About Us

Vision, Mission, and Values

Vision

A scholarly publishing landscape that is open, inclusive, and sustainable.

Mission

The Library Publishing Coalition (LPC) extends the impact and sustainability of library publishing and open scholarship by providing a professional forum for developing best practices and shared expertise.

Values

  • Professionalism: We seek to improve the quality and sustainability of library publishing through advocacy, professional development, and shared best practices.
  • Openness: We believe that the products and processes of scholarly communication should be as open as possible, thereby increasing the reach and impact of scholarship worldwide.
  • Diversity: Recognizing that library publishing has a unique opportunity to amplify underrepresented voices in scholarly communication, we strive to promote inclusivity in all our professional activities.
  • Collaboration: We leverage our collective knowledge and resources to enhance our own publishing efforts and to support other libraries in developing scholarly publishing programs.
  • Innovation: As research and scholarly communication continue to evolve, we explore and engage with new technologies and new models of publishing to better support the needs of the scholarly community.

Annual Reports

Our Members

Library Publishing Coalition (LPC) members comprise a robust network of libraries committed to enhancing, promoting, and exploring this growing field. Membership is open to academic and research libraries and library consortia that have or are considering library publishing programs. See the history section below for the list of initial founding and contributing institutions.

  • Atla
  • Atlanta University Center
  • Boston College
  • California Digital Library
  • Carnegie Mellon University
  • Claremont Colleges Library
  • Columbia University
  • Dartmouth College
  • Dublin Business School
  • Emory University
  • Florida State University
  • George Mason University
  • Grand Valley State University
  • Illinois Wesleyan University
  • Indiana University
  • Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
  • Iowa State University
  • James Madison University
  • Kansas State University
  • Library of Congress
  • McGill University
  • McMaster University
  • Middle Tennessee State University
  • Missouri State University
  • Northwestern University
  • Ohio State University
  • Oregon State University
  • Penn State University
  • Pepperdine University
  • Portland State University
  • Private Academic Library Network of Indiana
  • Purdue University
  • Rice University
  • Rutgers University
  • Simon Fraser University
  • Stanford University
  • SUNY Geneseo
  • Syracuse University
  • Temple University
  • Tulane University
  • University College London (UCL) Libraries & UCL Press
  • University of Alberta
  • University of Arizona
  • University of Arkansas
  • University of California, Santa Barbara
  • University of Cincinnati
  • University of Delaware
  • University of Florida
  • University of Georgia
  • University of Guelph
  • University of Houston
  • University of Illinois
    at Urbana-Champaign
  • University of Iowa
  • University of Kansas
  • University of Louisville
  • University of Massachusetts Amherst
  • UMass Chan Medical School
  • University of Miami
  • University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
  • University of Minnesota
  • University of New Brunswick
  • University of North Texas
  • University of Oklahoma
  • University of Ottawa
  • University of Pennsylvania
  • University of Pittsburgh
  • University of South Florida
  • University of Tennessee
  • University of Texas at Arlington
  • University of Virginia
  • University of Washington
  • University of Western Ontario
  • University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Villanova University
  • Virginia Commonwealth University
  • Virginia Tech
  • Wake Forest University
  • Washington University
    in St. Louis
  • Wayne State University
  • Weill Cornell Medicine—Qatar
  • West Virginia University
  • William and Mary

Learn more about membership in LPC

Bylaws

The LPC Bylaws (PDF) were ratified in July 2014 and last updated in March 2024.

Board

The Library Publishing Coalition (LPC) Board oversees the governance, organizational structure, by-laws, and the review and direction of the membership of the LPC. This group provides guidance on critical decisions, formalizes documentation, and ensures that projects make progress towards their goals. The Board is elected by LPC’s membership, and officers are elected by the Board.

Questions or feedback for the Board?
Use this form.

2023 – 2024 Board Members


  • Amanda Hurford

    President
    PALNI
    July 2022 – June 2025


  • Janet Swatscheno

    President-Elect
    University of Michigan
    July 2022 – June 2025


  • Sonya Betz

    Secretary
    University of Alberta
    July 2023 – June 2026


  • Justin Gonder

    Treasurer
    California Digital Library
    July 2021 – June 2024


  • Harrison Inefuku

    DEI Officer
    Iowa State University
    July 2023 – June 2026


  • Angel Peterson

    Penn State University
    July 2023 – June 2026


  • Elizabeth Scarpelli

    University of Cincinnati Press
    July 2022 – June 2025


  • Emma Molls

    University of Minnesota
    Past President/Ex officio

  • Melanie Schlosser, Scholarly Communications Program Leader

    Melanie Schlosser

    Educopia Institute
    Ex officio

Past Board Members

  • Jody Bailey

    Emory University

  • Sarah Beaubien

    Grand Valley State University

  • Marilyn Billings

    University of Massachusetts

  • Karen Bjork

    Portland State University

  • Perry  Collins

    University of Florida

  • Jason Colman

    University of Michigan

  • Rebel Cummings-Sauls

    Kansas State University

  • Brad Eden

    Valparaiso University

  • Christine Fruin

    Atla

  • Vanessa Gabler

    University of Pittsburgh

  • Isaac Gilman

    Pacific University

  • Sarah Hare

    Indiana University

  • Kevin Hawkins

    University of North Texas

  • Korey Jackson

    Oregon State University

  • Jessica Kirschner

    Virginia Commonwealth University

  • Ally Laird

    Penn State University

  • Kate McCready

    University of Minnesota

  • Sarah Melton

    Emory University

  • Catherine Mitchell

    California Digital Library

  • Joshua Neds-Fox

    Wayne State University

  • Ted Polley

    IUPUI

  • Melanie Schlosser

    Ohio State University

  • Julie Speer

    Virginia Tech

  • Marcia Stockham

    Kansas State University

  • Allegra Swift

    Claremont Colleges

  • Willa Tavernier

    Indiana University, Bloomington

  • Laurie Taylor

    University of Florida

  • Scott Walter

    DePaul University

  • John Warren

    George Mason University

  • Scott Warren

    Syracuse University

  • Sarah Wipperman

    Villanova University

Strategic Affiliates

To facilitate collaboration and open communication, the Library Publishing Coalition welcomes peer organizations as strategic affiliates.

Learn more about our Strategic Affiliates Program

Staff

Melanie Schlosser, Scholarly Communications Program Leader

Melanie Schlosser, Senior Community Facilitator

Melanie Schlosser is the Senior Community Facilitator, working with the Library Publishing Coalition and other communities and projects related to scholarly communications.  Before coming to Educopia in 2017, Melanie spent almost ten years as a faculty member at the Ohio State University Libraries, working with digital publishing, the institutional repository, and a variety of other scholarly communications-related areas. Her research covers a range of topics – from metadata to copyright to digital humanities – but it all focuses broadly on making scholarship more accessible. From 2015 to 2019, she served as Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication, and is currently serving as an Immediate Past Editor-in-Chief. Melanie has an M.L.S. and a B.A. in English from Indiana University, Bloomington. Email: melanie@educopia.org.

Brandon Locke

Brandon Locke, LPC Assistant Facilitator

Brandon Locke is Assistant Facilitator for the Library Publishing Coalition and Project Manager for Library Publishing Workflows. He also works on several scholarly communications and digital scholarship projects for Educopia. Before joining Educopia, Brandon worked for several years in digital scholarship at Michigan State University. He received an MLIS from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and an MA in American History at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Nancy Adams, LPC Program Assistant

Nancy Adams, LPC Program Assistant

As Program Assistant for the Library Publishing Coalition, Nancy provides both program and administrative support to the LPC Community Facilitator and to the LPC board. Previously she worked at Boston College Libraries, most recently as Digital Publishing Specialist, and before that she spent many years writing and editing in the corporate world. Nancy holds an MSLIS from Syracuse University and a BA in Latin from Boston University. Email: nancy@educopia.org

Racquel Asante, Business Manager

Racquel Asante, Co-Director (Educopia Institute)

Racquel Asante is the Business Manager for Educopia Institute, overseeing financial reporting across Educopia’s affiliated communities and research projects. Racquel worked for Toys Et Cetera in Chicago, IL as Store Manager for 13 years. Prior to accepting the role as Business Manager here at Educopia, Racquel held three roles at the University of Chicago as Department Assistant in the English Language and Literature Department, Financial and Grant Coordinator in the Humanities Division, and Payment Reconciliation Analyst for the Shared Services Central Office. She has a Master’s in Business Administration from National Louis University located in Chicago, IL.

Community Plan

LPC’s current community plan was released in December 2023 and covers the years 2024 through 2029. There are four areas of focus:

  • Support community members’ well-being and career longevity in the field of library publishing
  • Advocate for library publishers and give them the tools to advocate for themselves 
  • Navigate changes in scholarly output, business models, and infrastructure, through a lens of ethics and collaboration
  • Continue to develop LPC as an inclusive professional space

Read the Community Plan (PDF)

Our Memberships

International Federation of Library Associations logo

The Library Publishing Coalition is a member of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA), and is an active participant in its Library Publishing Special Interest Group.

LPC is a founding member of the Coalition for Diversity and Inclusion in Scholarly Communications (C4DISC).

History

Between January 2013 and December 2014, 61 academic libraries, in collaboration with the Educopia Institute, founded the Library Publishing Coalition (LPC). The project emerged from conversations between Purdue University, the University of North Texas, and Virginia Tech regarding the need for a community dedicated to advancing the field of library publishing.

Academic libraries and the researchers and organizations they support are facing a new paradigm in scholarly publishing. The web, information and social media technologies, and the open source and open access movements are changing the framework in which scholarship is created, collected, organized, and disseminated. Yet, as shown by the highly regarded Strategies for Success project (funded by IMLS and led by Purdue University, the University of Utah, and Georgia Tech), library-based publishing groups lack a central space where they can meet, work together, share information, and confront common issues.

The Strategies for Success project laid a strong foundation for further action. Prompted by the results of this project, Educopia hosted a conversation in May 2012 among three library deans who shared an interest in advancing the emerging field of library publishing: James Mullins (Purdue University), Martin Halbert (University of North Texas), and Tyler Walters (Virginia Tech). As an outcome of that conversation, in June 2012, Charles Watkinson (Purdue University), Katherine Skinner (Educopia Institute), and Julie Speer (Virginia Tech), drafted a proposal for a new, community-driven organization dedicated to library publishing. The vision outlined in that proposal was vetted by representatives from 18 major libraries and consortia in July 2012 before being released to prospective participants in August 2012. More than 50 academic libraries formally joined the project team before the project kicked off in January 2013.

Over the next eighteen months, participants worked to produce the LPC’s first deliverables, including the Library Publishing Directory and the inaugural Library Publishing Forum. At the request of the community, on July 1, 2014 the LPC formally launched as an ongoing membership organization, six months ahead of schedule.

Initial Founding Institutions

Brigham Young University | Colby College | Columbia University | Dartmouth College | Duke University | Grand Valley State University | Kansas State University | Northeastern University | Ohio State University | Oregon State University | Penn State | Purdue University | Syracuse University | University of Arizona | University of Illinois, Chicago | University of Kentucky | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | University of North Carolina, Greensboro | University of North Texas | University of Pittsburgh | University of San Diego | University of Tennessee | University of Utah | Utah State University | Virginia Tech | Washington University, St. Louis | Wayne State University

Initial Contributing Institutions

Boston College | Brandeis University | California Digital Library | California Polytechnic State University | Carnegie Mellon University | Claremont University Consortium | Cornell University | Emory University | Florida State University | Illinois Wesleyan University | Indiana University | McGill University | Northwestern University | Pacific University | Pepperdine University | Rutgers University | Simon Fraser University | Tulane University | University of Central Florida | University of Florida | University of Georgia | University of Hawaii at Manoa | University of Iowa | University of Kansas | University of Maryland | University of Massachusetts-Worcester | University of Michigan, Ann Arbor | University of Minnesota, Twin Cities | University of North Carolina, Charlotte | University of Washington | Valparaiso University | Villanova University | Wake Forest University | West Virginia University