Open Access for Scholars Left Behind: The Issue of Limited Access to Data and Scholarship

Abstract

This column discusses information literacy instruction through the lens of open access (OA) to better serve researchers who have limited access to scholarship due to cost. After providing a definition of OA, the benefit of OA is exemplified through both researchers who lose access to information, like students, and those who have little access to begin with, like researchers in disenfranchised locations. Information literacy instruction librarians who teach the use of OA resources increase awareness for global researchers, ensure alumni access to scholarship after loss of institutional affiliation, and increase scholarship published in OA mediums, supporting those without traditional access.     

Subject citation bibliographies for social science material in the Caribbean

Abstract

Libraries in Latvia, as in other Eastern European countries, have begun implementing automated systems. This article outlines the state of automation in Latvian libraries and discusses the problems associated with providing subject access in their computerized catalogues. Issues relating to subject searching and retrieval in Latvian online catalogues (MARC, keyword vs controlled vocabulary search, stemming and truncation, subject headings and thesauri, retrieval mechanisms, use-system interfaces) are discussed. Recommendations are made for further progress in Latvian online catalogues in general and for subject access in particular. User education and general library concerns (classification, retrospective conversion, data exchange and networking) are also considered.     

The California Digital Library and the eScholarship Program

Summary

The eScholarship program was launched in 2000 to foster facultyled innovation in scholarly publishing. An initiative of the University of California (UC) and a program of the California Digital Library, the eScholarship program has stimulated significant interest in its short life. Its modest but visible accomplishments garner praise from many quarters, within and beyond the University of California. In perhaps the best indication of its timeliness and momentum, there are more proposals submitted to eScholarship today than the CDL can manage. This early success is due in part to the sheer power of an idea whose time has come, but also to the unique approach on which CDL was founded and the eScholarship initiative was first launched.rved.]     

Dialectic: The Aims of Institutional Repositories

ABSTRACT

In the early 2000s, Clifford Lynch and Raym Crow had two different visions for the future of institutional respositories. Using their works as a starting point, T. Scott Plutchak discussed the initial aims of institutional respositories and addressed the dialectic between the view of institutional repositories as providing a method of preserving and nurturing new forms of scholarly communication and that of the institutional repository as a mechanism to transition to Open Access models for scholarly publications. Plutchak concludes that institutional repository librarians should focus efforts on collecting and preserving material outside of the formal publishing program in order to advance the work of our institutions, and to advance what libraries can do.     

A Practical Guide to Scholarly Activity for Health Sciences Librarians

Abstract

This guide to scholarly activities provides early- and mid-career health sciences librarians with a path to immersing in scholarly activities. The four levels walk librarians through increasing stages of scholarship. Early-career librarians will begin at the first level, navigating from discovering mentors and areas of research interest to level two, publishing a resource or book review and finding their first public speaking opportunity. More experienced librarians will find where they are on the path and continue to build their scholarship all the way to conducting and publishing original research and becoming leaders in their field.     

Panel 3: Into the Glass Darkly: Future Directions in the 21st Century

ABSTRACT

Panelists look at publishing and scholarly communications from varied perspectives and discuss possible futures for interaction between publishers, libraries, and the research university.     

Part I: Columns and Blogs: Making Sense of Merging Worlds

Abstract

Intellectual property rights are threatened by current trends in publishing and by the changing market. In this presentation, Patricia S. Schroeder, an advocate for intellectual property rights, describes the need for understanding and cooperation and for support for legislation to protect authors' rights.     

The Growing Crisis: Scholarly Publishing Pressures Facing Health Sciences Libraries

ABSTRACT

Health sciences librarians work within a complex environment, one that quickly adopted access to electronic resources. The open access movement evolved as an alternative to traditional publishing as prices for STM e-journals steadily increased, but it also raised issues and concerns for authors within the more traditional biomedical culture. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Public Access policy provided an opportunity to support researchers’ compliance with the policy, while advocating for open access and author rights. As an outgrowth of the NIH policy, health sciences libraries have promoted open access through a variety of activities within their academic health centers.     

The End of Print Journals

SUMMARY

Scholarly journals have been moving from paper only to paper plus electronic versions. Cessation of the paper version requires satisfying diverse needs of librarians, university administrators, authors, readers, and publishers.     

Hand Wringing in Paradise: Scholarly Communication and the Intimate Twinges of Conscience

ABSTRACT

Scholarly communication today is in the midst of a healthy and long running crisis that has been good for libraries, good for scholars and good for publishers. It is a reflection of a hypercompetitive academic environment and a ruthless academic winnowing and reward system. Large commercial publishers have successfully manipulated this system with the complicity of library consortia, which has led in turn to the birth of the expensive and at times counter-productive open access movement that later reached its nadir with the problematic SCOAP (Sponsoring Consortium for Open Access Publishing in Particle Physics) episode. In our obsession with navel gazing we have forgotten the decisive role that China will play in future developments in scholarly communication.

This article originally published in Journal of Library Administration, Vol. 51, Issues 5–6, pages 415–431, 2011. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01930826.2011.589335.     

Three recommended inclusive language guidelines for scholarly publishing: Words matter

• Inclusive language will make scholarly publishing more accurate and more respectful, and it has the potential to help authors reach a wider audience.
• JAMA and the JAMA Network journals, the American Chemical Society and the Coalition for Diversity and Inclusion in Scholarly Communications have free guides on inclusive language, formatting and images.
• The guides provide principles and rationale, as well as examples of preferred language, in order to equip people with knowledge to choose the most inclusive words even as terminology preferences change.

     

Academic Publishing in Georgia

ABSTRACT

The article discusses developments in scholarly and scientific publishing in the Republic of Georgia since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. State-sector publishing has declined, but there is now a fair amount of NGO publishing. Some publications appear only online. The author discusses some important online publications, databases, and other sites. Many are in English; some are in Georgian and/or Russian. Among them is a document delivery service.     

When Terrabytes Meet Terra Firma

Abstract

As scholarly communication changes, key areas concerning digitization, standards, and cooperation between university libraries and university presses are cornerstones to a better understanding of the future distribution of information. Content issues play a key role in this discussion due to the growth of information avenues, the expansion of subject areas, and the way information can be distributed. In this new digital environment, however, social issues ranging from the feel of books to the outcome of coding options will play a major role in the acceptance of some types of content containers. While clear answers are not yet evident, some future directions can be contemplated.     

Keeping Up: Building Your Indigenous Collection

ABSTRACT

This article provides practical tips on how to build your personal collection of materials on Indigenous topics. Before taking steps in acquiring content, consider the place of print and electronic material in your life as a librarian and Indigenous person. Rephrase foundational documents such as collection development policies, Ranganathan's laws of library science, and Saricks' appeal factors in ways that reflect your Indigenous worldview. Review the steps you take and might take to build this collection, starting with assessing what resources you already have access to, and develop your list of ten authors to watch.     

Equitable representation in awards and recognition in scholarly publishing: Current challenges and the path ahead

• Awards are an important mechanism of recognition that can signify inclusivity or exclusivity and impact careers.
• More women were selected by publishing organizations for awards overall yet appeared underrecognized in a predominantly women-employed workforce.
• Award programs showed a preference for US-based awardees despite the global representation of individuals' localities.
• To build equity in awards programs, organizations are encouraged to appoint diverse committees, promote transparency and publicize awards in historically excluded communities.

     

From working group to standing committee: A history of diversity,equity, inclusion and accessibility work at the Society for Scholarly Publishing

• The Society for Scholarly Publishing's (SSP) Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Committee began as a grassroots initiative in 2016.
• Over a a period of 4 years, the committee evolved from a six-member task force to a large standing team consisting of more than 25 individuals.
• The task force developed a strategic plan consisting of three major objectives that formed the basis of the group's strategic initiatives. The committee implemented several DEIA nitiatives that provided education and resources to SSP members about DEIA within their workplaces and promoted DEIA practices in the work that SSP committees were doing on behalf of the organization.

     

Research Output of Academic Librarians From Irish Higher Education Institutions 2000–2015: Findings From a Review,Analysis, and Survey

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this paper is to quantify, review, and analyze published research output of academic librarians from 21 higher education Institutions in Ireland. A mixed approach using an online survey questionnaire, supplemented by content analysis and extensive literature scoping were used for data collection. Factors inhibiting and predicting the likelihood of research publication are identified. Motivations, barriers, and collaboration are examined. Qualitative perspectives from survey respondents are offered. The survey response was 30%. The main findings are presented and contextualized. There is evidence of moderate research growth and publication rates among the Irish LIS community; Open Access pathways are increasingly accepted. The paper has original value with both exploratory and analytical perspectives. This is the first comprehensive national study of this cohort; it adds value and a new perspective to the existing literature on academic librarians' participation in scholarly endeavours and communication.     

Engaging Researchers With the World's First Scholarly Arts Repositories: Ten Years After the UK's Kultur Project

ABSTRACT

Open access institutional repositories can be ill-equipped to manage the complexity of research outputs from departments of fine arts, media, drama, music, cultural heritage, and the creative arts in general. The U.K.-based Kultur project was funded to create a flexible multimedia repository model using EPrints software. The project launched the first arts based institutional repositories at the University of the Arts London and University for the Creative Arts. Ten years later, these pioneering repositories are still evolving in response to the needs of arts researchers, and in the context of rapid changes in the scholarly communications landscape. This article discusses the evolution of scholarly repositories in the creative arts, with the aim of reducing the under-representation of arts research in open access repositories.