Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln

 

Date of this Version

10-10-2013

Citation

Presentation given at the Nebraska Library Association Annual Conference in Kearney, Nebraska, October 10, 2013.

Comments

Copyright 2013, the author. Used by permission.

Abstract

Scholarly authors today are faced with unprecedented choices and, paradoxically, increasing barriers to publication. For example, the author-pays financial model of funding open access (also sometimes called Gold OA) is one of many such innovations that thwart authors who are not currently Federally funded or otherwise sponsored. As academic librarians, we need to be aware of the scholarly publishing infrastructure so we can advise authors how to make decisions about where to publish, what terms to agree to, and how to best leverage their written scholarly output.

Regarding the scholarly publishing financial market, I will describe how, effectively, the “tail wags the dog,” and cover how the proper primary focus should be facile scholarly communication, and that financial models should remain of secondary concern, which is contrary to the prevailing current environment.

The presentation part of my session will be in a standard lecture format, but then I will wrap up the talk with a dramatization of two example publishing scenarios that directly affect authors’ ability to communicate with their peers, students, and the public. I will show one scenario that is publisher-centric, and another that is author-centric, and show how each impacts scholarly communication. My intention is that this will be entertaining, informative, and thought-provoking.

Share

COinS