Forum News

July 9, 2018

Digital Publishing Your Way: Moving Toward Multimodal, Flexible Platforms

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Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Sarah Wipperman, University of Pennsylvania. This is part of a series of reflections by community members on the recent Library Publishing Forum. See the whole series. 

The 2018 Library Publishing Forum preconference, Owned by the Academy, gave participants a chance to learn more about publishing platforms that have a commitment to community-owned infrastructure. Elsevier’s 2017 acquisition of bepress put a spotlight on this issue, so, for many, including myself, this preconference was a welcomed chance to explore both well-established and up-and-coming open source publishing alternatives.

Publishing platforms can be a place where libraries do research and development, finding new partnerships and collaboration opportunities, working with new types of scholarship and methods, and experimenting with new technologies. I thus found the most exciting takeaway from this preconference to be the possibilities of new (and continued) development in open source publishing. Many of these communities are thinking more actively about non-traditional forms of scholarship, multimodal scholarship, and other ways in which academia is embracing, incorporating, and sharing new expressions of scholarship. Many platforms are also emphasizing sustainability and trying to provide multiple ways of engaging in these systems, including options for assisted setup and/or hosting. While no platform is “perfect” (as if such a thing exists), progress towards the next wave of scholarly needs is tangible.

“We all have different services we provide to meet needs on campus, so I find it equally important to have tools that can support us as needs, workflows, and services change. Platforms should support people-based services, not dictate or confine what those services should be.”

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July 5, 2018

What’s it like to be the local host of the Library Publishing Forum?

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Editor’s note: This is part of a series of reflections by community members on the recent Library Publishing Forum. See the whole series. This post is guest written by Kate McCready and Laureen Boutang, from the University of Minnesota Libraries. 

When we first considered the idea of hosting the Library Publishing Forum at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, we were very excited about the opportunities that could come from being a local host. We saw it as a way to strengthen our relationship with the Library Publishing Coalition, and support the work of the library publishing community. We also hoped that bringing the events to campus would allow our U of MN colleagues to have the opportunity to learn more about library publishing in general, and our program specifically. We thought it would build understanding about why our institution was devoting resources to scholarly publishing activities. Of course, we also wanted a meaningful conference for those attending! All of these hopes were realized and we learned a lot about bringing an event to campus as well.  

As we dove into thinking about logistics and providing on-the-ground knowledge of the location, we realized that for our hopes to succeed, we had a lot of work to do. There were many details that would need our attention if the Forum and affiliated events were to run smoothly. Looking back at our work preparing for the Forum over the last year, it can be loosely categorized in four areas. First, we needed to gain buy-in at our home institution at many levels. Second, we had to work with many constituents (local colleagues, program committee colleagues, event staff, LPC colleagues, etc.) to determine the priorities and requirements for the events. Third, while the Forum is a self-supporting conference and the Library Publishing Coalition provides financial and logistical resources for it, we worked to provide additional local staffing and financial resources to support our priorities as the host institution. Finally, we spent time to get and stay organized. (more…)

July 2, 2018

Call for proposals to host the 2020 Library Publishing Forum

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We are currently accepting proposals from LPC members to host the 2020 Library Publishing Forum. The Forum typically welcomes 150-200 guests for 3 days of preconference and conference activities. The LPC aims to hold the Forum in a variety of attractive locations throughout North America that provide convenient access for our members through geographic proximity or easily accessible transportation. The LPC seeks an institution willing to act as a partner in providing access to library-owned spaces, or co-signing contracts for spaces at reduced costs. The call is open through August 31, 2018.

Host responsibilities

The Forum is financed through conference registration fees and sponsor support, and the Educopia Institute will handle all conference planning and logistics. The host institution is not required to provide additional financial support. However, local organizers should provide referrals to appropriate venues for the main conference activities, pre- and post- events, and hotel stays. The host institution should also plan to have a staff member serve as the Host Liaison on the Program Committee. The Host Liaison has a one-year, non-voting role, and is invited to attend committee meetings, but is not obligated to undertake more general committee work. In addition, we welcome support from local hosts in planning a reception and coordinating appropriate social events. (more…)

May 16, 2018

Watch the livestream of the Library Publishing Forum

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For the second time, we will be livestreaming portions of the Library Publishing Forum (5/22-23)! You can see which sessions will be streamed on the Program Page (look for the little camera icon next to the presentation title). All streaming will be done via LPC’s Twitter account and will be shared via the conference hastag: #LPForum18. Can’t watch the stream live? Links to the recordings will be added to the program after the conference.

A BIG “thank you” to our Forum livestreaming volunteers: Lauren Collister (University of Pittsburgh), Sean Crowe (University of Cincinnati), Kevin Hawkins (University of North Texas), and Jody Bailey (University of Texas at Arlington). We couldn’t do it without you!

We will also be streaming the plenary sessions at Owned by the Academy: A Preconference on Open Source Publishing Software, so make sure to tune in on 5/21 starting at 8:30am CDT. Access to the livestream of the preconference will be via LPC’s Twitter account and the preconference hashtag: #OwnedByTheAcademy.

Image of conference attendees, information about how to volunteer in post
April 5, 2018

Attending the Library Publishing Forum? Volunteer to livestream!

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If you’ll be at this year’s Library Publishing Forum, consider helping us make the program more accessible to those who cannot attend in person.

We’re seeking interested volunteers to join us in a coordinated effort to capture and stream conference sessions live to Twitter. 

Here’s how this will work:

  • If you have a smartphone that you can use to capture and stream sessions to Twitter, and if you are interested in joining us in this effort, please let us know your name and contact information via this form by Friday, May 4. (Please note that we will have access to campus wifi, so you will not be required to use your wireless data connection for this.)
  • A program committee representative will host a virtual training session on Tuesday, May 8 to go over account access, Periscope livestreaming instructions, and logistics. Volunteers will then meet in person as a group on Tuesday, May 22 during breakfast to go over guidelines, details, software/hardware, and assignments.
  • Educopia will provide tripods and microphones in each room to improve the quality of the streaming.
  • Each volunteer will receive their livestreaming assignments (including session, room number and location, and presenters) via email the week before the conference. We will only stream presentations where the presenter has granted permission to do so.

We very much hope that you’ll help us make this year’s Forum the most accessible and inclusive one yet!  Please do sign up if you’re interested, or feel free to email Hannah Ballard (hannah@educopia.org) if you have any questions or concerns.

Curious about how to watch the livestreamed sessions? Follow us on Twitter (where the livestream will be shared) and keep an eye on our blog for more information.

March 29, 2018

AUPresses-LPC Cross-Pollination Program recipients announced

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Association of University Presses logoThis year, LPC collaborated on a Cross-Pollination Conference Registration Waiver program to promote greater interconnectivity between members of the Association of University Presses and the LPC. The program helps two people from each organization’s membership to attend the other’s annual meeting.

Recipients of a waiver to attend the 2018 Library Publishing Forum are: James Ayers, Managing Editor at University of New Mexico Press; and Jana Faust, Manager of Digital Assets and IT at University of Nebraska Press. Recipients of a waiver to attend the 2018 AUPresses Annual Meeting are: Sarah Hare, Scholarly Communication Librarian at Indiana University; and Mark Konecny, Scholarly Communications Publishing Coordinator at the University of Cincinnati.

After attending the meetings, this cohort of 4 cross-pollinators will provide public reports on their experience. In addition to creating collegial networks between the two communities, this program is intended to encourage future collaboration between the two organizations.

Congratulations to these worthy recipients!

The 2018 Library Publishing Forum will be held in Minneapolis, May 21-23.

The 2018 AUPresses Annual Meeting will be held in San Francisco, June 17-19.

 

March 21, 2018

Accessibility F.A.Q.s page for the Library Publishing Forum

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Making the Library Publishing Forum accessible to a diverse group of attendees is a priority for the Library Publishing Coalition and for the Program Committee. Not only do we want the Forum and the library publishing community to benefit from a range of viewpoints and experiences, but we also want to acknowledge the importance of accessibility as a value of library publishing itself. This year’s keynote speaker, Catherine Kudlick, is the Director of the Paul K. Longmore Institute on Disability at San Francisco State University, and we have made accessibility one of the themes of this year’s conference. We are looking forward to some great discussion on and shared strategies for accessible publishing!

While it can be challenging for a small conference to plan for and implement many accessibility measures (like ASL translation), there are lots of things we can do easily – including providing solid information for anyone who is thinking about attending. We can also encourage attendees to let us know as early as possible how we can support their participation, as even more expensive or labor-intensive accommodations may be within reach with enough time to plan! As a small step in this direction, for the first time this year, we have created a page for frequently asked questions (F.A.Q.s) about accessibility related to the Library Publishing Forum, based on SIGACCESS’s Guide to Creating a Conference Accessibility FAQ Page. Topics covered include the venue, the transit options, and the kinds of support available. We welcome feedback and additional questions of all kinds, and look forward to building out the information even further for future Forums!

Read the F.A.Q.s

Promotional image for Library Publishing Curriculum pilot workshops
March 1, 2018

Library Publishing Curriculum pilot workshops at the Forum

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The Developing A Curriculum to Advance Library-Based Publishing project, generously funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services, is hosting a pair of in-person workshops at at this year’s Library Publishing Forum based on the first two modules, Content and Impact. Both will take place on Thursday, May 24 (the day after the Forum) at the University of Minnesota. Each workshop is limited to 20 participants, to be selected through a brief but competitive application process. Each workshop will also include two diversity scholarships for attendees (four scholarships in total). While the workshops are affiliated with and will complement the Library Publishing Forum, please note that you do not have to attend the Forum to participate in the workshops or to receive a scholarship. Learn more about the workshops.

Workshop descriptions

Library Publishing Curriculum: Content

The Content workshop will cover how library publishers attract, select, edit, manage, and disseminate content. Attendees will learn how to recruit partners and select content for their program, and how to incorporate diverse voices into each part of the publication process. The workshop will also share information on common production workflows, identifying the resources and staff skills needed to support various editorial strategies and content types.

Instructors: Joshua Neds-Fox, Wayne State University and Charlotte Roh, University of San Francisco

Library Publishing Curriculum: Impact

The Impact workshop will focus on how library publishers measure and extend the impact of their work. Attendees will learn to identify and apply specific impact measures for publications, to assess the performance of a publishing program and publication portfolio, and to build an engagement strategy and evaluate its effects.

Instructor: Rebecca Welzenbach, University of Michigan

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