LPC News

Webinar: Responsible Research Assessment in Scholarly Communication

Please join the Library Publishing Coalition and DORA for a webinar on Tuesday, December 1, at 2pm ET. 

How we evaluate research influences what scientists prioritize, but how scholarly communication is structured shapes what evaluators can actually see, recognize, and reward. From persistent identifiers and metadata to open peer review and diversifying research outputs, scholarly communication actors play a critical role in implementing and enabling research assessment reform. Realigning academic incentives around quality, openness, rigor, and societal impact requires coordinated action across editors, publishers, funders, repositories, research institutions, and infrastructure providers. Join us to explore how actors across the scholarly communication ecosystem can turn responsible research assessment principles into concrete, everyday practices.

DORA is developing a new resource, A Practical Guide to Implementing Responsible Research Assessment in Scholarly Communication (working title). Building on DORA’s existing Practical Guides for research performing and funding organizations, this Guide aims to support editors, publishers, journals, repositories, scholarly communication service providers, metadata organizations, and research infrastructures in translating responsible research assessment principles into action.

The DORA team will present about their work on the new guide and invite input from the library publishing community. We are seeking direct input from library publishers, university presses, repository managers, scholarly communication librarians and beyond! Come share your experiences on modernizing research assessment, examples of resources and initiatives that are helpful, and challenges you face. The webinar is free and open to the public, and will be recorded.

Please register in advance at: 

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/GMOiGc7QSMC-2CVMi3yR9Q

Email contact@librarypublishing.org with questions.

LPC releases updated Library Publishing Curriculum Policy Module

The Library Publishing Curriculum Editorial Board is pleased to release an updated version of the Policy Module of the Library Publishing Curriculum. One of the roles of the Editorial Board is to keep the Curriculum up to date, and the Policy Module was a priority. Policy is an area where publishing programs interface with the legal and political environment, which has seen dramatic changes since the original Policy Module was written, and these units provide the up-to-date guidance that library publishers need. The units in the updated Policy Module are: 

• Accessibility by Alexandra Marcaccio
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion by Talea Anderson
• Preservation by Corinne Guimont
• Publishing Ethics by Esther Jackson & Michelle Wilson
• Rights & Rights Management by Perry Collins

The 2023-2026 Editorial Board Members, Johanna Meetz, Joshua Neds-Fox, Chelcie Rowell, John Warren, and Rebecca Wojturska, are grateful to the authors of the new units for sharing their expertise on these topics with the field. 

Format change from original Curriculum

The original Curriculum units consist of a narrative, an instructor’s guide, slides, a bibliography, and sometimes other supplementary materials. For the updated Policy Module, we decided to focus the authors’ efforts on creating the narrative portion. We based this decision on our understanding of how the Curriculum is currently being used, as well as right-sizing the authoring process for ongoing updates (as opposed to the intensive, grant-funded project that created the original version). We invite feedback from the community on this decision, and encourage anyone who is teaching the Curriculum and would benefit from having access to more teaching-oriented resources to contact us at contact@librarypublishing.org. 

About the Curriculum

The full-length Library Publishing Curriculum is a comprehensive document, comprising four modules (Content, Impact, Sustainability, and Policy) as well as an introduction. It is available as a set of teaching materials (hosted by Wayne State University in its repository), as well as in a self-guided course hosted by the Public Knowledge Project (the Policy Module has not yet been updated). 

The Curriculum is a large resource, so the Editorial Board recently released the first of several themed ‘pathways’ through it — this one focused on the parts of the Curriculum most relevant to libraries who are starting a new program. 

Sonya Betz Receives the 2026 LPC Award for Exemplary Service

The LPC Award for Exemplary Service recognizes substantial contributions by an LPC community member to advancing the mission, vision, and values of the Library Publishing Coalition. This year we had a particularly impressive and competitive pool of nominations, reflecting the strength of contributions of our membership.

On behalf of the LPC Board, we are delighted to announce that the recipient of the 2026 award is Sonya Betz, for her work as a connector, advocate, and community builder. In particular, the nominators and LPC Board noted the significance of Sonya’s impact in growing the Canadian library publishing community presence in LPC and the development of the Canadian Association of Research Libraries’ Library Publishing Community Engagement Team (LPCET). In the latter case, her work helped ensure strong connections between LPC and LPCET, including a dedicated seat on LPCET for an LPC member institution. Sonya additionally served on the LPC Board from 2023-26, including service as its Secretary and unseen key roles in shaping programs such as the Library Publishing Creates campaign. 

A statement from Sonya:

I am deeply honoured to be selected for the LPC’s Exemplary Service Award. This community has been such an important part of my professional journey in library publishing, and I’ve been so supported, uplifted and inspired by all of you! It was such a pleasure serving on the Board, and LPC’s openness to exploring creative solutions to engaging with the Canadian community of library publishers, and unwavering support in moving forward, were foundational to the creation of the LPCET. I feel so fortunate to be one small part of this amazing organization, and really proud of what we are accomplishing together.

Sonya will receive a complimentary registration to the 2027 Library Publishing Forum and a $500 honorarium. 

LPC Welcomes a New Strategic Affiliate: OLH

The Library Publishing Coalition is delighted to welcome the Open Library of Humanities (OLH) as a new Strategic Affiliate! OLH has shared the following statement:

The Open Library of Humanities is an award-winning, academic-led publisher of diamond open access journals based at Birkbeck, University of London. With initial funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and subsequent support from Arcadia, a charitable fund, the OLH covers its costs by payments from an international library consortium rather than any author fee. This funding mechanism enables equitable open access in the humanities disciplines, with charges neither to readers nor authors.

Joining LPC’s Strategic Affiliates Program reflects their commitment to working collaboratively across the open scholarly communications ecosystem and to continuing to strengthen relationships between libraries, publishers, infrastructure providers and other organisations working toward a more open and equitable future for scholarly publishing.

Strategic affiliates are peer membership associations who have a focal area in scholarly communications and substantial engagement with libraries, publishers, or both. See our list of strategic affiliates or learn more about the program.

LPC Releases 2025–2026 Annual Report

The Library Publishing Coalition is pleased to announce the release of its 2025–2026 Annual Report.

In addition to outlining LPC’s finances, membership, and ongoing inclusion efforts, the Annual Report highlights the release of several new resources, including: 

• the Library Publishing Creates advocacy website (including Showcase Week content), 
• new Quick Guides to Digital Preservation for Library Publishers, 
• an AI Editorial Policy Guide, and
• Powered by People: Staffing and Capacity in Library Publishing Programs (a report from our 2024-26 Staffing Survey Task Force

This year’s Annual Report also includes an illustrated guide to LPC’s extended network, including strategic affiliates, joint projects, and meta communities!

We encourage community members to share this report with colleagues and administrators who may be interested in getting involved or in understanding what membership dues make possible.