SHERPA’s “The Spirit of Open Access” Haiku Contest

To coincide with the activities taking place during Open Access Week, it is with great pleasure that SHERPA announces the launch of a light-hearted global competition to write a ‘Haiku’ on “The Spirit of Open Access”.

Bill Hubbard, JISC Research Communications Strategist, Head of Centre for Research Communications writes:

“We all know the definitions or descriptions of Open Access given in the Berlin/Bethesda/Budapest texts: likewise we have all heard and used other definitions of Open Access veering from the tersely functional to the wordily inspirational. But what about poetic? This has been an under-used side of advocacy! What we would like to hear is what colleagues think is the spirit of Open Access - as a haiku!”

Entrants should seek to sum up open access using the haiku form, or at least its modern English version: three lines of 5, 7 and 5 syllables respectively that encapsulate a mood, feeling, insight or poetic summary of the subject. The traditional reference to a season would be an elegant, but optional, inclusion. Entries can be inspirational, reflective, humourous or plain weird!

This is a competition for a haiku as an encapsulation of open access. Limericks, couplets, sonnets and sagas will also be read by us with pleasure and may get a special mention, but it’s a haiku that will get the prize!

Entries, in English, should be emailed to bill.hubbard@nottingham.ac.uk and the closing date is *BEFORE* Open Access week, on 5pm GMT on Friday 16th October 2009.

Anyone may enter, and the winning entry will be picked as the most fitting by the SHERPA Core Team and its Directors, whose decision is final. The winning entry will be announced during Open Access week.

The winner will receive a modest award, as well as a SHERPA ‘goody bag’ and, I am sure, the applause of their peers. The winning entry and other entries will be publicised during Open Access week and likely used by colleagues in advocacy during the week and in the future, so, need we mention, entries should be submitted as Open Access - a CC by-nc-sa licence please!

SHERPA - http://www.sherpa.ac.uk
RSP - http://www.rsp.ac.uk
RoMEO - http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo
JULIET - http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/juliet
OpenDOAR - http://www.opendoar.org