Against the Grain

Volume 26 | Issue 6 Article 10

2014 Publishing, , Publishers and Maria Bonn University of Illinois, [email protected]

Follow this and additional works at: https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/atg Part of the and Information Science Commons

Recommended Citation Bonn, Maria (2014) "Publishing, Libraries, Publishers and Librarians," Against the Grain: Vol. 26: Iss. 6, Article 10. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7771/2380-176X.6945

This document has been made available through Purdue e-Pubs, a service of the Purdue University Libraries. Please contact [email protected] for additional information. Publishing, Libraries, Publishers, and Librarians: Shared Passions, Complementary Skills by Maria Bonn (Senior Lecturer, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois)

s I note in the forthcoming book on ac- spoke, again with those same pioneers, at a But library publishing is driven by opportu- ademic libraries and scholarly publish- 2004 Society of Scholarly Publishing (SSP) nity as much as anxiety. The rise of readily Aing (Getting The Word Out: Academic meeting on “What Are Those Libraries Up To available technology and tools to support Libraries and Scholarly Publishing, Maria and Should We Care?” The room was full, publishing, as well as easily accessible business Bonn and Mike Furlough, editors, ACRL, and the audience members, mostly publishers, services, has lowered the barrier to entry for forthcoming, 2015), in recent years library ranged from curious to skeptical to downright many academic libraries and made stepping publishing activities have drawn increasing antagonistic about libraries “claiming” to be into the publishing space less daunting than attention within the professional world of publishers. In recent years, SSP and similar it once appeared. Finally, there has been an academic libraries, from the scholars those venues, such as the AAUP annual meeting, increase in user demand and need on academic libraries serve and from established scholarly regularly feature sessions on publishing in and campuses, demand that service-driven librar- publishers who seek to assess both opportuni- from libraries, sessions attended by those eager ies are often eager to meet. Scholars want to ties and threats presented by this activity. This to learn about and assess both the challenges publish differently, for economic, principled, work goes by a number of names, with varying and the opportunities posed by this growth and functional reasons. Indeed, much of what connotative values: library publishing, pub- area of library activity. Indeed, one individual scholars are driven to do is communicate, and lishing libraries, library publishing services, well-placed in SSP observed to this author that the marketplace is poorly designed to support library publishing support services, and even libraries that publish have become an area of this essential function. So they turn to their just publishing. Whatever this work is called, special focus for SSP as representing an area libraries for help, and libraries are nothing if a sufficient number of libraries are engaged in of significant potential for membership growth. not eager to help. it that when the Library Publishing Coali- At this juncture, it is not difficult to amass Established scholarly publishers of all tion (LPC), a collaborative effort to “support evidence that publishing is an area of interest sorts — commercial, society, and university the emerging field of library publishing” was and often investment for many academic press — have watched this rise of library pub- formed in 2012, more than fifty college and libraries (and, in other lishing with curiosity and university libraries paid their membership fees forms, becoming so for consideration, wondering and added their names to the directory. LPC’s public libraries as well). if it represents a new form first Library Publishing Forum, in March 2014, So it is natural to ask why of competition or new was filled with people engaged with publishing we see so many libraries possibilities for collabo- and libraries, eager to share their experiences entering this space. There ration and support. This and their challenges. The 2015 edition of are multiple answers to author once attended a the directory, just released as of this writing, that question, answers that conference session where contains 124 entries and represents 56 member often must be combined to she heard a highly placed libraries. This evidences significant growth in come close to a complete publishing executive as- library publishing (both activity and interest) answer. Libraries have, of sert that publishers exist since its emergent years in around the turn of course, long been intimately connected to pub- to “connect users and information,” a sentiment the millennium. lishers and publishing, existing in a relationship she heard, at a different conference, expressed As director of the University of Michi- of symbiotic need. While the importance to by the dean of a major in gan’s Scholarly Publishing Office, founded in libraries of publisher-as-supplier is evident, exactly those words, substituting libraries 2000, this author was an early entrant into the what is less often remembered or discussed is for publishers. As one who has spent much field of library publishing. In 2001, I organized the long role of libraries as publisher. Many time in both libraries and publishing houses a panel for the Federation of the earliest U.S. academic presses got their and has great fondness and respect for both, I (DLF) Forum entitled “Library Approaches to start in university libraries in the decades would encourage libraries and publishers not Scholarly Publishing.” The panel was the first surrounding 1900 (see Paul Courant and to contend for the role of primary connector of its kind for DLF, and was populated by what Elisabeth Jones, “Scholarly Publishing as and instead recognize their shared interests, I came to call the usual suspects, a group of an Economic Public Good” forthcoming in passions, and mission and see how they might pioneers, individuals from the institutions that Getting The Word Out: Academic Libraries best work together to further those. Publishing were investing substantially in library publish- and Scholarly Publishing, ACRL, 2015). As libraries need to learn from publishers, and ing (at the time, representatives from Cornell’s most of those presses spun off into their own publishers need to learn from librarians in Project Euclid, California’s E-scholarship, businesses and onto their own recognizance, li- order to adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing and Columbia’s CIAO, along with myself braries continued predominantly as consumers information environment. The collocation and from Michigan), a group whose members rather than producers of publications. But in institutional alignment of university libraries soon found themselves presenting together the last years of the twentieth century, several and university presses poses a particularly rich on many similar panels in a variety of venues. factors came together to change that. While opportunity for this exchange of expertise and While library publishing raised many interested library publishing certainly has arisen from a experience. Both will benefit from exchang- eyebrows, at the time there were only a handful mission and service imperative (more on that ing and mutually nurturing their skill sets and of libraries actively engaged in and committing in a moment), it also comes out of frustrations experience in training. It is this belief that has resources to publishing. Thirteen years later, and dissatisfactions. Certainly libraries are given rise to my nascent efforts at the Graduate at the 2014 DLF forum, we see a panel on dissatisfied with the high cost of commercial School of Library and Information Science at “Publishing in Your Library: Defining Purpose, publications and have begun to ask if it might the University of Illinois to create a program Policies, and Practices” and its description be cheaper to produce publications themselves. on “publishing as an information profession” leads with: “Publishing in libraries seems to Libraries are also frustrated by the intellectual and to develop a cadre of what we at the School be everywhere (emphasis mine) these days — property constraints placed on scholarship by informally call “pubrarians.” These pubrarians from university press collaborations to public its publishers, constraints that make it difficult will be well-placed for employment in the libraries providing self-publishing services.” to carry out both the work of libraries and the swelling ranks of libraries that are publishing Similarly, but in a different context, this author work of the scholars and teachers they serve. continued on page 22

20 Against the Grain / December 2014 - January 2015 both might shape the ecosystem of scholarly an expertise that positions them well to offer Publishing, Libraries, Publishers ... communication. authors and other creators editorial guidance. from page 20 Librarians are attentive to intellectual Such guidance might profitably be offered as property laws and their implications, again an alternative to or in support of the work of a and offering publishing services, but they will university press developmental editor. also be poised and ready to make valuable fodder for cross-conversation with publishers additions to the staff of other scholarly pub- about rights management that meets the needs Finally, librarians are often veteran project lishing organizations. Although the ranks of of authors, publishers, and consumers. In the managers. Any publisher who has spent time pubrarians to come through my classes are still academic context this conversation can and managing authors, working to publication thin, many of the members look with interest should focus on how best to advance the pro- deadlines, and wrangling with the special to university presses as a possible place of duction, distribution, and use of scholarship. combination of authors, production staff, and rewarding employment. Librarians think about system design and distribution services can testify that every pub- lication is a project in its own right, requiring There are a number of things that librar- usability for the optimal information expe- both attention and expertise to manage to a ians already do and understand, and that are rience, a perspective that could increase the successful launch and an established place in often a part of a library school education, that value of the publisher products to which it is the scholarly world. prepare them for work in publishing and to fill applied, particularly as publishers immerse areas of real need in publishing enterprises. themselves ever more deeply in electronic and One can easily imagine (and given space For instance, librarians understand metadata online delivery of their products. enough and time, this author could easily and discoverability tools and methods, an Librarians pay attention to standards, produce) an inventory of complementary understanding that is increasingly necessary standards that matter to publishers, ranging skills that experienced publishers would bring in publishing. Resources must be found to be from the requirements for archival paper to to libraries. Certainly such skills would help used (and even purchased). While librarians the more au courant topics of EPUB and XML ensure the success of publishing libraries. are often not comfortable with the notion of, specifications. Part and parcel of knowing and One can even imagine how expertise in such and activities associated with, marketing, they applying standards is attention to the implica- things as marketing, attractive design, and do understand how to promote resources and tions of publication decisions for long-term rights agreements (to name just a few areas in services to users, promotion that could stand preservation (which, indeed has been one which publishers are often conversant) could publishers in good stead. University presses driver of library publishing). Attending to benefit many areas of library work beyond the might particularly benefit from exper- those implications from the earliest publication emerging work of publishing in libraries. tise in campus outreach. Librarians have also, stages will position publishers well in creating While this essay intends to underscore the as have publishers, taken quickly to the use of products with a competitive advantage while growing scope and range of library publishing social media as an awareness tool for reaching ensuring their long-term viability. activity and suggest the kinds of skills needed readers and other information resource users. It may appear trite to observe that librari- for its success, I am also arguing for a pro- Librarians pay attention to information ans are well trained in conducting what they ductive exchange between libraries and other economics (cash and otherwise), an attention call the reference interview, but that training kinds of scholarly publishers, particularly those that could result in valuable conversations with stands them in good stead in conversations from the close academic cousins of libraries publishers on how to create the most mutually with authors and editors, in eliciting their goals in university presses. Through conscious and sustainable economic models for publishing. and needs and matching those to available deliberate sharing and exchange, and through Librarians and presses might particularly enter resources and methods. In many academic recognition of shared purpose, the two can and into dialogue about the alternative, some- libraries, librarians are also experts in subject will contribute to building an environment that times complementary, economics of mission areas, including the publishing environment of ensures the viability, in the moment and over alignment and market alignment and how the disciplines for which they are responsible, time, of the scholarly record.

Three Challenges of Pubrarianship by Charles Watkinson (Associate University Librarian for Publishing, University of Michigan, and Director, U-M Press)

can the “positions vacant” advertise- lishing, and Director of University of Michi- Even where the heads of university presses ments from the last year and it is clear gan Press and Associate University Librarian exploring these opportunities for integration Sthat an interesting new type of job is for Publishing. In an extreme example (not do not hold the sort of joint titles listed above emerging in libraries — combining director- from the jobs list), the University Librarian (as at Northwestern, North Texas, Georgia, ship of a university press with senior respon- at Oregon State University has for a number and Arizona, for example), their roles are sibilities for other scholarly communication of years also been Director of Oregon State changing as they assume greater responsibil- activity on campus. Such titles include University Press. ities in library administration. Executive Director of Temple University What these new positions exemplify is a Such integration presents great opportu- Press and the Library Officer for Scholarly movement not only toward more university nities (as described elsewhere in this issue Communication, Director of Purdue Univer- presses reporting to libraries (from 14 AAUP of Against the Grain), but it also creates sity Press and Head of Scholarly Publishing members in 2009 to 21 in 2014), but also a challenges for the leaders of these merged Services (Purdue Libraries), Director of trend toward increasing integration of the two entities — exemplars of the new role of Indiana University Press and Digital Pub- entities. Physical collocation of staff with “pubrarian” so named by John Unsworth both library and press back- (now occupying the equally merged role of grounds, joint strategic Vice Provost, University Librarian, and CIO planning exercises, at Brandeis University). Having occupied and shared support two of the positions above over the last few infrastructure are other years, first atPurdue University and now at characteristics of the the University of Michigan, three particular most integrated press/ areas of challenge have emerged for me. library collaborations. continued on page 24

22 Against the Grain / December 2014 - January 2015