Perspectives on Academic Publishing (Panel)
Abstract
Over the past two decades, the cost of electronic journals has continually grown to the point that many academic libraries today find it financially unsustainable. This has made it necessary for librarians to begin cancelling major journal subscription packages, known colloquially as big deal packages. The cancellation of big deal packages is complex, and at present, poorly understood practice revolving around the analysis of a range of quantitative and qualitative data. Moreover, it also has a distinct micro-political dimension as it involves reconciling the, at times, conflicting interests of faculty, students, librarians, and publishers. This panel seeks to initiate a dialogue between a diverse group of stakeholders with interests in this issue. It is expected that this dialogue will increase awareness of the complexity involved in managing the size, scope, and cost of big deal subscription packages and will give voice to multiple perspectives on the issue. As such, it is hoped that the panel will contribute to finding common ground from which we can collectively begin thinking about how the symbiotic relationship between academic libraries and publishers can be reinvented.
Samuel Cassady
Western Libraries, Western University
Samuel is the Head of Collections & Content Strategies at Western University, in London, Canada. Previously, Samuel worked as a Digital Information Resources Librarian, also at Western, and was the Head of Collections & Technical Services at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology.
Asen O. Ivanov
Postdoctoral Fellow, THINC Lab, McLaughlin Library, University of Guelph
Asen O. Ivanov is the Michael Ridley Postdoctoral Fellow in Digital Humanities at the College of Arts at the University of Guelph, where he is affiliated with the THINC Lab, the School of Languages and Literatures, and the Research & Scholarship team at the McLaughlin Library.
Catherine Johnson
Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Information & Media Studies, Western University
Catherine is Professor Emeritus at Western University where she taught for many years in the Faculty of Information and Media Studies. One of her main teaching areas was in Collection Management where she focused on the management of electronic resources. Her current research project is on decision-making with regard to the management of electronic journals.
Heidi Julien
Professor, Department of Information Science, University at Buffalo
Heidi Julien is a professor in the Department of Information Science at the University at Buffalo. Her research focuses on digital literacy and information behaviour. She is co-editor of The Information Literacy Framework: Case Studies of Successful Implementation (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020).
Alec Brookes
Dept of Modern Languages, Literature and Cultures, Memorial University of Newfoundland
Alec Brookes is Associate Professor of Russian Literature at Memorial University of Newfoundland. His research pertains to cultural studies, World-Ecology, and Russian literature and film. His research has appeared in October, the Interdisciplinary Study of Literature and the Environment (ISLE), Russian Literature, and Canadian Slavonic Papers.
Stephanie Kaelin
Senior Library Sales Manager, Cambridge University Press
Philippe Mongeon
School of Information Management, Dalhousie University
Philippe Mongeon is an Assistant Professor at the School of Information Management of Dalhousie University, where he runs the Quantitative Science Studies (QSS) Lab. He is also the president of the Canadian Association for Information Science. His research uses bibliometrics and other quantitative methods to study the dynamics and practices of knowledge production, dissemination and use, as well as research evaluation and governance. He works on a broad range of more specific topics, such as research collaboration, scientific misconduct, scholarly publishing, data sharing, research funding, social media, networks, and the evolution of scientific fields.
