LPC News

August 23, 2018

LPC welcomes a new strategic affiliate: The Open Textbook Network

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Open Textbook Network logo

The Library Publishing Coalition is delighted to welcome the Open Textbook Network (OTN) as a new strategic affiliate! A statement from OTN:

“The Open Textbook Network is excited to announce it is now a Library Publishing Coalition Strategic Affiliates Program Partner. We look forward to working together to support open education publishing initiatives in libraries across the nation. As a community of open education leaders, we are committed to supporting one another in developing skills, processes and best practices in open education.”

And a statement from LPC on the new relationship:

“Open education publishing is a substantial and growing component of library publishing, and one that is a natural fit for libraries’ support for education affordability and deep engagement with the educational missions of their parent institutions. We are very excited to partner with the Open Textbook Network to support both of our communities, particularly in the areas of best practices and professional development related to open education 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 Strategic Affiliates icon

August 14, 2018

Report from the LPC DOAJ Task Force: New resources to support library publishers

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The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) is a nonprofit online directory that indexes and provides access to high quality, open access, peer-reviewed journals (and is a strategic affiliate of the LPC). To be indexed in the DOAJ directory, journals need to meet the rigorous DOAJ selection criteria. Securing inclusion for a journal in the DOAJ is evidence of a commitment to quality, peer-reviewed, open access scholarly publishing practices. However, the process for application and inclusion in the DOAJ is complex and sometimes lengthy, and a 2014 criteria update (and subsequent removal of journals from the index) has caused some consternation among publishers.

In order to better support the indexing of LPC members’ journals, LPC recently partnered with  DOAJ on a task force.This group was charged with identifying barriers to library-published journals being indexed in the Directory and proposing ways that LPC could support this crucial work. Over the last year, the task force focused its efforts in the following areas:  

Investigation

The group started by surveying LPC members about their experiences with DOAJ and by reviewing a list (provided by DOAJ) of journals affiliated with LPC member institutions that had applied for inclusion in the index. Some of the major takeaways:

  • As of September 2017, 90 journals published by LPC member institutions had been accepted into the DOAJ, 50 had been rejected by the DOAJ, and 20 journals were pending or in progress to be indexed in the DOAJ. It is important to note here that not all journals affiliated with an LPC member institution are necessarily published by the library, and one benefit of this approach was helping member identify journals on their campuses that may benefit from library support.
  • When applying for DOAJ indexing, 21% of members found the application process fairly easy and 58% found the process either somewhat difficult or very difficult to complete. Specific pain points included licensing and copyright considerations (e.g. Creative Commons licenses), reporting policies and statements about the quality and transparency of the journal using the DOAJ’s preferred frameworks/language, and the time taken both to complete the lengthy application and to receive feedback from the DOAJ.
  • When asked how the LPC can support members with DOAJ applications, 76% of respondents were in favor of developing guides, running webinars and having a central LPC expert contact, and 11% were interested in one-on-one mentoring during the application process.

Based on this investigation, the task force moved on to the second phase of its work: devising ways to support LPC members in getting indexed.

DOAJ application guide

Based on the survey results, the group decided that the most effective way to support library publishers in their work with DOAJ would be to create a freely-available written resource they could draw on when preparing an application. After two intensive trainings with the DOAJ liaison and multiple rounds of writing and revision, the task force is very excited to announce the release of:

The guide walks library publishers through the DOAJ application process step-by-step, and includes explanations of commonly misunderstood questions and information specific to library publishing. (more…)

LPC Strategic Plan 2018-2023 Now Available
August 10, 2018

LPC’s new strategic plan

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The LPC is excited to release our very first strategic plan! The result of more than a year of work by the Board and the community, the plan will guide the organization’s efforts over the next five years. It will focus our work in three goal areas:

  • Promulgate best practices in library publishing
  • Strengthen the community of library publishers
  • Act as a focal point and a force multiplier for library publishing

Each of the three goals encompasses a variety of objectives and action items, many of which represent work already underway in the community. Working on the plan uncovered areas for growth and identified new pathways for the LPC, while also happily confirming that the organization was already headed in many of the right directions. Rather than a course change, this plan gives us the opportunity to articulate our goals and to further align our efforts towards reaching them.

The plan will be used by the Board, the standing committees, and the staff to plan our work and evaluate the results. We will also use it to report out to the community on progress towards our shared goals.

Read the Strategic Plan (PDF)

Library publishing curriculum policy module available
August 7, 2018

Library Publishing Curriculum: Policy module released

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We are very excited to announce the release of the fourth module of openly licensed curriculum materials created as part of the ‘Developing a Curriculum to Advance Library-Based Publishing‘ project. The Policy Module covers how library publishers develop policies that guide specific areas of their work. In this initial release, it is focused on policies related to copyright, diversity, and digital preservation, and guidance on creating legal agreements. The module was created by Sara Benson, Harriet Green, Merinda Kaye Hensley, and Janet Swatscheno (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library); and Katherine Skinner and Melanie Schlosser (Educopia Institute).  

The Policy Module joins three other modules published by Educopia Institute and the Library Publishing Coalition this year: Content, Impact, and Sustainability. 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. A fifth module will be released in 2019. Titled “Introduction,” it is being developed by the project’s advisory board, and provides helpful background and synthesis for learners and instructors.

Workshop opportunities

A set of pilot workshops (virtual and in-person) are already underway. An ongoing list and registration information for these workshops is maintained by the project team and is available here.

In-person workshops: We will be holding a pair of in-person pilot workshops for the Sustainability and Content Modules at the 2018 Digital Library Federation Forum in Henderson, Nevada in October.  Learn more and apply (deadline August 24).

Virtual workshops: Registration for the Impact virtual workshop is now full, but look for announcements about more virtual workshops this fall.

More about the curriculum

The Library Publishing Curriculum is a suite of synchronous and asynchronous professional development offerings for librarians that are open and free under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license for anyone to offer or adapt. Each module has been authored by field experts, and each is roughly the equivalent of a 12 hour “course.”

This dynamic, extensible, multimedia curriculum is intended to empower librarians to meet local demands to launch and/or enhance scholarly publishing activities. 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.

Curriculum editors: Sarah Lippincott, Independent Scholarly Communications and Digital Scholarship Consultant; Melanie Schlosser, Educopia Institute; Katherine Skinner, Educopia Institute; Hannah Ballard, Educopia Institute; Nancy Maron, BlueSky to BluePrint

August 6, 2018

Library Publishing Curriculum pilot workshops at the DLF 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 Digital Library Federation Forum based on the Content and Sustainability modules of the curriculum. Both full-day workshops will take place on Sunday, October 14 (the day before the Forum) at the M Resort just outside of Las Vegas, NV. Each workshop is limited to 20 participants, to be selected through a brief application process. We also have three diversity scholarships available for attendees (see below). While the workshops are affiliated with and will complement the Digital Library Federation Forum, please note that you do not have to attend the Forum to participate in the workshops or to receive a scholarship.

Registration fee: $100

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.

Instructor: Matt Ruen, Grand Valley State University

Library Publishing Curriculum: Sustainability

The Sustainability workshop will focus on how library publishing endeavors can establish longevity and find long-term success. Attendees will learn how to build support with key stakeholders and communities, both internally (library staff) and externally (e.g., University Press), and how to undertake digital preservation to prolong the lifespan of digital publications.

Instructor: Lisa Schiff, California Digital Library

(more…)

August 3, 2018

LPC welcomes a new member: University of Ottawa

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The Library Publishing Coalition is delighted to welcome a new member: University of Ottawa! A statement from uOttawa:

The University of Ottawa Library recognizes the importance of supporting scholarly communication initiatives and increasing the visibility of academic research. To this end, we offer hosting services using OJS to increase access to journals produced by the uOttawa community and to encourage the creation of new ones. We currently have 12 open access peer-reviewed faculty, student and society journals on our platform and we continue to grow our services. uOttawa Library is also responsible for our IR where we publish graduate ETDs, honors theses, and faculty publications. We are pleased to be a new Library Publishing Coalition member and look forward to engaging with the library publishing community to enhance our publishing efforts and share best practices.

University of Ottawa beneath an icon with a columned building

New publication: An Ethical Framework for Library Publishing, Version 1.0
July 24, 2018

An Ethical Framework for Library Publishing, Version 1.0

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The Library Publishing Coalition is very excited to announce the release of a new resource: An Ethical Framework for Library Publishing, Version 1.0. Inspired by discussions at the 2017 Library Publishing Forum, the Framework was created by the members of the Ethical Framework for Library Publishing Task Force, with the assistance of many community members who served as peer reviewers and workshop participants, as well as the staff of the Educopia Institute. The Framework introduces library publishers to important ethical considerations in a variety of areas and provides concrete recommendations for ethical scholarly publishing. As the version number in the title suggests, this is meant to be an evolving document – to be updated and expanded over time. We would love to hear from the community about how this document is useful to you and how it could be improved – please email contact@librarypublishing.org with feedback and suggestions!

The Framework is now available in HTML and PDF, both of which can be accessed via LPC’s Resources page. Many thanks to Purdue University Libraries for their production support and for hosting the PDF version of the document!

The Framework is released under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, so it can be freely copied, distributed, and built upon. However, where possible, please link to the version of record rather than reposting, to help us track the document’s impact and to ensure that the latest version is easily discoverable.

July 24, 2018

Call for entries: 2019 Library Publishing Directory

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Does your library publish journals, monographs, conference proceedings, or technical reports? Do you provide hosting and support services for digital humanities projects, data, or ETDs? Help us to document the range of activities that libraries are undertaking in “publishing” (broadly defined) through their work in scholarly communications, digital humanities, digital sciences, and institutional repositories. To promote collaboration and knowledge-sharing, and to raise the visibility of the unique contributions of libraries as publishers, the Library Publishing Coalition (LPC) is compiling the sixth edition of our Library Publishing Directory.

To have a profile of your library included in the Directory, please complete our questionnaire by August 24th. 

The questionnaire takes between 30 and 45 minutes to complete. You can save your progress and return later, but we recommend previewing the questions before you begin. If your library has had an entry in a previous edition of the Directory, you should receive an email with instructions on how to update it. Email contact@librarypublishing.org with questions. 

About the Directory

The Library Publishing Directory is an important tool for libraries wishing to learn about this emerging field, connect with their peers, and align their practices with those of the broader community. Last year’s edition featured 156 libraries in half a dozen nations. The Directory is published openly on the web and includes contact information, descriptions, and other key facts about each library’s publishing services. Previous editions (in PDF, EPUB, and database versions)  can be found on the LPC website.

The Directory is made possible by the generous donation of services from Purdue University Libraries and Bookmasters.

Submit an Entry

July 18, 2018

LPC welcomes a new member: Dublin Business School

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The Library Publishing Coalition is delighted to welcome Dublin Business School as a new member! About DBS:

DBS Library aims to be a leading force in the creation of a library publishing culture in Ireland;  publishing journals and monographs, teaching and sharing best practice, fostering networks and communities within Irish academia and internationally. DBS Library Press is a centre for expertise in library publishing in Ireland; supporting academic discourse and pedagogy through the publication of peer-reviewed, open access journals and monographs.  DBS Library Press currently publishes two journals, DBS Business Review and Studies in Arts and Humanities Journal.  Both journals are open access, peer-reviewed, cross-institutional academic journals.  Library staff occupy key roles on both journals; Managing Editor, Senior Editor and Editorial Board membership.

DBS, Dublin Business School, excellence through learning