccessweek.org.

Schedule of Events

Tuesday, October 20 • Online

1:00 p.m.-noon

Publishing Open Data with Dryad 

Learn how our new institutional membership with Dryad can help you share, preserve, and increase the visibility of your research data. This workshop will provide a brief overview of Dryad, explain the benefits of our new membership, and show how researchers can deposit and publish datasets openly. 

Wednesday, October 21 • In-Person

1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.

Visit Pendergrass Library

Learn more about open access resources, including open data and Dryad, and grab a cupcake! 

Thursday, October 22 • Online

10:00 a.m.-10:45 a.m.

Digital Archives: Historic Material and Open Access

Digitizing archival material makes historic research, data, and primary sources openly available to anyone with an internet connection. However, the work behind making this material accessible often goes unseen, creating a disconnect between researchers using the material and the staff behind digital archives. In this presentation, UT Special Collections staff explore the work, time, and resources that go into making archival material digitally available, highlighting the people making this unique research material openly accessible to all.

11:00 a.m.-noon

Beyond Articles: Exploring Open Patent Data through the USPTO Open Data Portal

Open Access is often associated with scholarly publications, but public access to government data is another important component of an open information ecosystem. This session will introduce participants to the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Open Data Portal, a free platform providing access to patent and trademark datasets, search tools, and APIs. Attendees will learn how open patent data can be used to support research, innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology trend analysis. The workshop will include a live demonstration of the portal and examples relevant to faculty, students, and researchers across disciplines.

2:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.

What is TRACE? An Introduction to the University of Tennessee’s Institutional Repository and How to Use It 

This workshop will explain what TRACE is, what types of materials can be submitted to TRACE, and how to navigate and submit materials to TRACE. This workshop will also include an activity to have attendees navigate TRACE and get user feedback on that process. 

For more information or to register, visit the UT Libraries Open Access Week page.