LPC Award for Outstanding Scholarship in Library Publishing

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, theory, and innovative practice in library publishing (for a definition of “library publishing”, see the LPC website home page), the Library Publishing Coalition is pleased to support the Award for Outstanding Scholarship in Library Publishing, which is awarded biennially and recognizes the best publication from the preceding two calendar years. The LPC Research Committee will evaluate submissions and select a recipient for the award. 

Winners will be officially announced in the spring and be recognized at the annual Library Publishing Forum. The award recipients will receive a cash award of $250 and complimentary registration to the Library Publishing Forum. The awardee will also have an opportunity to share their work with the community via a post to the LPC blog. 

Nominations may be made either by the author(s) or by any employee of a LPC member institution. Nominated author(s) do not need to be affiliated with a LPC member institution. 

Eligibility

  • Originality: Submissions must present original research, theory, or practice.
  • Date:  Submissions must have been made publicly available during the previous calendar year.
  • Format: We define publication broadly, to include research outputs such as an article, monograph, conference paper/proceeding, white paper/report, blog post, thesis/dissertation, multimodal digital project, etc.
  • Open Access: Submissions must be freely available (either via open access publishing or archiving in an open access repository) at the time of nomination. We encourage but do not require Creative Commons-licensed materials.
  • Peer Review: Given the broad definition of “publication” in this process, submissions need not have undergone traditional peer review.
  • Relevance: Submissions must address a topic or question directly related to library publishing.
  • Author Teams: Submissions with multiple authors are eligible; however, only one cash prize will be awarded.

Nomination Process

The nomination period has ended for this year.

Evaluation Guidelines

Nominated publications will be evaluated, and an award recipient selected, by the LPC Research Committee based on the following criteria:

  • For theoretical works, the relevance and/or meaningful application to library publishing services of the conceptual framework(s) introduced
  • For research (or evaluation) works, the appropriateness of the methodology and its execution
  • For praxis-based works, the applicability of the process or findings to other institutional contexts
  • The organization and clarity of the writing
  • The extent to which the submission advances the field of library publishing in terms of its diversity, inclusivity, and/or accessibility
  • The significance of the findings/conclusion, for example (but not limited to):
    • The immediate utility of the work for library publishing programs
    • The strength of findings that demonstrate value or impact of library publishing services
    • The likelihood that the work will change or influence practice


Email contact@librarypublishing.org with questions. 

Previous Awardees

2023: No award

2022: Nelson, R., & Thoms, B. (2021). “Managing the student employee experience in library publishing efforts.” Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication, 9 (1) , https://doi.org/10.31274/jlsc.12913.

2021: No award

2020: Fenlon, K., Senseney, M., Bonn, M. & Swatscheno, J.  (2019). “Humanities Scholars and Library-Based Digital Publishing: New Forms of Publication, New Audiences, New Publishing Roles.” Journal of Scholarly Publishing, 50 (3) Apr. 2019, pp. 159–82, https://doi.org/10.3138/jsp.50.3.01.

2019: McCready, K.; Molls, E. Developing a Business Plan for a Library Publishing Program. _Publications_ 2018, 6, 42. https://doi.org/10.3390/publications6040042

2018: Tracy, D. (2017). Libraries as Content Producers: How Library Publishing Services Address the Reading Experience. College & Research Libraries, 78(2). https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.78.2.16583

2017: Roh, C., & Inefuku, H. (2016). Agents of Diversity and Social Justice: Librarians and Scholarly Communication. In K. Smith & K. A. Dickson (Eds.), Open Access and the Future of Scholarly Communication: Policy and Infrastructure (pp. 107–128). Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield. (edited)

2016: Okerson, A., & Holzman, A. (2015). The Once and Future Publishing Library. Washington, DC: Council on Library and Information Resources.