1. Open Access and Liberal Education: A Look at Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia Introduction Under Soviet rule, libraries in the South Caucasus enjoyed a steady level of support. In the post-Soviet era, however, they face increasing budgetary challenges and must seek alternatives to commercial publishing and licensing models. In addition, hostilities and political instability have compounded the problem of decreased funding. We assessed the status of the open access movement and Internet use in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. We also examined how developing affordable models for scholarly communications is crucial to strengthening liberal education and civic participation in these developing democracies. Open Access in the South Caucasus Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia are all actively engaged in open access activities and in developing modern scholarly communication resources. These three countries currently publish a number of open access journals, and all possess some form of either a digital library or institutional repository. Armenia: 5 OA Journals, most focusing on science: Mechanics, Physics, Mathematics, Biology... also “Historical-Philological” Digital Library Fundamental Scientific Library Seeks “mass digitization” of NAS journals Azerbaijan: Institutional Repository KUIR: Khazar University Institutional Repository Diverse subjects The region’s only IR 3 OA journals international affairs, general academic research, etc. Georgia: 5 OA journals, heavy on technical subjects (mathematics, computer science) Digital Library of the National Parliamentary Library of Georgia Electronic theses, dissertations, e-resources Critical Information Literacy and the Librarian/Instructor’s Role Soviet model: knowledge as a "truth" transferred from professor "experts" to accepting students VS. Critical pedagogy: studies the social, cultural, political, and economic dynamics of teaching/learning The Critical information literacy process: Teach students to question the social, political, and economic forces involved in the creation and use of information Draw attention to the role of the individual in information-based power structures Achieve critical agency to actively engage with the political and social conditions Cultivate an informed and dynamic citizenry RECOMMENDATIONS  Nurturing liberal education  Encouraging democratic participation As they build democratic institutions, South Caucasus countries can strengthen and transform the educational models that help provide the foundation for civic participation in the following areas: Open Access: provides greater access to content for researchers in the South Caucasus encourages national innovation encourages transnational collaboration by providing global access to the scholarly output of South Caucasian researchers breaks down the pay-walls that make scholarly literature inaccessible Internet’s Role—Control vs. Community: Powerful tool for networking Offers counter-narrative to state- controlled media Fuels economic development Fosters free speech Engages people in civic participation Reference Donabedian, D. A. & Carey, J. (2011). Open access and liberal education: A look at Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. Slavic & East European Information Resources 12(4). D. Aram Donabedian, MLS, MFA John Carey, MLS, MA Hunter College Libraries Hunter College City University of New York Internet Filtering Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia are developing a reputation as leaders in the development of next-generation controls that block selected content. Three Generations of Controls 1 st generation: Firewalls at key Internet choke points 2 nd generation: Overt track—legalized content controls Covert track— ‘‘just in time’’ blocking, plausible deniability 3 rd generation: Counter-information, surveillance and data mining Low transparency: filtering is unacknowledged or disguised as network errors Internet Use and Penetration in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, 2008 PopulationPercentage of Population Online Growth of Internet Use, 2000–2008 Armenia2,968,586172,800, or 5.8%476% Azerbaijan8,177,7171,500,000 or 18.3%12,400% Georgia4,630,841360,000 or 7.8%1,700% Open Access Publishing in the South Caucasus, 2011 Open Access Journals Institutional Repositories Federal-level Digital Libraries Armenia501 Azerbaijan310 Georgia501 South Caucasus Countries by Regime Type and Filtering Practices CountryRegime TypeFiltering Methods Used Level of Filtering Transparency ArmeniaHybrid2 nd and 3 rd gen.SubstantialLow AzerbaijanAuthoritarian2 nd and 3 rd gen.SelectiveLow GeorgiaHybrid2 nd and 3 rd gen.SelectiveLow ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, Standard 3: “The information-literate student evaluates information and its sources critically and incorporates selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system.” Image: Parajanov, S., Director. (1988). Ashik Kerib [Motion picture]. Armenia: KINO International..