News for Research
New workshop improves AI literacy for K-12 educators
On June 11, 2026, the University of Minnesota Libraries, along with partners from the AI Hub and Academic Technology Support Services, hosted a full-day workshop titled “AI Literacy for K-12 Educators” at Walter Library.
Search to Synthesis: Library Research Workshops for Graduate Students – Fall 2026
The UMN LIbraries' Search to Synthesis: Library Research Workshops for Graduate Students” series continues for Fall 2026. There are 21 different workshops covering citation tools, data, evidence synthesis, publishing journal articles and much more with 6 new ones: an orientation session for international graduate students, overview of impact factors and h-indexes, archival research, ways to "future-proof" your disserations, and two workshops on literature reviews. See "Library research workshops for graduate students" for full details and registration information.
Expanding ecology with a free textbook and an international friendship
Professor Clarence Lehman’s open access ecology textbook, published by UMN Libraries Publishing, has sparked an international friendship of scholarly proportions. Since publication, it’s been viewed over 20,000 times and downloaded over 15,000 times. One of those readers was 24-year-old Solomon Freeman from Assin Tabil, Ghana. He’s a master’s student at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), studying to become an ecologist.
Restoring the Sexual Violence Program: A new oral history project documenting feminist student activism
When the University of Minnesota abruptly closed the Sexual Violence Program’s peer counseling service in 1989, students and staff sprang into action. “We were the program, and it was ours to fight for,” said Stacy Sorenson, one of the many dedicated students who campaigned to preserve the program.
Early implementation date for the new National Institutes of Health Public Access Policy
New guidelines for research and publishing following the updated Public Access Policy, announced by The National Institutes of Health (NIH) on April 30, 2025. Like the current policy, it applies to peer-reviewed journal articles from all research funded in whole or in part by NIH.
Year of Open Science: A dose of innovation
From the first “weeds and seeds” medicines to today’s synthesized pharmaceuticals, the face of pharmacology is changing, literally.
UNESCO support for Open Science
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) sees open science as a tool for reducing inequalities within and between countries. The General Conference of UNESCO adopted the Recommendation on Open Science at its 41st session on Nov. 23, 2021. What does this mean?
Giving child development research away: Intentionally free, open, and accessible worldwide
Social Sciences Librarian Amy Riegelman is an enthusiastic proponent of open access publishing including research, publications, and presentations on green and gold open access. In one of her roles, she supports researchers in the Institute of Childhood Development in College of Education and Human Development, including Professor Gail Ferguson, Director of the Culture and Family Life Lab.
Evidence-based practice and open access
One of the reasons people advocate for open access publishing is the idea that the article will receive more citations — and thus the author will be able to show a greater scholarly impact. Allison Langham-Putrow, Caitlin Bakker, and Amy Riegelman decided to investigate whether the evidence supported this idea.
A Matter of Elemental Facts: Ode to Carbon
Last year we celebrated the International Year of the Periodic Table in Walter Library with cookies and a trivia contest. Although it is no longer the Year of the Periodic Table, carbon is forever!