Libraries and University Publishing Operations

Webinar

Scope

In a variety of (mostly US) universities, presses have been brought under the auspices of the library. What insights do libraries have to offer about the processes of manuscript acquisition or production workflow? What innovations have they introduced? Is scholarly communication being changed by this shift? Is it working? This Roundtable Discussion will bring together representatives from presses and libraries to spotlight successes and lessons learned. 

Confirmed Participants (in alphabetical order): Emma Molls, University of Minnesota; Arthur Andrew Rouner, George Mason University Press; Erich van Rijn, UC-Press; and Liz Scarpelli, University of Cincinnati Press.

Event Sessions

Roundtable Discussion

Speakers

Arthur Rouner

Director, Mason Publishing Group and George Mason University Press
George Mason University

Elizabeth Scarpelli

Publishing Director
University of Cincinnati Press and Cincinnati Library Publishing Services

Erich van Rijn

Director of Journals and Open Access
University of California Press

Moderated by Todd Carpenter, Executive Director, NISO

Some of the questions that Todd will ask panelist to address include:

  1. What are the internal pressures facing your press or parent institution/library? (Funding or available subsidies? Issues with reporting structures? Costs of production and/or support for multiple formats? Lack of staff?) 

 

  1. What are some of the external pressures or challenges that you or those in roles similar to your own face in the marketplace? (Library acquisition budgets? Flow of available manuscripts? Supplier availability?) 

 

  1. How might universities or institutions foster/deepen relationships between the university press and the library? Is there a need for either the library or the press to reposition itself? 

 

  1. Are institutional researchers and faculty asking for greater diversity in publication formats?  How might the community support the development of different formats and outputs?

 

  1. To what extent are faculty seeking open access as a part of the publication plan for their work? How do you address those needs or demands when OA may be competitive with an edition that represents a contribution to revenue? 

 

  1. How might libraries and university presses be thinking about support for open infrastructure in the context of producing and distributing scholarly output?

 

  1. How much elasticity is there in the current marketplace for experimentation by university presses and libraries? What might be some exciting areas of innovation or expansion?

 

  1. Historically, the reward system in academia has included metrics tied to publication (acquisition of a ms. by a university press and the book’s subsequent sales) and to use (citation activity, library circulation, etc.)  What additional (new) metrics does this panel think might be useful as indicators of value?

 

  1. What kinds of shared initiatives might make sense in the current environment? What types of partnerships would benefit the community as a whole?

 

Additional Information

NISO assumes organizations register as a group. The model assumes that an unlimited number of staff will be watching the live broadcast in a single location, but also includes access to an archived recording of the event for those who may have timing conflicts. 

NISO understands that, during the current pandemic, staff at a number of organizations may be practicing safe social distancing or working remotely. To accommodate those workers, we are allowing registrants to share the sign-on instructions with all colleagues so that they may join the broadcast directly, irrespective of their geographical location. 

Registrants receive sign-on instructions via email on the Friday prior to the virtual event. If you have not received your instructions by the day before an event, please contact NISO headquarters for assistance via email (nisohq@niso.org). 

Registrants for an event may cancel participation and receive a refund (less $35.00) if the notice of cancellation is received at NISO HQ (nisohq@niso.org) one full week prior to the event date. If received less than 7 days before, no refund will be provided. 

Links to the archived recording of the broadcast are distributed to registrants 24-48 hours following the close of the live event. Access to that recording is intended for internal use of fellow staff at the registrant’s organization or institution. Speaker presentations are posted to the NISO event page.

Broadcast Platform

NISO uses the Zoom platform for purposes of broadcasting our live events. Zoom provides apps for a variety of computing devices (tablets, laptops, etc.) To view the broadcast, you will need a device that supports the Zoom app. Attendees may also choose to listen just to audio on their phones. Sign-on credentials include the necessary dial-in numbers, if that is your preference. Once notified of their availability, recordings may be downloaded from the Zoom platform to your machine for local viewing.