The Belief that Knowledge Should be a Human Right

As part of Simon Fraser University’s 50th anniversary, SFU Research is highlighting some important projects, including PKP. You can read more below, including a brief history and an interview with Brian Owen, PKP’s Managing Director and Associate University Librarian at SFU.

The Public Knowledge Project was borne from the belief that knowledge access should be a human right.

It was 1998, still the early days of the web, when professor John Willinsky (then at the University of British Columbia) was collaborating with The Vancouver Sun on a special series about computers in schools. He was dismayed to discover that the public could not freely access research studies germane to the project, due to publisher policies…