Étiquette : library publishing

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Library Publishing in Practice: A Case Study in Open Course Publications

Authors : Ioana Liuta, Jennifer Zerkee

Introduction: Open course publications provide students with real-world experience of the scholarly publishing process, engaging students as information creators rather than consumers. Open course publications, an example of open pedagogy in action, can be journals or monographs created as an assignment in a credit bearing course. Supporting open assignments is one of the most impactful activities undertaken by Digital Publishing units in academic libraries, educating the next generation of scholars about the value of open access. This article describes Simon Fraser University Library’s approach to supporting in-class publication projects, focusing on in-class open monographs.

Description of the service: The Digital Publishing Librarian and Copyright Specialist collaborate with an instructor to plan support for their course publication. This includes working with the instructor to plan the project; providing an in-class workshop on key scholarly publishing topics, including an introduction to open access and Creative Commons licences; ongoing support as needed through the semester; and production and publication of the finalized monograph.

Next steps: The Library is currently addressing long-term sustainability needs for these publications. The authors are considering further opportunities for outreach to instructors beyond the humanities and social sciences, as well as potential connections to undergraduate research activities, while recognizing the capacity required to provide and expand this service.

URL : Library Publishing in Practice: A Case Study in Open Course Publications

DOI : https://doi.org/10.31274/jlsc.21364

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Publishing Service in Times of Crisis: A Case Study of the Academic Library’s Contribution to the New Knowledge Dissemination

Authors : Valentyna Mamedova, Valerii Kushnarov, Olena Skachenko, Alla Malshakova

Introduction

Academic libraries play an important role in scholarly communication and the dissemination of new knowledge about the state of science in their educational institutions. The article presents a case study of the contribution of the library of Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts (Ukraine) to the university’s publishing program, which includes the publication of 10 peer-reviewed open access journals, monographs, and conference proceedings.

Description of Service

It is found that the library’s publishing house edited 598 scientific works, including 107 monographs/textbooks and 115 conference proceedings. To promote the publishing program and scientific journals, a digital interactive project of 12+ Books of the Year was developed. Visualisation of information about the results of the library’s publishing activity has made scientific communication instant and universal.

The article adds to the list of references on library publishing services; explores the evolution and range of publishing services; identifies the factors that have influenced library publishing in the crisis times of COVID-19 and martial law. The article can be useful for librarians-practitioners involved in library publishing.

Next steps

In the future, the research library will continue to facilitate production and post-production publishing processes and promote the university’s publishing program. It is also intended to intensify the library’s participation in the system of formal scholarly and scientific communication, to increase publication activity as an impact factor of university journals, and citation of articles.

URL : Publishing Service in Times of Crisis: A Case Study of the Academic Library’s Contribution to the New Knowledge Dissemination

DOI : https://doi.org/10.31274/jlsc.18937

 

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Library Publishing Services for Community Authors

Author : Kyle Morgan

Introduction

As universities have extended services beyond their campus borders, academic libraries have engaged the cause in a variety of ways. This case study of the Cal Poly Humboldt Library details one uniquely effective method by opening publishing services to the community.

Background

While universities and libraries have served community needs through numerous programs, including by providing community authorship support, the context of community publishing points to academic library publishing services as a well-aligned solution.

Description of Program and Benefits

Using student employment to support operations, the Press at Cal Poly Humboldt has developed a robust community publishing program that fosters student voices and skill development, increases community engagement, advances solutions to critical issues, and broadens the university’s local outreach and global impact.

Conclusion

The wide-ranging benefits of community publishing encourage academic libraries to extend their publishing services to a community test case in the assessment of the impact on campus students, the library, the university, and the community.

URL : Library Publishing Services for Community Authors

DOI : https://doi.org/10.31274/jlsc.18411

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EN

The time for action is now: Equity and sustainability for diamond publishing in Aotearoa New Zealand

Authors : Luqman Hayes, Craig Murdoch

Diamond open access journals make a significant contribution to scholarship globally while enduring a precarious existence due to a lack of funding. The purpose of this study was to identify the necessary characteristics of a shared service that would deliver improved sustainability for diamond journals in Aotearoa New Zealand.

We conducted semi-structured interviews with several of the editors of journals hosted by Tuwhera, Auckland University of Technology’s diamond hosting service. We sought to understand their experiences, both positive and negative, via thematic analysis of the interview transcripts. These themes indicate that our diamond journal editors face significant burdens due to lack of funding, which threaten the unique contribution they make as journals of and from Aotearoa.

We conclude that a shared open infrastructure is the most appropriate way to ensure the sustainability of diamond journals in Aotearoa, but that it must be accompanied by shared services that address the administrative and journal production load currently experienced by editors.

We propose that such an endeavor should be funded by shifting a small percentage of existing library subscription expenditure from profit-making publishers to diamond journals.

URL : The time for action is now: Equity and sustainability for diamond publishing in Aotearoa New Zealand

DOI : https://doi.org/10.31274/jlsc.18311

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Characteristics of European Universities that Participate in Library Crowdfunding Initiatives for Open Access Monographs

Author : Mirela Roncevic

The aim of the study was to identify the traits of 100 European universities across 26 countries that did or did not support one particular library crowdfunding initiative for open access (OA) monographs over the past few years.

By relying on the rankings of four sources, including THE, ARWU, QS, and Leiden, the study identifies some of the traits of the universities that have shown strong interest in the model by already taking part in an established library crowdfunding initiative, as well as those that may play a vital role in its sustainability.

The study’s results show that the institutions that are likely to participate in library crowdfunding initiatives for OA monographs may be defined as highly ranked and produce research in quantity, quantity, relevance, and timeliness. The study’s key revelation is the high academic standing of the institutions that rarely participate in one crowdfunding initiative.

These institutions may not be as “international” in their outlooks, but they stand out for their high-quality and significant research output. As such, they may accelerate the model’s adoption with more consistent participation in library crowdfunding.

URL : Characteristics of European Universities that Participate in Library Crowdfunding Initiatives for Open Access Monographs

DOI : https://doi.org/10.3390/publications11010009

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Ask the Editors: Assessing the Publishing Needs of Faculty Editors

Authors : Matthew E. Hunter, Liz Dunne, Camille Thomas, Laura Miller, Devin Soper

Introduction

This article reports results from a survey of faculty members with editorial responsibilities. The survey explored what publishing services and platform functionalities respondents found most valuable in their work as editors, how satisfied they were with the services provided by commercial publishers, and to what extent they were aware of alternative publishing practices.

Method

The authors used data collected from a survey instrument that was distributed to a sample (n = 515) of faculty members with editorial responsibilities at their institution.

Results

Collected data suggest that faculty editors value specific publishing services (e.g., coordination of peer review and copyediting) and platform functionality (e.g., submission and peer-review management) more than others, recognize several challenges facing academic publishing in their disciplines (including the transition to open access publishing models), and are mostly aware of common forms of open access research dissemination such as open access journals and institutional repositories.

Discussion

The survey results may be helpful to library publishers in making decisions about what publishing services and platform functionalities to prioritize in the development of their publishing programs. In addition to utilizing the survey data to assess the needs of editors, the authors also identified a number of expanded uses of the survey related to marketing and outreach.

Conclusion

Insofar as faculty editors are key stakeholders that library publishers seek to build partnerships with, it is important to understand their needs and preferences as editors. This article provides some insight into these questions that may prove helpful to library publishers.

URL : Ask the Editors: Assessing the Publishing Needs of Faculty Editors

DOI : https://doi.org/10.31274/jlsc.12912

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EN

Social justice driving open access publishing: an African perspective

Authors : Reggie Raju, Auliya Badrudeen

The OA movement is generally considered to have been founded for the truly philanthropic purpose of promoting equity and inclusivity in access to scholarship. For Africans, this meant the opening of the research ecosystem to marginalized research communities who could then freely make use of shared research to aid in the socio-economic development and emancipation of the continent.

However, this philanthropic purpose has been deviated from, leading instead to the disenfranchisement of the African research community. Through systemic inequalities embedded in the scholarly ecosystem, the publishing landscape has been northernised, with research from the global north sitting at the very top of the knowledge hierarchy to the exclusion of Africa and other parts of the global south.

For this reason, progressive open access practices and policies need to be adopted, with an emphasis on social justice as an impetus, to enhance the sharing and recognition of African scholarship, while also bridging the ‘research-exchange’ divide that exists between the global south and north.

Furthermore, advocates of open access must collaborate to create equal opportunities for African voices to participate in the scholarly landscape through the creation and dissemination of global south research. Thusly, the continental platform was developed by the University of Cape Town.

This platform was developed around the concept of a tenant model to act as a contributor to social justice-driven open access advocacy, and as a disruptor of the unjust knowledge hierarchies that exist.

URL : Social justice driving open access publishing: an African perspective

DOI : https://doi.org/10.3998/jep.1910