Academic Library-Based Publishing: A State of the Evolving Art

Abstract

As technology has advanced, scholarly communication has evolved, creating new opportunities for academic libraries to serve researchers. This article examines the current state and potential future of academic library-based publishing. The review of the literature explores the scholarly communication ecosystem as it pertains to new publishing paradigms supported by academic libraries, including the complexity of nontraditional publishing models. These models and their implications, as well as how they may be implemented, are then explored in the academic library environment. Next, survey data from nineteen academic librarians collected at the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting in January 2015 is presented. Based on the literature and the survey data, this article argues that the principle concerns for academic library-based publishing going forward include 1) the need for the dedicated and/or sustained financial models for library-based publishing initiatives and 2) the cultural and financial capital to support librarians as they further expand their knowledge and expertise to support additional publishing-related functionalities in support of these new models. Both of these concerns ultimately tie to the persistent question of perceived quality, and by extension, reputation, of library-based publishing and open access publishing more broadly.

Will Academic Library Publishing Break OER? A Diffusion of Innovations Study

“…This may also include materials whose publication process has been less traditional, such as "books, newspapers, etc., for public sale or distribution" (Sandy & Mattern 2018: 340), as well as work which traditional commercial publishers determine "too long, too short, too esoteric, too expensive, too complicated or just too strange" (Sandy & Mattern 2018: 345). Academic libraries are unrestricted by the need to appeal to a commercial audience, a characteristic which frees them to publish high quality content despite unconventional subject matter, limited readership, or logistical publication challenges (Sandy & Mattern 2018).…”

“…The perceived compatibility between an innovation and the "previously introduced idea" (Rogers 2003: 244) can cause difficulties and unforeseen challenges with implementation and use of the innovation as well as changes to the organization itself (Rogers 2003). For example, a university might implement development of OER in order to enhance the reputation of the institutional brand (Sandy & Mattern 2018). By contrast, others consider development of OER in terms of serving the common good and democratizing access to knowledge (Lauritsen 2019).…”

“…While developing the workflow a discussion arose that gave cause to consider whether publication of OER should mirror publication of open access scholarly work. Academic library publishing is described by the Library Publishing Coalition as college or university library led actions supporting the "creation, dissemination, and curation of scholarly creative and/or educational works" (Sandy & Mattern 2018). In Made With Creative Commons, Stacey and Pearson (2017) discuss differences in how "the commons, market and state manage resources differently" (p. 5).…”

Navigating support models for OER publishing: case studies from the University of Houston and the University of Washington

“…The use of OER in higher education results in financial benefits for students due to removing the costs of textbooks (Allen, 2018;Hilton III et al, 2014), pedagogical benefits connected to the abilities to curate, adapt, and customize OER (Ikahihifo et al, 2017;Watson et al, 2017), and positive impacts on learning outcomes, including increased engagement, improved grades, and lower drop, fail, and withdrawal rates (Colvard et al, 2018; R e f e r e n c e S e r v i c e s R e v i e w Academic libraries are often the drivers of OER initiatives (Wesolak et al, 2018), and as Open Education starts to move into the mainstream of academic librarianship in the United States, new models for supporting the adoption and creation of OER are being developed. Library publishing is an emerging and innovative area with various models for publishing forms of scholarship such as journals, monographs, data sets, visualizations, and more (Bonn and Furlough, 2015;Sandy and Mattern, 2018;Schlosser, 2018). However, fewer established models exist to guide academic libraries in supporting OER publishing, especially within institutions that do not have established library publishing programs from which to draw upon existing expertise and publishing services.…”

“…Academic libraries are often the drivers of OER initiatives (Wesolak et al, 2018) and as open education starts to move into the mainstream of academic librarianship in the USA, new models for supporting the adoption and creation of OER are being developed. Library publishing is an emerging and innovative area with various models for publishing forms of scholarship such as journals, monographs, data sets and visualizations (Bonn and Furlough, 2015;Sandy and Mattern, 2018;Schlosser, 2018). However, fewer established models exist to guide academic libraries in supporting OER publishing, especially within institutions that do not have established library publishing programs from which to draw upon existing expertize and publishing services.…”