19 October 2026
IUCr marks International Open Access Week 2026
International Open Access Week takes place from 19–25 October 2026 under this year’s theme, “The Cost of Knowledge”. The theme asks the research community to consider what is required to create, share and sustain reliable scientific knowledge.
For the IUCr, open access forms part of a wider commitment to Open Science. Making research available to read is important, but openness also depends on maintaining trust, reproducibility and the long-term stewardship of scientific information. These themes are explored in John R. Helliwell’s recent Acta Crystallographica Section A feature article, Crystallography in Open Science and its open educational resources, which considers crystallography as a mature example of Open Science in practice.
Crystallography has a strong tradition in this area. The adoption of the Crystallographic Information File (CIF), the development of checkCIF, online access to IUCr Journals and the publication of reusable datasets through IUCrData have all helped make structural science easier to discover, validate and build upon. The recent IUCr Newsletter feature IUCr Data Matters! looks at how this culture of data sharing continues to develop, from primary diffraction images to data formats, reuse and emerging applications of AI and machine learning.
The value of preserving experimental data is also examined in the 2024 IUCrJ feature article The evolution of raw data archiving and the growth of its importance in crystallography. It traces the IUCr community’s work on raw-data archiving and reuse and discusses why access alone is not enough: data also need sufficient description, appropriate standards and long-term preservation if they are to remain reusable.
At the same time, open access does not remove the costs involved in producing and preserving a reliable scientific record. Peer review, editorial oversight, data stewardship, publishing infrastructure and archiving all require sustained investment. This balance between expanding openness and developing sustainable approaches to scholarly communication is part of the wider Open Science discussion taking place across crystallography.
That discussion has also involved the community directly. A 2025 IUCr Newsletter report on the global crystallography Open Science consultation considers questions around raw-data release, researcher responsibility and how Open Science practices may evolve as automated and AI-supported analysis becomes more widespread.
As a not-for-profit learned society publisher, the IUCr seeks to balance openness with long-term sustainability. Publishing forms part of the Union’s wider mission to support and strengthen the international structural science community.
Throughout Open Access Week, we will be highlighting how IUCr Journals and the wider crystallographic community contribute to Open Science through responsible publishing, trusted standards and the sharing and reuse of scientific knowledge.
