Scholarly Communication at Canadian Research Libraries: Conversations with Librarians

Abstract

INTRODUCTION The landscape of librarianship in relation to the practice of scholarly communication is evolving. The objectives of this study were to investigate: the scope of scholarly communication activities within Canadian research libraries; the organizational structures in place to support them; and the roles of librarians who participate in them. Key challenges to its advancement and how librarians envision its future were also investigated. METHODS Twenty-nine academic librarians from Canadian Association of Research Libraries member institutions participated in semi-structured, open-ended interviews. Interviews were analyzed for recurring themes. RESULTS Participants outlined initiatives, services, and structures to support scholarly communication at their institutions. Solo scholarly communication librarians, specialized teams, and committees were identified as primary structures. Liaison librarians play an essential supporting role regardless of structure. Individually, librarians are seen to have an impact as leaders and advocates in promoting scholarly communication. The concept of “librarian as researcher” is also important. Participants shared a desire for better communication and collaboration in this area. Many participants saw the need for standardized assessment and evaluation methods. Participants enumerated their greatest challenges and provided suggestions for addressing them in the future. CONCLUSION This study demonstrates that organizational structure can enhance scholarly communication activities in libraries. Leadership both at the personal and collective level is necessary to provide an impetus for scholarly communication activities. Librarians should be knowledgeable about the issues and be ready to deliver the “pitch.” Strengthening collaboration and communication among Canadian librarians is essential for moving the scholarly communication agenda forward.

Scholarly Communication as a Core Competency: Prevalence, Activities, and Concepts of Scholarly Communication Librarianship as Shown Through Job Advertisements

“…In smaller institutions, scholarly communication initiatives may be "more likely to be led by a single person, and much less likely to be led by a library unit" (Thomas, 2013, p. 168). Although Burpee and Fernandez (2014) concluded that organizational structure and leadership are essential drivers of scholarly communication initiatives (p. 16), a survey of ARL member libraries found that no single leadership model was predominant, as a mixture of single librarians and committees was responsible for steering initiatives (Radom, Feltner-Reichert, & Stringer-Stanback, 2012, p. 11).…”

“…Fortunately, UNESCO has recently released online their Open Access Curricula for Researchers and Library Schools. Consisting of two components-a Institutional repositories (IRs) have become another cornerstone of library scholarly communication initiatives (Burpee & Fernandez, 2014;Carpenter, 2011;Radom et al, 2012;Staley, et al, 2010;Thomas, 2013). IRs provide "a natural entree for conversations about scholarly communication issues" (ARL, 2010, p. 289), and given tight budgets, many academic libraries (regardless of institution size) are attracted to open-source IR systems to cost-effectively engage in scholarly communication initiatives (Hashim & Jan, 2011).…”

Perceptions of Scholarly Communication Among Library and Information Studies Students

“…More holistic commentary on SC librarianship includes that from Carpenter, Graybill, Offord, and Piorun (2011), who projected that "Librarians can play a primary role in managing information for projects of all sizes, including bibliographic management, data creation and preservation, usage-rights, and assisting with the distribution of finished works and raw data by promoting open access" (p. 669). These observations are substantiated by Thomas (2013), Burpee and Fernandez (2014), and others who enumerated the suite of professional responsibilities commonly associated with SC librarians. Burpee and Fernandez's (2014) investigation emphasized the highly collaborative nature of SC librarianship, not only at the level of the practitioner's institution, but inter-institutionally and inter-professionally.…”

“…These observations are substantiated by Thomas (2013), Burpee and Fernandez (2014), and others who enumerated the suite of professional responsibilities commonly associated with SC librarians. Burpee and Fernandez's (2014) investigation emphasized the highly collaborative nature of SC librarianship, not only at the level of the practitioner's institution, but inter-institutionally and inter-professionally. They also underscored that all librarians, regardless of their title or main responsibilities, must familiarize themselves with SC issues in order to initiate and participate in successful communities of practice.…”

“…In this instance, the needs are both economic and mission-oriented. In terms of economics, the emergence of open access and new models of preserving and disseminating scholarly work provide opportunities for libraries to mitigate the long-term and well-documented exploitative practices of scholarly journal publishers (Burpee & Fernandez, 2014;Carpenter, Graybill, Offord, & Piorun, 2011;Meyers, 2016;Newman, Blecic, & Armstrong, 2007;Xia & Li, 2015). More fundamentally, however, the attention given to SC by libraries is mission-centered: to wit, it is based on user needs.…”