LPC News

Colorful books with gray overlay and text that reads: "Library publishing curriculum. Virtual workshop. Sustainability module. July 9-30, 2018. Taught by Holly Mercer, Associate Dean for Research, Collections, and Scholarly Communications, University of Tennessee, Knoxville." Educopia Institute, Library Publishing Coalition, and IMLS logos included.
June 11, 2018

Library Publishing Curriculum: Register for the Sustainability Virtual Workshop

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The Library Publishing Coalition and the Educopia Institute are excited to host a series of virtual pilot workshops based on the IMLS-funded Developing a Curriculum to Advance Library-Based Publishing project. Our first virtual workshop – Library Publishing Curriculum: Sustainability – will begin on July 9, 2018 and will last four weeks, ending on July 30. The workshop is limited to 30 participants, and registration is first come, first served. There is no registration fee.  

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May 10, 2018

Announcing two new LPC sponsors: ProjectMUSE and BiblioBoard

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We are excited to announce two new organization-level sponsorships through our Publishers and Service Providers Program: Project MUSE and BiblioBoard. We sincerely appreciate their support!

Statement from Project MUSE:

Project MUSE was born from a collaboration between the Johns Hopkins University Press and the Milton S. Eisenhower Library of the Johns Hopkins Sheridan Libraries. We are delighted to continue our involvement with the library community by supporting the Library Publishing Coalition. Project MUSE provides a full-service journal and book hosting platform. Libraries can publish open access journals and books on MUSE or use our fulfillment services to offer subscription-based journals. Content on MUSE benefits from synergies with our corpus of 600+ journals and 50,000+ books from non-profit publishers.

Project MUSE logo

Statement from BiblioBoard:

BiblioBoard is a leader in OER and OA content creation, curation and distribution software. Our platform transforms access to information by delivering a simple, intuitive user experience along with the best content creation tools. We work with public and academic institutions of all sizes to democratize access to information and lower costs for students.

BiblioBoard logo

Stack of books, "Library Publishing Curriculum", logos of LPC, Educopia, and IMLS
May 3, 2018

Library Publishing Curriculum: Sustainability module released

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Professional development for library publishers has been a priority for LPC since its initial project phase. We put on lots of fantastic webinars, and of course the Library Publishing Forum can’t be beat, but there is still an unmet need for more comprehensive, structured educational resources for this growing field. Fortunately, as part of the ‘Developing a Curriculum to Advance Libary-Based Publishing‘ project, a stellar team of individuals and organizations has been working for the last year to develop a set of openly-licensed curriculum materials.  This project is a partnership of Educopia, LPC, the Public Knowledge Project, NASIG, and BlueSky to BluePrint, generously funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services.

We are delighted to announce the release of the Sustainability Module, the third module to be released in the four-part curriculum series! Two other modules, Content and Impact, were made available earlier this year, and the final module, Policy, will be released later this summer. Each module contains an introduction plus 4-7 “units” that address topics of interest. Each unit includes the following components: a narrative, a slideshow with talking notes, activities for use in a physical or virtual classroom for workshops and courses.

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Our Newest Members: PALNI, Penn State, ATLA, Guelph, UNCG, Binghamton U, and Columbia
April 24, 2018

Welcome to our seven new members!

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Remember when we announced a last quarter membership special? The response to it was beyond our wildest dreams, and we are very excited to announce our new members: American Theological Library Association (ATLA), Binghamton University, Columbia University, Private Academic Library Network of Indiana (PALNI), Penn State, University of Guelph, and University of North Carolina Greensboro.

All seven are full LPC members as of April 1st, and we are excited to see many of them at the upcoming Library Publishing Forum. Welcome, colleagues!

Wheat field scene with blue sky with mission, vision, values text overlaid
April 19, 2018

Check out LPC’s new Vision, Mission, and Values statements

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As part of a strategic planning process this year, LPC’s Board has revised the organization’s Vision and Mission, and has articulated a set of Values. We love these new statements, and we feel that they encapsulate the work that LPC is doing as well as the big picture goals of our community:

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.

These new statements have been added to our About Us page. We welcome feedback on them from LPC members and the wider community!

Image of a sparkler in a forest, information about winner in post
April 2, 2018

And the winner is…

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As participation in library publishing grows, the development of a strong evidence base to inform best practices and demonstrate impact is essential. To encourage research and theoretical work about library publishing services, the Library Publishing Coalition (LPC) gives an annual Award for Outstanding Scholarship in Library Publishing. The award recognizes significant and timely contributions to library publishing theory and practice.

The LPC Research Committee is delighted to announce that this year’s award recipient is Daniel G. Tracy for his article, “Libraries as Content Producers: How Library Publishing Services Address the Reading Experience.” The work is an excellent discussion of an important and timely issue.  With the growing interest in nascent open source publishing platforms, this research on how library publishers can design for and respond to readers’ experiences is important. Daniel’s article provides a snapshot of current practices and a baseline for future activities for library publishers to assess and improve the experience for readers of their publications.  A statement from Daniel on the award:

I am honored to be selected for the Library Publishing Coalition Award for Outstanding Research. LPC is playing an important role in fostering conversation and forward momentum among library publishing programs, and I have admired its efforts in this area. The research that led to this article was motivated by a desire to see more public conversations of users of library publications and publishing platforms feed back into design. Libraries have a strong tradition of studying users of information systems, and events like the Library Publishing Forum are great opportunities to move that work forward in relation to new and evolving publishing programs.

Daniel’s work will be formally recognized at the 2018 Library Publishing Forum in Minneapolis, MN. He  will receive a cash award of $250, travel support to attend the Forum, and an opportunity to share his work with the community.

Laurie Taylor, Brian Keith, Chelsea Dinsmore, and Meredith Morris-Babb received an honorable mention for their work on the ARL SPEC kit, Libraries, Presses, and Publishing. (SPEC Kit 357). Association of Research Libraries. November 2017. https://doi.org/10.29242/spec.357

March 29, 2018

Announcing a new LPC sponsor: MDPI

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We are happy to announce a new organization-level sponsorship through our Publishers and Service Providers Program: MDPI.

Statement from MDPI:

MDPI is proud to support the Library Publishing Coalition (LPC) through LPC´s publisher program. We believe in the inspiring work done by the LPC library members and in the constructive collaboration across the sectors and we are therefore delighted to be a part of LPC´s vibrant community.

MDPI Academic Open Access Publishing since 1996

March 13, 2018

LPC welcomes a new strategic affiliate: Digital Library Federation

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Digital Library Federation logo

The Library Publishing Coalition is delighted to welcome the Digital Library Federation as a new strategic affiliate! A statement from DLF:

The Digital Library Federation is pleased to join the Library Publishing Coalition in promoting research and supporting vibrant digital publishing practices as a strategic affiliate. Central to DLF’s mission is advancing research, learning, social justice, and the public good through the creative design and wise application of digital library technologies. DLF and LPC share core values and activities of collaboration, advocacy, and openness, as both organizations strive to support a rich and robust scholarly communications ecosystem. The DLF designs and administers programs that meet community needs in many ways, ranging from supporting working groups and affiliate organizations who use the DLF as a framework to get things done, to fostering an array of digital library events and communities of practice, to promoting growth in the field through learning and professional development initiatives. To learn more about the Digital Library Federation and its programs, please visit our site.

And a statement from LPC on the new relationship:

The Library Publishing Coalition is delighted to welcome the Digital Library Federation as an LPC Strategic Affiliate! Our Strategic Affiliates are peer membership organizations with whom we share common goals and values, and the program helps us to align our efforts on behalf of our memberships and the field. In addition to substantial overlap in member institutions, LPC and DLF share a deep commitment to openness and to community-driven change in the scholarly communications landscape. We admire the work that DLF does in a wide variety of areas, and are excited to have this opportunity to deepen our relationship.

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 Strategic Affiliates icon

March 12, 2018

LPC Board elections: Candidate bios and statements

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Elections for the Library Publishing Coalition Board open today and will continue through Wednesday, March 28th. The candidates are:

  • Jody Bailey, University of Texas at Arlington
  • Brad Eden, Valparaiso University
  • Vanessa Gabler, University of Pittsburgh
  • Ted Polley, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
  • Scott Warren, Syracuse University
  • Mary Beth Weber, Rutgers University

Each candidate has provided a brief biography and an election statement:

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