LPC Blog

The Library Publishing Coalition Blog is used to share news and updates about the LPC and the Library Publishing Forum, to draw attention to items of interest to the community, and to publish informal commentaries by LPC members and friends.

January 3, 2019

LPC is hiring!

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To support our growing community of members and expanding roster of projects and programs, LPC is hiring our first-ever Program Assistant.

This 20 hr/wk position will provide support for administration, communications, event planning, research, and more. As an affiliated community of the Educopia Institute, LPC’s staff are employed by Educopia, and work remotely as part of Educopia’s virtual office. If you have strong administrative and communication skills, love library publishing, and are interested in supporting this amazing community, this may be the job for you!  The position is open until filled, but priority will be given to applications received by January 25th.

Check out the full job posting.

December 19, 2018

CFP open for IFLA midterm meeting on library publishing

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Library publishers around the world (but especially in western Europe), check out this call for proposals! The new IFLA Special Interest Group (SIG) on Library Publishing is sponsoring a mid-term event in Dublin, Ireland in February, hosted by LPC member Dublin Business School. Please note that proposals are due by January 15th!

International Federation of Library Associations logo

IFLA Special Interest Group (SIG) on Library Publishing
2019 Midterm Meeting

Thursday February 28th – Friday March 1st 2019
Dublin Business School, Dublin, Ireland

Call for Participation

THEME:  Mentoring and Education for Excellence in Library Publishing: An International Knowledge Exchange

Aim

Library publishing (including new-model university presses housed in libraries) is in its infancy in many countries around the world.  The IFLA SIG aims to bring together experienced practitioners and would-be publishers to share information and advance this exciting field of endeavor. New and emerging library publishers will gain insight into the experiences and practices of established presses, and all attendees will learn from new and innovative approaches. The presentations from both sides and the ensuing discussions will advance the excellence and sustainability of library publishing ventures

The aim of the event is to bring together a broad spectrum of publishing programs, to exchange knowledge, and to foster networks and mentoring relationships among library publishers at all stages, also highlighting the important role that the Library Publishing Coalition plays in this regard.

The SIG meeting also invites participation by library schools and others engaged in efforts to educate the next generation of library publishers.  (more…)

December 13, 2018

LPC/Open Textbook Network webinar exchange

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To lead into our joint preconference to the Library Publishing Forum (Opening the Classroom: Publishing Open Educational Resources, 5/8/19), the Library Publishing Coalition and the Open Textbook Network are organizing a webinar “exchange”! LPC is hosting a webinar for its members on the OTN’s Publishing Cooperative, and OTN is holding a series of three webinars for its membership on OER publishing from a strategic perspective. As part of the exchange, members of both communities are invited to attend all four webinars!

LPC webinar

Figuring it out together: Building foundational knowledge for OER publishing

Date: February 6th, 2pm Eastern/11am Pacific
Presenters: Karen Lauritsen, managing director, Open Textbook Network; Karen Bjork, head of digital initiatives at Portland State University; Carla Myers, assistant librarian and coordinator of scholarly communications for the Miami University Libraries

Details

OTN webinar series: Building an open textbook publishing program

Should you publish?

Date: January 23rd, 2pm Eastern/11am Pacific
Presenter: John W. Warren, George Washington University

How should you publish?

Date: February 20th, 3pm Eastern/12pm Pacific
Presenter: Kevin Hawkins, University of North Texas

Implementing a publishing program

Date: March 14th, 2pm Eastern/11am Pacific
Presenter: Inba Kehoe, University of Victoria

Details

Title text and image of a sparkler in a forest
December 12, 2018

Nominations are open for the 2019 research award!

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‘Tis the season…to nominate yourself or a colleague for the 2019 LPC Award for Outstanding Scholarship in Library Publishing! LPC’s Research Committee is accepting nominations for the award until January 25th. Nominated publications must present original research, theory, or practice, and must have been published during the 2018 calendar year. One change for this year: the committee has broadened the definition of “scholarship” used for the program to include transformative work that isn’t published in a traditional, peer-reviewed format. Learn more and nominate a publication!

Call for Nominations

November 29, 2018

The state of the field: An excerpt from the 2019 Library Publishing Directory

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As much as we love the searchable online interface for the Library Publishing Directory, it doesn’t include the introduction found in the print, PDF, and EPUB versions. Each year, the Directory‘s introduction includes a ‘state of the field’ based on that year’s data that highlights trends and new developments in library publishing as reported by the programs that contribute their information. To make it easier to find, we are republishing that portion of the introduction here. This year’s introduction was written by Alexandra Hoff, Jessica Kirschner, Janet Swatscheno, and Robert Browder, with an assist from me. Enjoy!

MOVING FORWARD, LOOKING OUTWARD

LOCAL AND EXTERNAL PARTNERSHIPS

Local partnerships remain a mainstay of library publishing, and this is reflected in the 2019 dataset. Most library publishers report partnering with campus departments (80%) and individual faculty (78%). Many also partner with
graduate students (57%) and undergraduate students (57%). A minority of library publishers partner with the university press (29%).

While library publishers continue to focus on campus stakeholders through faculty-driven and student-driven journals, this year’s responses indicated a significant increase in the number of journals published for external groups. The number of faculty-driven journals increased 16% (442 to 512) from the previous year, and the number of student-driven journals increased 31% (224 to 294), while journals published for external groups increased 50% (173 to 259). It is possible that the increase in journals published for outside groups is part of a larger trend in library publishing, or it may reflect more specifically the publishing approaches of the many new entries in this year’s Directory. (more…)

Library Publishing Directory 2019 now available
November 29, 2018

Now available: This year’s Library Publishing Directory

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The Library Publishing Coalition is pleased to announce publication of the 2019 Library Publishing Directory! This year’s Library Publishing Directory highlights the publishing activities of 138 academic and research libraries, and is openly available in PDF and EPUB formats and via the searchable online directory. The Directory illustrates the many ways in which libraries are actively transforming and advancing scholarly communications in partnership with scholars, students, university presses, and others. Each year, the Directory‘s introduction presents a ‘state of the field’ based on that year’s data. 

Publication of the 2019 Directory was overseen by the LPC’s Directory Committee:

  • Alexandra Hoff, Purdue University (2018-19 chair)
  • Robert Browder, Virginia Tech
  • Janet Swatscheno, University of Illinois
  • Jessica Kirschner, Texas Tech
  • Melanie Schlosser, Educopia Institute (ex officio)

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

Promo image for 2019 Forum
October 23, 2018

Save the date: 2019 Library Publishing Forum preconference on publishing OERs

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Mark your calendar – on Wednesday, May 8, 2019, join us in Vancouver, BC for Opening the Classroom: Publishing Open Educational Resources, cosponsored by BCcampus and Open Textbook Network. As the use of OERs continues to grow throughout the academy, this preconference will address the growing need for distinctive practices for developing, supporting, and hosting OERs as part of library publishing. The morning will consist of a hands-on textbook publishing workshop, and the afternoon will include panels and presentations. Visit the event page to learn more, and keep an eye out for more information!

Promo image for 2019 Forum
October 12, 2018

Now open: Call for proposals for the 2019 Library Publishing Forum!

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Have a cool project happening at your library? Mulling over a big topic? Want an excuse to collaborate with peers in the library publishing world? You’re in luck – the call for proposals for the 2019 Library Publishing Forum is now open! As we did for the 2018 Forum, we are accepting proposals for two different types of sessions: individual presentations (15 minutes) and full sessions (60 minutes). Individual presentations are a great opportunity to showcase a project, a workflow, an in-progress program or research project, etc. Full sessions will dig a little deeper, with multi-institution presentations or interactive formats.

While we don’t have a formal conference theme, we do have a set of mini-themes and topic suggestions, inspired by LPC’s new strategic plan:

  • Proposals that consider and promote discussions of diversity and inclusion
  • Case studies that highlight new initiatives, partnerships, or research
  • Sessions that focus on professional development and shared best practices
  • Sessions that envision the library publishing community working together (or joining forces with others) to tackle challenges at scale
  • Sessions exploring the role of library publishing in the bigger context of scholarly communication

Proposals are due November 30, so put your thinking cap on! For more information, view the full call for proposals. If you’re ready to submit, head on over to the submission form:

Submit a Proposal

October 4, 2018

LPC joins the Coalition for Diversity and Inclusion in Scholarly Communication (C4DISC)

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The LPC is proud to be a founding member of the new Coalition for Diversity & Inclusion in Scholarly Communications, or C4DISC. We join nine other professional associations in the scholarly publishing sphere in releasing a Joint Statement of Principles to demonstrate the commitment of participating organizations to promoting involvement, innovation, and expanded access to leadership opportunities that maximize engagement across identity groups and professional levels.

The other founding members of C4DISC are the Association of University Presses, Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers, Canadian Association of Learned Journals, Council of Science Editors, International Society of Managing and Technical Editors, NASIG, Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association, UKSG, and the Society for Scholarly Publishing.

AUPresses, NASIG, OASPA, and SSP are also LPC strategic affiliates, and we are excited to have this opportunity to work together in a new way to advance our shared values. Stay tuned for more information on LPC’s involvement in C4DISC!

Logos of participating organizations

Read the full press release.