Elections for the Library Publishing Coalition Board open today and will continue through Wednesday, February 25. Instructions for voting will be sent to each member institution’s voting representative. This year there are four openings for 3-year terms. The candidates are:
Joshua Neds-Fox, Wayne State University
Bio
Joshua Neds-Fox is the Coordinator for Digital Publishing at Wayne State University, where he oversees open journal and open textbook publishing efforts, publishing and copyright education and consulting, and the university’s institutional repository.
Joshua has served in the LPC community since the Coalition’s beginning, including terms on the Directory Committee, the Executive Board, the Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Task Force and subsequent Committee, the Forum Scholarship Committee, and as the LPC’s representative to the 2019 UCT-SPARC Africa Open Access Symposium. He co-authored and co-edited the LPC’s Ethical Framework for Library Publishing Version 1, and led the effort to develop its successor, Version 2. He has been a member of the Editorial Board for the Library Publishing Curriculum since the board’s inception, helping to develop its Introduction Module and a Pathway for Starting a Library Publishing Program, and leading Curriculum workshops in-person and online. Joshua is the recipient of the LPC’s 2024 Service Leadership Award.
Candidate statement
Despite consistent involvement over the past 10+ years, I’ve received far more from the Library Publishing Coalition than I can give back. The LPC has always been a values-driven community, a commitment that can be risky to maintain in the face of the authoritarian moment. I’m interested in the chance to help steer the Coalition through that risk at this time, when both librarianship and publishing are facing existential threats/opportunities from new technologies and old ideologies. I would approach this role with the same thought and dedication I’ve tried to give to every service engagement I’ve taken with the LPC. And my overarching hope is that a term on the Executive Board would be an opportunity to pass along some of what I’ve received to library publishing practitioners just now entering the field: mentoring, guidance, structure, spirit.
Statement of anti-racist practice
I’m committed to a material anti-racist practice with an emphasis on equity; to considering my position and privilege and the impact those have on my point of view; to taking responsibility and making amends when I misstep; to contributing when there’s no one else and to staying in my lane when it’s not my turn. I anticipate that these commitments will inform my participation on the Board should I be elected.
Johanna Meetz, Ohio State University
Bio
Johanna Meetz is the Publishing & Repository Services Librarian at Ohio State University. She oversees the Libraries’ publishing program, which publishes 22 open access journals. She also administers Ohio State’s institutional repository, the Knowledge Bank. Previously, Johanna was the Scholarly Communication & Publishing Services Librarian and Associate Director of Pacific University Press at Pacific University, where she was responsible for publishing open access journals and books. She also managed Pacific’s institutional repository.
Johanna has served on the LPC Research Committee, Forum Planning Committee, and the Library Publishing Curriculum Editorial Board, which she currently chairs.
Candidate statement
I became part of the LPC community in 2016, and attended my first Forum in 2017. When I started my position at Pacific University, I was new to publishing, and the LPC community was instrumental in how I learned about my new responsibilities. From the beginning, the community members made me feel welcome and comfortable asking questions without judgement.
Over the years I have benefited greatly from the LPC Forum, community calls, webinars, and listserv. I have enjoyed the service I have engaged in with LPC because it has felt meaningful and been productive. I am currently Chairing the Library Publishing Curriculum Board, where we have focused on updating the information in the Curriculum in order to ensure it continues to be a resource for library publishers. I would like to continue to give back to the library publishing community as a Board member by sharing the experience and knowledge I have gained over the years. I would bring different perspectives to this role, since I have worked at a small, private institution as a one-woman shop, and I now work at a large, public university, where I manage three staff members.
If elected, it would be a privilege to help our community continue to thrive in the face of widespread sustainability and scalability issues, which that have impacted my work as a practitioner and that I written about in my research. I am also interested in exploring ways in which we can ensure library publishing labor is ethical.
Jules Luck, Penn State University
Bio
Jules Luck is the Open Publishing Accessibility and Production Specialist at Penn State University Libraries. In their role at Penn State, they provide support to editors, managers, and authors for 26+ open access journals. In a collaborative, supportive relationship with journal staff, they provide web and technical support, publishing guidance, layout and typesetting guidance, and accessibility services for the Open Journals System platform and content, including PDF remediation.
Prior to this work, Jules earned their graduate degree in Book Publishing and Writing while working for the not-for-profit Ooligan Press as the DEI Publisher’s Assistant, where they provided guidance to the press on DEI initiatives and supported developmental edits of manuscripts from a DEI lens. In addition, they worked on-and-off supporting student leadership programs at Portland State University with initiatives including grant writing to develop an accessible student garden space, supporting volunteer coordination for Books Through Bars and other organizations, and teaching several classes on book publishing, accessibility, leadership development, social movements, and social justice.
Jules brings both professional training and lived experience to their accessibility and publishing work as a disabled and neuroqueer person, a framework that recognizes the intersection of neurodivergence and queerness. In 2025 they earned the Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC) to further their expertise in accessibility and better support the journals they work with. They are interested in the evolving role of libraries as publishers and in building practices that support diverse creators, readers, and scholarly communities.
Candidate statement
I am interested in serving on the Board to gain broader experience with library publishing initiatives while contributing to the wider community of library publishers. I value improving access to knowledge and ideas that inspire, challenge, and connect us, and want to better support initiatives in this space that improve access.
I bring experience in both traditional book publishing and library-based publishing through the Penn State Open Publishing program. My work has emphasized accessibility in publishing, supported by my CPACC certification and by lived experience as a disabled, Autistic, and neuroqueer person. My background has shaped my understanding of how technical, editorial, and organizational decisions can either include or exclude communities.
If elected, I would like to help the LPC continue strengthening its commitment to accessibility, community knowledge-sharing, and practical publishing support for member organizations. I am interested in initiatives that involve open access resource and knowledge sharing, accessibility support, and peer support and learning across institutions. I am also interested in providing direct mentorship and practical support to early-career professionals entering library publishing, particularly those from historically underrepresented backgrounds, to help make the field more accessible and diverse.
Statement of anti-racist practice
My approach to anti-oppressive practices is rooted in accessibility and understanding how publishing has been built upon structures of power/for identities with power and continues to operate within that institutional framework. Publishing has historically been shaped by predominantly white, female, and upper-middle-class identities, which continue to disadvantage publishing professionals who are disabled, non-white, and/or gender diverse. I have benefited from this as a white and femme-presenting person but have also felt excluded due to my identities as a disabled, neurodivergent, gender queer person with multiracial heritage.
Calling upon those with lived experiences of diverse identities to serve in positions of power and making continual space for examining oppressive structures and how they impact publishing now is crucial to doing anti-racist and anti-oppressive work within this space. If I were to serve on the board, I would bring this perspective to the work along with a commitment to curiosity, accountability, and excitement for any work that promotes better access and equity for everyone. Continual efforts toward equity, even if they are small, is what ultimately can help a movement make positive changes toward inclusion and avoid its supporters burning out along the way.
Tracy E. MacKay-Ratliff, University of Florida
Bio
Tracy MacKay-Ratliff is the Director of LibraryPress@UF (LP@UF), an imprint of the University of Florida Press and the George A. Smathers Libraries, and serves as Editor in Chief and Design Editor of SOURCE, UF Libraries Magazine. She is committed to building positive, compassionate partnerships with authors, editors, and contributors. Tracy leads strategic planning, editorial management, and multifaceted production workflows for scholarly and creative publications, including monographs, catalogs, edited collections, and open educational resources. She is the primary point of contact between LP@UF and the UF Press, and she also provides support for the LP@UF Journals Program. From 2019 to 2023, she served as LP@UF Publishing Design Manager/Coordinator.
Tracy has a B.A. in Studio Arts from the College of Charleston School of the Arts. In her early career, she pursued managerial roles in editorial design within the media industry. She has decades of hands-on professional experience in digital and print publishing, brand development, editorial, advertising, and promotional graphic design. Before joining LP@UF in 2019, she was Director of Graphic Design and Staff Photographer in Public Relations at Catawba College in Salisbury, NC, for over a decade. Her varied experience equips her with a strong understanding of the complexities of trade print publishing and the specialized needs of open access library publishing.
Candidate statement
I currently serve on the LPC Directory Committee. Previously, I participated in the LPC peer mentorship program in 2020 and 2021. I also attended the 2024 LPF in Minneapolis. In 2022 and 2025, I collaborated on LPF virtual presentations, and in 2020, I designed a SOURCE poster for an LPF poster/blog session.
Initially hesitant to nominate myself for the LPC Board due to my current role on the Directory Committee, I was motivated after seeing the call for nominations go out again. I’m excited to get more involved with the LPC and would be happy to lend my support and time if you think I’d be a good fit for this role.
As someone with extensive experience in graphic design in academia public relations and corporate media advertising, open access library press publishing was entirely new to me when I joined LP@UF in March 2019. I am deeply grateful to my past LP@UF colleagues (Perry Collins, Laurie Taylor, and Chelsea Johnston) for encouraging me to become involved in the LPC community, where I fostered relationships with people tackling many of the same open access publishing issues I was.
Since joining the Directory Committee and the University Base Publishing Futures Knowledge Sharing working group, I’ve formed valuable connections that have enriched my knowledge and provided me with opportunities to share and develop new strategies and ideas. I’ve discovered that the library publishing community is diverse and filled with creative and compassionate individuals who are committed to supporting one another and making a positive impact in open access scholarship for all. I would be honored to join the Board and contribute to shaping best practices, setting standards, and engaging in meaningful conversations within the Library Publishing Coalition.
Statement of anti-racist practice
I respect the dignity of every individual and community. By celebrating our culture and warmly recognizing and welcoming others, we create opportunities for growth and unity, strengthening our community as a whole. In open access library publishing, amplifying underrepresented voices enriches our scholarship and communities. Anti-racist practice involves listening with empathy, challenging bias, and ensuring our work reflects diverse human experiences. Through understanding and compassion, we build bridges that connect rather than divide.
Ryan Otto, Kansas State University
Bio
Ryan Otto is the Scholarly Communication Librarian in the Open Publishing Exchange (OPE!) at Kansas State University Libraries. With more than a decade of experience in scholarly communication, Ryan has held a variety of roles, including providing copyright information services; educating faculty and students on journal and textbook publishing landscapes; managing the institutional repository; supporting the university’s electronic thesis and dissertation workflow; and serving as journal and conference coordinator for the library publishing press, New Prairie Press.
Over the past year, Ryan’s primary projects have included planning and executing a platform migration for the press and building out a digital collection of Kansas State University agricultural extension publications spanning the past fifty years.
Ryan is currently serving as co-chair for the Program Committee. Before becoming involved in LPC service, he served six years as a member of the ACRL/STS Scholarly Communication Committee and four years as a member of ACRL’s Research and Scholarly Environment Committee.
Candidate statement
Even before attending my first Forum in 2019, I was already familiar with LPC and its great, supportive community. My now-retired colleague, Charlene Simser, was an active member for many years, and as I began taking on some of her responsibilities during her transition to retirement, I made the decision to become more involved myself. From the very beginning, the LPC community has felt welcoming and generous. Over time, LPC has become my favorite library organization and home to many of my favorite people.
As I continue to grow professionally, I can think of no organization I would rather serve and support than LPC and its community. I am motivated by a strong commitment to open access, sustainability, and community-governed publishing, and I bring a professional strength in blending practical and technical considerations with values-driven strategic thinking. I respectfully ask for your vote to join the LPC Board, as I would be honored to support this community in a greater capacity while continuing to grow alongside it.
Statement of anti-racist practice
Growing up in the southern United States with parents from the Midwest, who are themselves grandchildren of immigrants, I have long been acutely aware of the presence and consequences of systemic racism in my communities. My undergraduate studies in international history and my graduate education in librarianship further deepened my understanding of how systems of exploitation and oppression are built and sustained. Throughout my personal and professional life, I have held firmly egalitarian values, striving to be intentional and reflective in the ways I help build infrastructure and cultivate cultures that are equitable and inclusive.
Stefanie Buck, Oregon State University
Bio
Stefanie Buck is the director of Open Educational Resources at Oregon State University, a position she has held since 2019. The mission of the unit is to support faculty who want to adopt, adapt, or author OER for use in their courses with the goal of reducing the cost of course materials for students leading to better academic outcomes. Prior to that, she was an academic librarian at Oregon State University, Western Washington University, and the University of South Carolia. She also worked for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in the Public Access Computer grant program and briefly oversees at an international university. She also has served on Publishing Advisory Group for the Open Education Network and on the Conference Planning Board for the Open Education Conference in 2022 and 2023. Since becoming director of the OER unit, her first foray into the world of publishing, she has initiated improvements to the program including a peer-review and copy-editing process for authored textbooks. Since 2019, the unit has published over 20 openly licensed textbooks, many of which have been adopted at other institutions. She recently co-authored A Guide to Open Textbook Essential and Exemplary Features, designed to support faculty in evaluating or creating high quality open textbooks. She holds an MLS and MA from the University of Hawai′i and an MEd from the University of Massachusetts in Boston.
Candidate statement
I currently serve on two LPC Committees, Professional Development and Program Planning. In this time, I have learned that listening to the community and being willing to try new things, which can sometimes mean asking questions about what we have “always done,” is essential to success.
The LPC Program committee is currently planning the 2026 Forum. I attended and presented at the 2024 forum, but this is my first time serving on this committee. One thing I really value when developing professional events is the hard work and coordination it takes to plan a successful and engaging opportunity. It requires us to be open to new ideas but always with the community in mind.
I have been on LPC Professional Development committee for two years. In that time, I helped to expand programs and offerings, such as the webinar for graduate students to learn more about library publishing as a profession. It was not something the committee had done before but it was very successful and well attended. I helped to redesign the LPC Mentoring (now Connections) program. Based on feedback from the participants, we reimagined the program so that everyone gets to meet a greater variety of people and experiences but still gets opportunities for deeper connections. We have made some adjustments since 2025 because we wanted to be responsive to the participants’ feedback. I think this is the essence of being a board member-open to new ideas, willing to change, but always putting community interests first.
Laureen Boutang, University of Minnesota
Bio
Laureen Boutang is the Publishing Services Coordinator at the University of Minnesota Libraries in Minneapolis, Minn., where she has developed and operated multiple programs related to scholarly publishing. She applies experience with copyright law and open licensing, metadata and indexing standards, and workflow and process creation to publication builds. Laureen is an excellent communicator with leadership experience in academic settings with diverse groups of professionals and practitioners. She has proven her ability to create strategic plans and lead groups through complex processes.
Laureen has been involved in the Library Publishing Coalition since 2016. From 2017-20, she served on the LPC Program Committee, from 2019-20 as chair. In 2020 she received the Library Publishing Coalition Award for Exemplary Service. From 2020-22, she served on the LPC Publishing Practice Awards Committee, from 2020-21 as chair. From 2023-24, she served as the chair of the new Forum Scholarship Committee, and is now concluding her final year on that committee.
Candidate statement
I value the professional connections and diverse experiences I have gained by being an active member of the Library Publishing Coalition. The flexibility and responsiveness of this type of community make it a critical resource during a time of institutional upheaval. We all rely on the resources and solidarity of this community. I want to serve on the Board because I am committed to solving our problems, preserving our strengths and values, and making sure this is a solvent, stable resource for years to come.
I enjoy the strategic process of looking at an organization’s goals and values, deployment of programs and resources, and future plans. I would be humbled and honored if you select me to serve as a Board member on behalf of all of you. I will prioritize active listening and service to all coalition members and folks who rely on the LPC.
Statement of anti-racist practice
I choose to share a personal statement with you all. My driving value is “no one gets left behind this time.” I am committed to learning from previous progressive movements that were divided and conquered because they were willing to leave some of their most vulnerable and valuable community members behind. What this means in practice is that I am paying specific attention to the knowledge and wisdom of people who have different lived experiences than I do. I am cognizant of the spaces that I occupy and the power that I can wield, and who is and is not in those spaces with me. I am looking at how I can take action in any given moment to make systems and spaces better for everyone. The power of our community to care for each other is stronger than institutional or political power.