Posts by Melanie Schlosser

December 5, 2019

LPC Mentorship Program: Looking back at year one, getting involved for year two!

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It’s time to reflect on the pilot year of our new Mentorship Program and to kick off participation for year two! We’ve made some exciting changes for year two – keep reading to learn about our new focus for 2020 (peer mentorship) and how to get involved.

The pilot year: How did it go? (Spoiler: It was great.)

This year, the Library Publishing Coalition Professional Development Committee introduced a new member opportunity: The LPC Mentorship Program. The goals of the program were two-fold. First, the program aimed to orient mentees to the LPC, to enrich mentors’ experiences with the LPC, and build relationships between the two. A secondary goal of the program was to further the development of library publishing through a professional, semi-structured mentorship program. 

Activities of the program included a virtual getting-to-know you meeting to kick things off, continuing with monthly calls and email correspondence between mentors and mentees.  Participants were provided with a list of suggested questions to help start their mentor/mentee relationship, and were then encouraged to continue the discussions in whatever direction was most desirable for the partners. An in-person meetup also took place at the Library Publishing Forum in Vancouver to provide an opportunity to further strengthen relationships.  

The meeting at the Forum took place over the lunch hour on the second day, and proved to be quite fruitful! Not all of the mentor/mentee pairs could attend, but we spent the majority of the time sharing out about our experiences and discussing with other participants about what has worked for them, what they enjoyed most, what suggestions they had for improvement, and networking with others that were participating in the pilot year. After the lunch meeting, all mentors and mentees were sent the list of discussion questions we used at the lunch, and were also encouraged to fill out a mid-year survey to assess the program and provide feedback.

The first cohort is currently wrapping up their participation, and their reception of this program has been positive. Participants of the first pilot year had many good things to share, including the following:

“Things are going well! Really nice to have time and energy dedicated to chatting with a peer who does not have the same institutional context as me.” – Emma Molls, University of Minnesota

“I really enjoyed serving as a mentor during this inaugural year of the LPC Mentorship Program. Benefits included expanding my professional network through forming a strong relationship with my mentee, broadening my expertise through learning about library publishing at his university, and the opportunity to contribute back to this wonderful community. All of these positives resulted from a minimal time commitment of about one hour per month to meet with my mentee, so future program participants can be confident that they will receive an outstanding payoff with nominal effort.” — Jody Bailey, Emory University

“The LPC Mentorship program did a fantastic job pairing me with the best mentor for my individual professional development goals. My mentor and I connected from the get-go and I learned so much from her experiences and advice, and made a real friend. Given how thoughtful and personalized the process, I think that this program is an essential tool in an early-career library publishing professional’s toolkit as they start out!” — Amanda Wentworth, SUNY OER Services

“Being quite new to library publishing, the LPC mentorship program was a fantastic way to get a personal & friendly introduction to the world of library publishing outside of my own institution. It was incredibly helpful to compare & contrast how location, institutional history, funding, and size of operation affects our daily workflows. My mentor was very generous and I got access to some excellent resources to share with my team!” — Emily Zheng, University of Alberta

Interested in being a peer mentor in 2020?

In response to a successful pilot year, the LPC Professional Development Committee will be offering the program again, with one key change. The focus for the 2020 year will be on peer mentor relationships, rather than having specific mentor and mentee roles. We hope to welcome many more members into the 2020 LPC Peer Mentorship Program!

Timeline for 2020 Cycle:

  • Applications out now! (Don’t worry, we’ll remind you again about applications in early January! We’ll be accepting applications through Jan. 17.)
  • Matching: We’ll match you with your new Peer Mentor by Jan. 24.
  • Orientation: Participants will receive a packet of information and resources and will arrange their first meeting with their peer mentor in February. 
  • Library Publishing Forum: May 4-6, Worcester, Massachusetts 
    • The LPC Professional Development Committee will host a lunch or meet-up for participants.
  • More throughout your time in the program!
    • Check-in emails (1 month, 3 months)
    • A virtual discussion group (mid-way)
    • A Mid-year Check-in (6 months) with survey
    • Complete 12-month post-cycle/cohort evaluation with exit survey

Apply for the 2020 LPC Peer Mentor Program now!


November 12, 2019

LPC and IFLA Library Publishing SIG launch a new partnership

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The Library Publishing Coalition was originally founded as a membership organization for North American libraries involved in publishing. After a couple of years, when we had our feet firmly under us, we opened up membership to libraries around the world. Since then, we have welcomed a handful of members from Europe and Australia, and have been thrilled to include them in the community. However, given our small size, lean staffing and infrastructure, and our continued geographical center of gravity in the U.S. (where the staff and the majority of our member libraries can be found), we remain primarily a North American community. 

We are also deeply committed to participating in the growing international community of library publishers. [1] Over the last couple of years, LPC’s Board has carefully considered various strategies for international engagement. In a typically strategic move, the Board has decided to focus our efforts on supporting and participating in the new Library Publishing Special Interest Group (SIG) within the International Federation of Library Associations. Over the next two years, we will be partnering with the new SIG on two projects:

  • The Library Publishing Directory: It is one of the goals of the new SIG to document library publishing activities among IFLA’s global membership. This winter, the SIG will be working with our Directory Committee to create more paths for international libraries to participate in the Directory. 
  • The Library Publishing Curriculum: Another area of focus for the SIG is increasing the availability of professional development for library publishers around the world. Volunteers from from the SIG and from LPC will identify portions of the Library Publishing Curriculum to adapt, package, and/or translate for greater international impact.

To support this partnership, LPC has joined IFLA as a library membership organization and has committed to sending representatives to international library publishing-related events (including the annual IFLA conference and any mid-term meetings organized by the SIG). We have also invited the SIG to appoint an official liaison to our community, who will help ensure regular communication and coordination between our two organizations. We are delighted to welcome former LPC Fellow Reggie Raju as the first IFLA SIG liaison to LPC. Melanie Schlosser will serve as the primary liaison to the SIG from LPC. Interested in supporting any of these efforts? Please reach out to Melanie (melanie@educopia.org) to find out where volunteers are needed. 

We are very excited to have this opportunity to participate in the important work of building the international community of library publishers! 

1. See Objective 2.4 of our 5-year strategic plan: https://librarypublishing.org/about/#strategic-plan


Library Publishing Forum 2020, May 4-6, Worcester, MA
November 4, 2019

Announcing the 2020 LPForum keynote speaker: Claire Redhead

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The LPC Program Committee is pleased to announce that our keynote speaker for the 2020 Library Publishing Forum is Claire Redhead, Executive Director of the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA).

Claire RedheadAbout Claire: Claire has an editorial background and 20 years experience of the scholarly publishing industry, beginning with a series of positions in UK publishing houses covering all aspects of academic journal and book publishing. Claire joined the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association in 2012, initially responsible for managing membership and communications for the organisation. Quickly taking the lead to develop and grow OASPA during this time, Claire was appointed Executive Director in 2016. Claire is responsible for overseeing OASPA’s annual conference and program of webinars, works closely with the OASPA board and its members, and sits on a number of industry working groups and committees to represent the views of the open access publishing community. OASPA is an international association with over 140 member organisations that focus on open access publishing or provide supporting services and infrastructure in this space.

The Library Publishing Coalition seeks to collaboratively approach major scholarly communications challenges and implement solutions for the community. OASPA is a strategic affiliate of the LPC in this work, and we welcome the opportunity to learn from Claire about the mission of the association and new policy developments in scholarly publishing and open access. The international perspective and diversity of views represented by OASPA will be critical to our conversations and our goals for the 2020 Forum.


Library Publishing Coalition Quarterly Update
October 31, 2019

LPC Quarterly Update

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Check out our latest Quarterly Update! It includes:

  • Community news
    • Recording and slides from IFLA webinar taught by LPC Board members
    • New LPC Fellows announced: Talea Anderson and AJ Boston
  • Library Publishing Forum
    • Call for proposals
    • Call for scholarship applications
  • Updates from the Library Publishing Workflows project
  • Blog spotlight: What’s our End-Game? A community conversation at the 2019 Library Publishing Forum

Read the Update


Library Publishing Forum 2020, May 4-6, Worcester, MA
October 14, 2019

LPForum20: Call for proposals and scholarship applications open

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The Library Publishing Forum is an annual conference bringing together representatives from libraries engaged in (or considering) publishing initiatives to define and address major questions and challenges; to identify and document collaborative opportunities; and to strengthen and promote this community of practice. The Forum is sponsored by the Library Publishing Coalition, but you do not need to be a member of the LPC to attend. The 2020 Forum will be held in Worcester, MA, May 4-6, hosted by the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

This year we are moving away from the format of a one-day preconference followed by a two-day Forum and instead having a single, three-day Forum. Adding a third day to the Forum will allow us to encourage deeper, continuing conversations, and to make space for different types of community activities. 

Call for Proposals

A call for proposals is now open! In addition to the full sessions and individual presentations formats we have used for the last couple of years, we are also welcoming two new proposal formats: poster talks and experimental sessions. We warmly encourage proposals from first-time presenters and representatives of small and emerging publishing programs. Proposals may address any topic of interest to the library publishing community and all disciplines. However, with the conference being hosted by the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS), we extend a special invitation to sessions exploring projects or topics related to STEM publishing and the Open Science Movement. The proposal deadline is November 15th.

Learn more and submit a proposal

Library Publishing Forum Award

The Library Publishing Coalition is pleased to offer the third annual Library Publishing Forum Award. This year, we will offer up to three awards to aid individuals from diverse backgrounds in attending and contributing at the Forum. Applications for the Forum Award are due by November 15.  

Learn more and apply

About the Forum

The Library Publishing Forum is an annual conference bringing together representatives from libraries engaged in (or considering) publishing initiatives to define and address major questions and challenges; to identify and document collaborative opportunities; and to strengthen and promote this community of practice. The Forum includes representatives from a broad, international spectrum of academic library backgrounds, as well as groups that collaborate with libraries to publish scholarly works, including publishing vendors, university presses, and scholars. The Forum is sponsored by the Library Publishing Coalition, but you do not need to be a member of the LPC to attend.