scholarly communication

Willa Tavernier Developing scholarly communication competencies How a post-master’s degree residency program can provide career preparation

cholarly communication librarianship is a ing. David Scherer, Kate Byrne, Mark Hahnel, Smessy field. Its margins are ill-defined and and Daniel Valen drew attention to the wide ever- changing. There is a lack of curricular train- variety of tools used for assessment, discovery, ing in library schools and a lack of opportunities analysis, writing, publication, and outreach, for early-career candidates.1 As a result, preparing referring to Bianca Kramer and Jeroen Bosman’s librarians for a scholarly communication career 400+ Tools and innovations spreadsheet.5 As of presents a challenge. In this piece I discuss this December 7, 2020, that spreadsheet listed 699 messiness and describe my personal experiences in tools and platforms.6 a residency position, showing how these kinds of In 2018, the Educopia Institute carried out a positions support the professional development of census of 135 scholarly communication resources scholarly communication librarians, with specific (SCRs), including an in-depth review of 39 such reference to the NASIG Core Competencies for SCRs. The census concluded that “scholarly scholarly communication librarians. communication is still quickly changing, and Craig Finlay, Andrew Tsuo, and Cassidy we can anticipate that change continuing and Sugimoto note that despite its centrality to the even increasing before we reach a long-lived, profession, scholarly communication has not seen relatively stable state such as we enjoyed in the uptake as a “core component” in the Library and print-scholarship arena for several centuries.”7 Information Science (LIS) curriculum in U.S. Also, there is no single model for scholarly graduate programs.2 Similarly, Josh Bolick, Ma- communication librarianship—librarians and ria Bonn, and William Cross report that “fewer departments vary from institution to institu- than 50% of current scholarly communication tion regarding their location within library practitioners felt their education prepared them organizational structures, focus, range of services adequately for any of the named areas of work provided, responsibilities, and division of respon- in that field.”3 sibilities between librarians and staff. At some An assessment of impostor phenomenon (also universities, there may be one scholarly commu- referred to as “imposter syndrome”) among schol- nication librarian. Others expect all librarians to arly communication librarians in U.S. academic have scholarly communication competency. At libraries by Erin Owens found that impostor Indiana University (IU)-Bloomington, where I phenomenon is more prevalent among librar- work, the Scholarly Communication Department ians in scholarly communication than academic has three librarians, a professional staff member librarians more broadly. Owens attributes this, providing technical services who also holds an at least in part, to the nature of the field, which she describes as “broad, challenging, and rapidly changing.”4 Willa Tavernier is open scholarship resident librarian at Indiana University Libraries, email: [email protected] The sheer number of initiatives, platforms, and tools deployed in the field can be overwhelm- © 2021 Willa Tavernier

C&RL News April 2021 178 MLIS, and graduate student support. Position with the open access publishing manager. In titles and responsibilities also vary based on cross-training sessions, one department member institutional focus. would demonstrate a particular area’s workflow In their study, Findlay, Tsou, and Sugimoto and typical service requests for the other depart- also found that more senior faculty and staff ment members. hold most scholarly communication positions, The open access publishing manager, the as opposed to early-career librarians.8 Taken lone staff member in the department, was an together with the lack of curricular training, the invaluable resource in this initial period. Even wide array of tools, and lacking a stable model before my residency started, he made himself for this subfield, the predominant avenue to available to talk through coming to the depart- develop the knowledge, skills, and strengths ment and relocating to Bloomington. Our work associated with scholarly communication librar- together started with my review of the past ian competency is through experience. year of institutional repository consultations, The core competencies for scholarly com- followed by meetings to discuss my questions munication librarianship developed by NASIG arising from those consultations. After this, enjoy general acceptance across the field. NA- he demonstrated, then assigned, specific tasks SIG identifies five potential areas of emphasis: and workflows for managing the institutional 1) institutional repository management, 2) repository and the journal publishing program. publishing services, 3) copyright services, 4) Through this, we identified gaps in documen- data management services, and 5) assessment tation. I then created documentation, which and impact metrics.9 NASIG also identifies helped to solidify my understanding of pub- background knowledge, technical skills, out- lishing and repository workflows and tasks. reach and instruction, and team building as The open access publishing manager held an competencies that cut across all areas of em- MLIS, was a self-taught computer programmer, phasis. Finally, the NASIG toolbox points out and a Ph.D. in another field, so he was able to that dynamic and adaptable personal strengths discuss processes with me from a well-rounded are necessary given scholarly communication policy perspective. These discussions deepened librarianship’s amorphous nature. my understanding of the library and academic During the final semester of my MLIS, IU- context in which our department operated. Bloomington advertised its inaugural diversity A few months into my residency, I took residency for an open scholarship librarian—the over the responsibilities of the open access position which I now hold. This three-year resi- publishing manager as he moved into another dency based in the Scholarly Communication position outside of the department. For the Department, is collaboratively funded by the institutional repository, I created collections, library and the university. Over the first two managed permissions, ensured deposits had years of my residency, I have developed com- accurate metadata, proposed policy, and worked petency in institutional repository management with other department members to deliver sta- and publishing services, assessment and impact tistical reports. For the publishing program, I metrics, and outreach and instruction. A high managed requests for publishing new journals, level of institutional support, the length of the published journal issues, created documentation residency, and the agency I had in developing for enabling the DOI plugin, assigned DOIs projects, together with substantial professional to articles, along with troubleshooting various development funding and mentorship, were key editors’ issues. This experience allowed me to contributors to developing these competencies. become immersed in the department’s work. The residency contract length meant that I After a new hire was made, I regularly served could familiarize myself with the department’s as a backup in these areas. work at a measured pace. My initial two- During that first year, I was also able to get month training occurred via biweekly formal to know the broader campus community, and cross-training sessions and working closely find where strong connections with the libraries

April 2021 179 C&RL News already existed and where there were opportuni- I had opportunities to provide instruction or ties to forge closer relationships. This network- outreach sessions on behalf of the Scholarly ing typically occurred in less formal interactions Communication Department, I was markedly such as luncheons, seminars, department social more confident. gatherings, and sometimes just by walking My residency has professional develop- through hallways or having chance meetings ment funding at the same level as tenure-track off-campus. My department head encouraged librarians, a departure from the institutional me to make and execute a structured outreach practice for visiting librarian positions. This plan, which had several fruitful outcomes. funding, supplemented by two scholarships I These formal and informal efforts included the obtained, allowed me to attend six conferences creation of an open access CV Service Digital during the first year of my residency. These fora Collection of the work of Emeritus Professor provided networking opportunities with librar- Albert Valdman on the closing of the Creole ians in scholarly communication, librarians in Institute on campus, the creation of a schol- residency programs, and librarians of color. I arly publishing resource in collaboration with was able to talk with, listen to, and learn from the liaison librarian for African American and women of color at all stages of the profession, African Diaspora Studies, and connecting the and my peers in residency programs. I have built African American Arts Institute with library relationships that have outlasted these confer- services to support a bicentennial grant.10 I also ences, and members of these communities have became part of the extended community of the provided support and advice along the way. In Graduate Mentoring Center and the Institute many ways, these relationships have served as a for Advanced Studies on campus. means of informal mentoring. Rotations in other departments were ar- Mentoring, both formal and informal, has ranged based on my expressed interests. The been critical. My department head provided hosting departments—Reference Services, guidance on setting research and service goals Teaching & Learning, and the University Ar- and recommended the Library Publishing Coali- chives have been incredibly supportive. I still tion (LPC) mentorship program. The multicul- work reference and take part in the teaching tural outreach librarian, who was also a resource librarians’ community. Although the pandemic for me prior to arriving on campus, introduced thwarted my rotation in the University Ar- me to campus communities outside of the library chives—we had to leave campus shortly after and served as a sounding board for my questions my onboarding and initial training—I have about what I describe as the hidden culture of been able to participate in several virtual train- the library—the things that are not explicit but ing events. impact day-to-day life in the library. The head of the Teaching & Learning de- My LPC mentor provided a wealth of infor- partment enthusiastically embraced my goals mation, made introductions to other librarians and ideas and actively sought opportunities in areas where I expressed interest or challenges, for me to teach. As a result, I was immersed and provided suggestions for how I might begin in instruction from the very beginning of and sustain research and writing. The Society for my residency, handling instructional sessions Scholarly Publishing Fellows Program also paired independently, with other librarians in the de- me with a mentor who directed me to resources for partment, and with liaison librarians in other research and professional development. departments. These experiences helped me In the second half of the first year, I started build on my Graduate Certificate in College working with bibliometrics and discovered Teaching, which I completed alongside my that I had a particular interest in that field. I MLIS. I developed rapport in the classroom and pursued available online and in-person profes- learned a range of new techniques from librar- sional development opportunities and assisted ians who had been developing and delivering with bibliometric data analysis. At the start of the instruction for many years. After that, when second year, I proposed a workshop on research

C&RL News April 2021 180 impact, which generated interest from library of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication administration. 3, no. 1, eP1236 (June 2015): 4. https://doi. At the time, administration was actively part- org/10.7710/2162-3309.1236. nering with the Office of the Vice-President for 3. Josh Bolick, Maria Bonn, and William Faculty Academic Affairs (OVPFAA) to support Cross, “Designing OER to Prepare the Next Gen- faculty advancement. The Scholarly Communica- eration of Scholarly Communication Librarians,” tion Department and Libraries Administration 2017: 2, accessed February 24, 2021, https://www. scheduled the research impact workshop as the imls.gov/sites/default/files/grants/lg-72-17-0132 second half of a two-part series that we launched -17/proposals/lg-72-17-0132-17-full-proposal during Open Access Week. Attendance exceeded -documents.pdf. expectations and generated further requests for ma- 4. Erin Owens, “Impostor Phenomenon and terial and presentations on research impact as well as Skills Confidence among Scholarly Communica- individual consultations. These requests came from tions Librarians in the United States,” 2020: 3, faculty, institutes on campus, and OVPFAA. I began accessed November 9, 2020, https://shsu-ir.tdl. providing reports on bibliometric data to aid the org/handle/20.500.11875/2866. department and administration in decision-making. 5. David Scherer, Kate Byrne, Mark Hahnel, At the beginning of my third year, the library added and Daniel Valen, “Collaborative Approaches to my position to the listing of subject specialists on the Integrate Repositories within the Research Infor- IU Libraries website, with responsibility for research mation Ecosystem: Creating Bridges” The Serials management and impact. Librarian 78, no. 1–4, 181–90, https://doi.org My residency has been invaluable in giving me /10.1080/0361526X.2020.1728169. substantial experience in particular areas of scholarly 6. Bianca Kramer and Jeroen Bosman, “400+ communication librarianship. Given the dynamic Tools and innovations in scholarly communica- nature of academic librarianship in general and tion,” March 1, 2015, accessed February 8, 2021, scholarly communication librarianship in particular, http:/bit.ly/innoscholcomm-list. coupled with a curriculum lag in scholarly com- 7. Katherine Skinner, “Mapping the Scholarly munication training, post-master’s residencies are Communication Landscape – 2019 Census – Case an indispensable means of training. Residencies Studies,” Educopia Institute, 2019: 36, https:// can (and should) provide hands-on experience, give educopia.org/mapping-scholarly-communications residents responsibilities commensurate with other -infrastructure. early-career librarians, and strive to provide a sup- 8. Finlay, Tsuo, and Sugimoto, “Scholarly portive environment for resident librarians. Libraries Communication as a Core Competency.” can facilitate work experiences in residents’ areas 9. NASIG Executive Board, “NASIG Core of interest and provide guidance, mentorship, and Competencies for Scholarly Communication professional development opportunities. Libraries Librarians,” January 10, 2020, accessed December should continue to support residency programs as 19, 2021, https://www.nasig.org/Competencies these undoubtedly benefit librarians, libraries, and -Scholarly-Communication. the profession as a whole. 10. IUScholarWorks, “Professor Emeritus Albert Valdman Research Collection,” 2019, ac- Notes cessed February 24, 2021, https://scholarworks. 1. NCSU Libraries, et al. “Scholarly Com- iu.edu/dspace/handle/2022/23223. African munication Notebook. 2019,” accessed November American and African Diaspora Studies, “AAADS 18, 2020, https://www.imls.gov/grants/awarded Publishing Outlets and Self-archiving Policies,” /lg-36-19-0021-19-0. accessed February 24, 2021, https://bit.ly/ 2. Craig Finlay, Andrew Tsuo, and Cassidy AAADSpublish. Indiana University Bicentennial Sugimoto, “Scholarly Communication as a Core Grant Program, “Images of the African Ameri- Competency: Prevalence, Activities, and Concepts can Arts Institute,” accessed February 24, 2021, of Scholarly Communication Librarianship as https://200.iu.edu/participate/grant-program Shown Through Job Advertisements,” Journal /images-aaai.html.

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