c/o Katina Strauch Post Office Box 799 Sullivan’s Island, SC 29482
ALA Annual issue
TM
volume 31, number 3 june 2019
“Linking Publishers, Vendors and Librarians”
ISSN: 1043-2094
Textbooks — An Ever Changing Landscape and the Move Towards Digital by Dominic Broadhurst (Academic Engagement Manager, University of Manchester) <dominic.broadhurst@manchester.ac.uk>
T
he last few years have seen unprecedented changes in the textbook sector. These have been driven by a number of developments combining a mixture of supply side issues and initiatives aligned to demand side factors i.e., students, libraries and other consumers. This special issue of Against the Grain aims to examine some of the major issues and also provide incisive commentary from a range of contributors. The textbook sector has been a major professional interest of mine for a number of years, with a particular focus on practical and value added solutions for students and academic colleagues. From 2015-2018, I led the textbook work packages of a major project at the University of Manchester called Books Right Here Right Now. This work involved making complex changes to the paradigm for textbooks for academic libraries, including in particular the acquisition and supply of textbooks to our students on a 1:1 basis. It also encompassed considerable market research and analysis which enabled us to leverage influence and additional finance from our University to expand the programme into a full service, as
described by Olivia Walsby and Flora Bourne in their article for this issue. Over many years I have had extensive dialogue with publishers and fellow librarians interested in this area, both in the UK and overseas, in addition to a range of other stakeholders in the textbook sector. I have been asked to speak at a range of conferences and continue to comment regularly via various social media channels. This has helped me to develop an understanding of challenges and opportunities faced by all actors in the sector. Taking a holistic perspective on the textbook sector, and in particular the growth towards digital, I have identified three main themes, which I think will be of interest to ATG readers and indeed lead to a logical progression into the articles in this special issue. First, I will give some perspectives on major issues affecting the sector, which has experienced significant change in recent years. Secondly, I will show how some of these issues translate into potential challenges and opportunities for publishers and other industry stakeholders. Thirdly, I consider the key drivers for increased library activity in the textbook sector,
If Rumors Were Horses
A This handsome little fella is Teddy Jacks, the sixth grandchild of Katina and Bruce Strauch.
re you paying attention to the ATG NewsChannel, lovingly curated by the awesome Tom Gilson? Quirkies are popular on the NewsChannel and are selected by another awesome type, John Riley. Many people have told me that they really like Quirkies. The ATG Quirkie (May 20, 2019) was about a girl named Lisa who was having a tough day until a gift from a stranger tucked into book set off a chain of random acts of kindness. So … instead of feeling sorry for herself, Lisa wanted to lighten the load for someone else. And all it took was a book, $5, and an inspiring note — and then it went viral. What a great story! https://www.againstthe-grain.com/2019/05/atg-quirkies-breaking-news-gift-tucked-intoa-book-sparks-rampant-acts-of-kindness/ https://www.cnn.com/profiles/amy-chillag continued on page 6
a major growth area in recent years and of course influenced by the wider sectoral issues.
State of the Sector
If I were to use one word to sum up the current state of the textbook sector, volatile is the word that springs to mind. There are a number of factors contributing to this volatility.
Move from Traditional Print and Growth of Digital
In recent years there has been a shift away from provision and consumption of print textbooks to digital offerings, with publishers and new intermediaries in the sector both driving continued on page 8
What To Look For In This Issue: Finding Your Beat: Rapidity and Change Management......................... 51 ATG Food + Beverage Roundup....... 66 I Love Fiesole in the Springtime....... 86 Interviews Peggy Glahn....................................... 37 Bob Vrooman..................................... 40 Todd Carpenter................................... 41 Deanna Marcum................................ 41 Philip Croom...................................... 42 Katherine Daniel................................ 44 Profiles Encouraged People, Library and Company Profiles................................................ 77 Plus more............................... See inside
1043-2094(201906)31:3;1-C
eBooks 101: A Collection of 101 Books for Education
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Against the Grain (ISSN: 1043-2094) (USPS: 012-618), Copyright 2017 by the name Against the Grain, LLC is published six times a year in February, April, June, September, November, and December/January by Against the Grain, LLC. Business and Editorial Offices: PO Box 799, 1712 Thompson Ave., Sullivan’s Island, SC 29482. Accounting and Circulation Offices: same. Call (843-509-2848) to subscribe. Periodicals postage is paid at Charleston, SC. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Against the Grain, LLC, PO Box 799, Sullivan’s Island, SC 29482.
TABLE OF CONTENTS v.31 #3 June 2019 © Katina Strauch
ISSUES, NEWS, & GOINGS ON Rumors.................................................. 1 From Your Editor................................. 6
Letters to the Editor............................. 6 Deadlines............................................... 6
Editor:
FEATURES
Associate Editors:
Textbooks — An Ever Changing Landscape and the Move Towards Digital Guest Editor: Dominic Broadhurst
Katina Strauch (Retired, College of Charleston) Cris Ferguson (Murray State) Tom Gilson (Retired, College of Charleston) John Riley (Consultant)
Research Editors:
Judy Luther (Informed Strategies)
Assistants to the Editor:
Ileana Strauch Toni Nix (Just Right Group, LLC)
Editor At Large:
Dennis Brunning (Retired, Arizona State Univ.)
Contributing Editors:
Glenda Alvin (Tennessee State University) Rick Anderson (University of Utah) Sever Bordeianu (U. of New Mexico) Todd Carpenter (NISO) Eleanor Cook (East Carolina University) Anne Doherty (Choice) Ruth Fischer (SCS / OCLC) Michelle Flinchbaugh (U. of MD Baltimore County) Joyce Dixon-Fyle (DePauw University) Laura Gasaway (Retired, UNC, Chapel Hill) Regina Gong (Lansing Community College) Michael Gruenberg (Gruenberg Consulting, LLC) Chuck Hamaker (Retired, UNC, Charlotte) William M. Hannay (Schiff, Hardin & Waite) Mark Herring (Winthrop University) Bob Holley (Retired, Wayne State University) Donna Jacobs (MUSC) Ramune Kubilius (Northwestern University) Myer Kutz (Myer Kutz Associates, Inc.) Tom Leonhardt Rick Lugg (SCS / OCLC) Jack Montgomery (Western Kentucky University) Bob Nardini (ProQuest) Jim O’Donnell (Arizona State University) Ann Okerson (Center for Research Libraries) Rita Ricketts (Blackwell’s) Jared Seay (College of Charleston) Lindsay Wertman (IGI Global)
ATG Proofreader:
Rebecca Saunders (College of Charleston)
Graphics:
Bowles & Carver, Old English Cuts & Illustrations. Grafton, More Silhouettes. Ehmcke, Graphic Trade Symbols By German Designers. Grafton, Ready-to-Use Old-Fashioned Illustrations. The Chap Book Style.
Production & Ad Sales:
Toni Nix, Just Right Group, LLC., P.O. Box 412, Cottageville, SC 29435, phone: 843-835-8604 fax: 843-835-5892 <justwrite@lowcountry.com>
Textbooks — An Ever Changing Landscape and the Move Towards Digital.................................................... 1
by Dominic Broadhurst — This special issue of Against the Grain aims to examine some of the major issues and also provide incisive commentary from a range of contributors.
Putting Our Students at the Heart of What We Do — eTextbooks at the University of Manchester.................. 16
by Olivia Walsby and Flora Bourne — In line with the University of Manchester’s 2020 vision, the Library took a strategic approach.
Three Things to Consider Before You Tinker with eTexts — A Perspective from the University of Plymouth...... 20
by Jason Harper — For the University of Plymouth the scheme was originally started in 2011 by the academic, Dr Phil Gee, to level the playing field.
How Valuable are e-textbooks to the Student Experience? An Analysis of e-textbook Provisions at the University of Sussex........................... 22
by Anette Moore and Suzanne Tatham — The Library embarked on an ambitious project to roll out e-textbooks to the University of Sussex Business School.
Open and Affordable Textbooks — Three Levels of Open......................... 25
by Caren Milloy and Graham Stone — This paper has outlined our initial thoughts around a vision for open and affordable textbooks in the UK.
Understanding e-textbooks through a Student Lens....................................... 26
by Becky Hartnup — What do students think about e-textbooks? Unless they encounter a problem, they don’t think about them at all.
Digital Textbooks Offer a Wealth of Variety and Opportunity................... 30
by Saskia Watts and Vanessa Boddington — Yes, digital textbooks have limitations, and it can be a challenge for institutions to find the budget to fund eTextbook provisions, but it would be a disservice to the strides within higher education not to acknowledge what they can offer students and institutions.
Textbooks in Libraryland — Perspectives from a Publisher........... 32
by Kevin Ohe — Library experimentation with textbook models brims with activity these days. The promise of OERs has captured the imaginations of many librarians, and led in meaningful experimentation.
Op Ed — Stop, Look, Listen............. 46
Open Access at the Crossroads: Why Books and Journals are Supposedly Different — and How that Harms the Model by Dr. Sven Fund — The greatest risk of Open Access is the loss of a holistic view of the goals and prerequisites of the model in libraries and for publishers.
Back Talk............................................ 86
I Love Fiesole in the Springtime by Jim O’Donnell — A seriously charming look at Fiesole. What do we have to expect in 25 years? Will you read an AI published paper?
ATG SPECIAL REPORT Serendipity of the Hats.............................................................................................69
Advertising information:
by Curtis Michelson — In “Serendipity of the Hats,” Curtis shares what he learned about how Raimonda and Michelle along with their colleagues in the A&S Unit used the Scrum framework.
Publisher:
ATG INTERVIEWS & PROFILES
Toni Nix, phone: 843-835-8604, fax: 843-835-5892 <justwrite@lowcountry.com> A. Bruce Strauch
Send correspondence, press releases, etc., to: Katina Strauch, Editor, Against the Grain, LLC Post Office Box 799 Sullivan’s Island, SC 29482 cell: 843-509-2848 <kstrauch@comcast.net>
Against the Grain is indexed in Library Literature, LISA, Ingenta, and The Informed Librarian. Authors’ opinions are to be regarded as their own. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This issue was produced on an iMac using Microsoft Word, and Adobe CS6 Premium software under Mac OS X Mountain Lion. Against the Grain is copyright ©2019 by Katina Strauch
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Against The Grain
Against the Grain / June 2019
Little Red Herrings............................ 37
An Interview with Peggy Glahn, a principal of Reveal Digital by Mark Y. Herring
Philip Croom...................................... 42
Bob Vrooman...................................... 40
Associate Dean, Rare Books and Special Collections Library and Archives, American University in Cairo by Matthew Ismail
Todd Carpenter.................................. 41
An Interview with Katherine Daniel by Bob Nardini
Publisher, New Business Development, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
How Complex This Industry Is......... 44
Executive Director, NISO
Profiles Encouraged........................... 77
Deanna Marcum................................. 41 Board President, NFAIS
In this issue we have many people profiles, some library profiles, and company profiles as well.
<http://www.against-the-grain.com>
Booklover............................................ 34 Systematically. Short Stories. Symbols. by Donna Jacobs — Donna says: “The Massacre of the Innocents by Maurice Maeterlinck was the next short story in the book Great Stories by Nobel Prize Winners.”
Collecting to the Core........................ 36
Social Entrepreneurship by Kimberly Copenhaver — This column highlights monographic works that are essential to the academic library within a particular discipline.
LEGAL ISSUES Edited by Bruce Strauch and Jack Montgomery
Legally Speaking................................ 53
The Blockchain Revolution by Anthony Paganelli — Blockchain has been mentioned as a “disruptive” technology, what do you think?
Cases of Note...................................... 54
Copyrighting Distinctive Shaped But Useful Objects by Bruce Strauch — Inhale, Inc. v. Starbuzz Tobacco, Inc.
Questions and Answers...................... 56
Copyright Column by Laura N. Gasaway — As always, Lolly features many relevant questions and answers. Can a public librarian read stories by telephone to children who phone into the library?
PUBLISHING Bet You Missed It............................... 14
And They Were There........................ 64
The Scholarly Publishing Scene........ 57
Don’s Conference Notes..................... 72
by Bruce Strauch — What do Roald Dahl and my cousin Sophia Perpera (who also made it in the Wall Street Journal) have in common? Forty Years From Now by Myer Kutz — The future of Plan S, etc.
Reports of Meetings — In this issue you’ll find Ramune’s third installment of reports from the 2018 Charleston Conference. The 14th Electronic Resources & Libraries Conference by Donald T. Hawkins
BOOKSELLING AND VENDING Biz of Digital....................................... 48
Developing and Growing a New Repository Service: Part 1 Getting Started by Michelle Flinchbaugh — After implementing a new repository platform, several questions arose. Where to begin? What would work for adding materials to the repository and what wouldn’t? What kind of support and service would the library need to offer?
Squirreling Away: Managing Information Resources & Libraries.....51
Finding Your Beat: Rapidity and Change Management by Corey Seeman — Corey divides change management into six key terms and explores the pace and speed with which an organization can pivot.
Optimizing Library Services............. 58
Your Title is What? Re-envisioning Academic Library Administration by Mr. Edward Iglesias — While there is no shortage of traditional job titles, these examples represent a trend towards specialization in areas of technology that we have been warned about for years.
Blurring Lines.................................... 60
Considering the Future of Discovery, Access and Business Models in Support of Virtual Reality Content for Scholarly Research and Classroom Learning: What Can We Learn from the Rise of OER and OA? by David Parker
Marketing Touchpoints..................... 63
Sustaining Authentic Library Brands by Jill Heinze — Jill talks about essential branding principles that librarians should keep in mind.
TECHNOLOGY AND STANDARDS Epistemology...................................... 62 The Passion of Librarians by T. Scott Plutchak — Scott’s column this time is a paen to Susan Orleans (so sad we could not afford to have her in Charleston).
Let’s Get Technical............................. 67
Migration Items in Alma by Kristen Fredericksen — Kristen describes the process that went into cleaning up items that did not migrate with the proper process type to Alma.
ETC. Charleston Conference 2019............... 8
Issues in Book and Serial Acquisition — Call for Papers, Ideas, Conference Themes, Panels, Debates, Diatribes, Speakers, Poster Sessions, Preconferences, etc. Our 2019 theme is “The Time has Come ... to Talk of Many Things!”
Against the Grain / June 2019
ATG Food + Beverage Roundup...... 66
by Nicole Ameduri and Melanie Masserant — This is a NEW column and in this issue the food and beverage focus is on Washington, DC.
Obituary – Nicolette W. Sosulski...... 71
“Linking Publishers, Vendors and Librarians”
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ATG is published six times a year, in February, April, June, September, November, and December/January. A six-issue subscription is available for only $55 U.S. ($65 Canada, $95 foreign, payable in U.S. dollars), making it an uncommonly good buy for all that it covers. Make checks payable to Against the Grain, LLC and mail to: Against the Grain c/o Katina Strauch Post Office Box 799 Sullivan’s Island, SC 29482 *Wire transfers are available, email <kstrauch@comcast.net> for details, however, credit cards are the preferred alternative to checks ($25 fee applies).
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From Your (appreciative) Editor:
I
t is finally summer in Charleston. Temperatures in the 90s and higher. But it makes for great fun in the water for all the grandkids and many of their friends plus the mature adults! Little Teddy (my sixth grandchild!) is six months old and learning fast from his brother and sister and their friends. Meanwhile, this issue is valiantly guest-edited by the industrious Dominic Broadhurst on the ever-changing landscape of textbook publishing. We have articles by Dominic, Olivia Walsby and Flora Bourne (University of Manchester’s 2020 vision), Jason Harper (University of Plymouth’s what to consider before you tinker with etexts), Anette Moore and Suzanne Tatham (university of Sussex and textbook provisions), Caran Milloy and Graham Stone (the UK vision of open and affordable textbooks), Becky Hartnup (the student perspective), Saskia Watts and Vanessa Boddington (what digital textbooks offer) and Kevin Ohe (perspectives from a publisher). Our Op Ed is by Sven Fund (open access and book and journal models). Jim
O’Donnell’s Back Talk praises Fiesole in the Spring. The ATG Special Report by Curtis Michelson is about one of the many posters at the Charleston Conference poster sessions. We could call this our interview issue as we have five interviews — Philip Croom (American University in Cairo) by Matthew Ismail, Bob Vrooman (Mary Ann Liebert), Todd Carpenter (NISO) and Deanna Marcum (NFAIS Board President), Katherine Daniel by Bob Nardini, and Peggy Glahn of Reveal Digital by Mark Herring. We have Collecting to the Core on Social Entrepreneurship by Kimberly Copenhaver, Booklover by Donna Jacobs about a Maurice Maeterlinck short story. The next section includes Legally Speaking (the Blockchain revolution) by Anthony Paganelli, Cases of Note about copyrighting distinctively shaped but useful objects, and Lolly Gasaway’s very practical Questions and Answers about Copyright. There are reports of many sessions from the 38th Annual Charleston Conference in And
Letters to the Editor Send letters to <kstrauch@comcast.net>, phone 843-509-2848, or snail mail: Against the Grain, Post Office Box 799, Sullivan’s Island, SC 29482. You can also send a letter to the editor from the ATG Homepage at http://www.against-the-grain.com. Dear Ms. Leah Hinds:
Rumors from page 1
I am a subscriber of your free daily news at ATG. It is very helpful for reviewing publishers’ and libraries’ professional information. Especially, I am dealing with the licensing negotiation in Taiwan. Reading your news every day is a must for daily operation. Some of the articles in ATG are restricted to access. Please issue a user name to me and I can get more updates to your wonderful publication. Best wishes, Beatrice Meng-ling Lin (Science and Technology Policy Research and Information Center, NARL) <mellin@stpi.narl.org.tw>
AGAINST THE GRAIN DEADLINES VOLUME 31 — 2019-2020 2019 Events Issue
Ad Reservation Camera-Ready
Reference Publishing
September 2019
06/13/19
07/11/19
Charleston Conference
November 2019
08/15/19
09/05/19
Dec. 2019-Jan. 2020
11/07/19
11/25/19
ALA Midwinter
They Were There (Ramune Kubilius and Sever Bordeianu’s column), Don’s Conference Notes reports on ER&L, and Myer Kutz’s article on Forty Years from Now is Kafkaesque. There are several brand new columns. Jill Heinze talks about sustaining library brands in her new Marketing Touchpoints column. There is a spectacular Food and Beverage Roundup in anticipation of ALA in Washington by Nicole Ameduri and Melanie Masserant! Biz of Digital talks about getting started on a new repository service, Corey continues his Squirreling column on rapidity, Optimizing Library Services is about the trend toward specialization in academic library administrations, Stacey and Alayne are migrating items with Alma. Blurring Lines (David Parker) considers the future of discovery models in support of virtual reality in the current OER landscape, Epistemology (Scott Plutchak) is into Susan Orleans and the evolution of the library profession. The 2019 Charleston Conference — The Time has Come ... to Talk of Many Things — has posted its call for papers. Another great year awaits us! Happy Summer, Yr. Ed.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT Toni Nix <justwrite@lowcountry.com>; Phone: 843-835-8604; Fax: 843-835-5892; USPS Address: P.O. Box 412, Cottageville, SC 29435; FedEx/UPS ship to: 398 Crab Apple Lane, Ridgeville, SC 29472.
The Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP) is delighted to announce the appointment of Wayne Sime as its new permanent Chief Executive. ALPSP is the international membership trade body which works to support and represent not-for-profit organizations and institutions that publish scholarly and professional content around the world. Wayne joined ALPSP as Interim Chief Executive in October 2018. Niamh O’Connor, Director, Global Journals Development, PLOS and Chair-Elect, ALPSP Council commented: “I am looking forward to working with Wayne to enable ALPSP to support and represent our members and wider community.” ALPSP has nearly 300 members, in more than 30 countries, who collectively publish over half the world’s total active journals as well as books, databases and other products. www.alpsp.org Word has reached ATG Headquarters that Anthony Watkinson’s report on the 2018 Charleston Conference has been published in b.i.t.online (Bibliothek Information Technologie) 2-2019, pp 167-171. https://b-i-t-online.de/heft/2019-02-index.php continued on page 12
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Against the Grain / June 2019
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2019 Charleston Conference — 39th Annual Issues in Book and Serial Acquisition Call For Papers, Ideas, Conference Themes, Panels, Debates, Diatribes, Speakers, Poster Sessions, Preconferences, etc. ...
2019 Theme — “The Time has Come ... to Talk of Many Things!”
I
Preconferences — Monday & Tuesday, November 4-5, 2019 Vendor Showcase — Tuesday, November 5, 2019 Main Conference — Wednesday-Friday, November 6-8, 2019 Charleston Gaillard Center, Francis Marion Hotel, Courtyard Marriott Historic District, Embassy Suites Historic Downtown, Charleston, South Carolina
f you are interested in leading a discussion, acting as a moderator, coordinating a lively discussion, or would like to make sure we discuss a particular topic, please let us know. The Charleston Conference prides itself on creativity, innovation, flexibility, and informality. If there is something you are interested in doing, please try it out on us. We’ll probably love it... The Conference Directors for the 2019 Charleston Conference include — Beth Bernhardt, Principal Director (UNCGreensboro) <beth_bernhardt@uncg.edu>, Glenda Alvin (Tennessee State University) <galvin@Tnstate.edu>, Adam Chesler (AIP) <adam.chesler@cox.net>, Cris Ferguson (Murray State University) <cferguson13@murraystate.edu>, Rachel Fleming (University of Tennessee at Chatanooga) <rachel-fleming@utc.edu>, Joyce Dixon-Fyle (DePauw University Libraries) <joyfyle@depauw.edu>, Erin Gallagher (University of Florida) <gallaghere@ufl.edu>, Tom Gilson (Against the Grain) <gilsont@cofc.edu>, Bobby Hollandsworth (Clemson University) <hollan4@clemson.edu>, Athena Hoeppner (University of Central Florida) <athena@ucf.edu>, Tony Horava (University of Ottawa) <thorava@uottawa.ca>, Matthew Ismail (Central Michigan University) <matthew.ismail@icloud.com>, Ramune Kubilius (Northwestern Health Sciences Library) <r-kubilius@northwestern.edu>, Erin Luckett (Readex) <eluckett@newsbank.com>, Courtney McAllister (Yale Law Library) <courtney@charlestonlibraryconference.com>, Jack Montgomery (Western Kentucky University) <jack.montgomery@wku.edu>, Ann Okerson (Center for Research Libraries) <aokerson@gmail.com>, Audrey Powers (UFS Tampa Library) <apowers@lib.usf.edu>, Heather Staines (MIT) <heather.staines@gmail.com>, Anthony Watkinson (Consultant) <anthony.watkinson@btinternet.com>, Meg White (Rittenhouse) <meg.white@rittenhouse.com>, Katina Strauch (Founder and Convener, Charleston Conference; and Editor, Against the Grain) <kstrauch@comcast.net>, or www.charlestonlibraryconference.com. Send ideas by July 12, 2019 to any of the Conference Directors listed above. The Call for Papers form will open on April 15, 2019 at http://www.charlestonlibraryconference.com/participate/call-for-papers/. Or send ideas to: Katina Strauch, P.O. Box 799, Sullivan’s Island, SC 29482 <kstrauch@comcast.net> • www.charlestonlibraryconference.com
Textbooks — An Ever Changing ... from page 1 and responding to this change. There is still a market for print, with some students and academic faculty favouring the format, but a significant transition is taking place. What this transition also highlights is a flat lining in sales of print textbooks and revenue losses at some major publishers. Naturally this has also pre-empted shifts in strategy and focus from within the publishing sector.
Changing Student Demand Patterns and Finances
Another key driver in the sector is the changing buying and consumption patterns of students across all key markets. Students are increasingly looking at alternatives to purchasing their own individual textbooks, either opting out of purchasing or looking to source in different ways. This change in itself is driven by both individual concerns about lack of finances to purchase these books in line with growing tuition fees, and other student costs. Allied to this are concerted campaigns by institutions to look at relieving the cost
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Against the Grain / June 2019
burden on their students. The move towards digital, which offers publishers opportunities to change their business models and enhance the textbook content, also reduces students’ traditional reliance on a print textbook, whilst at the same time offering alternative means of obtaining them. Underpinning all of this is an undisputed fact that students themselves are increasingly reluctant or unable to pay for what they deem as over expensive resources. On occasions where students will pay, or increasingly where institutions and libraries want to set up institutional access across cohorts, increased levels of functionality and analytics are required to both raise the learning experience and justify a return on investment. This is more often enabled through digital rather than traditional print.
Piracy
Piracy is an increasing issue in the sector and one that is unlikely to disappear in the near future. I have had a number of private discussions with publishers, where they have informed that their companies are attempting to shut down piracy sites every week. Research on piracy of eBooks has highlighted both the extent of student illegal piracy and how this
was often rooted in their desire to obtain free versions of their textbooks. The potential implications of piracy are clear, and innovative solutions are needed both to combat it and also to reduce the pressure on the student to go down this route.
Open Education Resources (OER)
A big topic especially gaining ground in recent years has been the move towards developing OER, which has particularly gathered pace in the U.S. where federal funding has been granted for some programmes. Essentially an OER textbook movement has formed, often around the social media hashtag #textbookbroke. OER could potentially supplant traditional textbooks offered by publishers, as content is both developed and offered though non-traditional and crucially non-chargeable routes. There are also opportunities from some industry suppliers to segment their own offering with links to OER. From my perspective I would say OER still has some way to go but is something which could have a major impact in coming years ahead, especially if textbook pricing models are not subject to major revision. continued on page 10
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Textbooks — An Ever Changing ... from page 8 Changing Market Place
This is characterised by two major supply-side shifts, which highlight the innovation and adjustments taking place. Traditional publishers are reacting to these changes with a number of initiatives and changes to their business models and indeed business portfolios. I have highlighted a few of these developments elsewhere in this piece, but there are two other major developments I would like to focus on. The first is the increasing presence and reach of intermediaries such as Kortext and VitalSource, who help both publishers and institutions to facilitate immediate and intuitive access to the textbooks and increasingly offer a range of detailed analytics to assess usage and value. These companies are also looking to increase their service proposition offering a range of solutions to an increasing customer base, which includes publishers, universities and libraries. The second major development is the growth of new players into the market who are positioning themselves as the “Spotify” of textbooks offering what they consider as new streaming-based options to both students and corporate customers. The most well-known are the companies Bibliotech and Perlego.
Publisher Issues
As previously discussed, volatility is ever-present in the sector. Some of the threats revolving around pressure on student finances, OER and piracy I have touched upon, but of
10 Against the Grain / June 2019
course there are a number of opportunities arising, especially from the move towards digital from print. • New Sales Models. In reaction to changes in the sector and to counter falling sales of traditional print, publishers are looking at new models of supply opposed to the traditional 1:1 retail model. Examples include rental offers either by publishers themselves or digital intermediaries, subscription offers such as Cengage Unlimited or institutional access models (sometimes known as inclusive access) where publishers strike deals with universities to supply to entire cohorts. Whilst still sometimes loath to totally lose the 1:1 student model, publishers are reacting to changes with new models. • Increased Use of Learning and Analytics. In tandem with these new offerings, publishers are increasingly interested in positioning themselves as learning analytics or learning outcomes focused organisations. This means a greater focus on highlighting the learning value their offerings bring to the students and faculty, often through integration with learning tools, either their own or from partners. Rather than just being a provider of static content they are focused on both a greater offer and showing how this makes
an impact on students and their universities. • New Product Focus. Allied to the above shift is a focus on new products and markets possibly positioning themselves when a traditional textbook, even in digital format, may be a thing of the past. The move towards learning and analytics focus is something I have highlighted above, but new markets have also been identified in tandem with companies re-focusing their products, for example, Pearson’s move into artificial intelligence.
Growth of Library Involvement
In the UK there are a number of issues for libraries which I believe also apply to libraries outside of the UK. A number of key drivers exist, relating also to a strategic relevance for libraries to position themselves centrally to the textbook debate in their universities. Many of these can chime with what the publishers and technology intermediaries want to achieve and more particularly these resonate strongly with the needs of their students and the learning ambitions of their institutions. In summary these relate to the following: • Rising student costs and student fees are an issue increasingly coming to the fore, with textbooks seen as one of the major elements of these rising costs. This is a long established issue in the U.S. and increasingly one in the UK. Both universities and their libraries are actively seeking to address these issues head on, and finding a solution to the textbook cost issue is of paramount concern. • Response to student feedback about the library from students is central to what libraries do. An often heard lament from students is that whilst libraries may hold thousands, if not millions of books and eBooks, the very books they need (textbooks) are often not available, or if available not in sufficient quantities. Wanting to and/or being asked to tackle this issue head-on is an increasingly important service proposition for libraries. • Developments in the e-textbook marketplace have opened the door for greater involvement for libraries, especially with the shift from print to digital. Previously libraries would not want or be able to afford to stock multiple copies of textbooks, but digital access offers libraries innovative and progressive acquisition and access options on a mass scale. • The plethora of growing usage options for digital textbooks with their increased functionality and analytics resound very strongly with the needs of libraries to both prove their value and inform their increasing trend towards data driven decision making. continued on page 12
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Textbooks — An Ever Changing ... from page 10 • All of these developments enable institutions to facilitate more effective teaching and learning, both for academics undertaking the pedagogy and students enhancing their own learning and understanding. Digital textbooks offer a wealth of opportunities in this realm that were never available for solely print based options. Libraries themselves have evolved to position themselves as pro-active contributors to effective teaching and learning. Digital textbook provision is a key example of their active work here. This special issue attempts to look at the questions from a number of perspectives to facilitate a more rounded and nuanced analysis of where the sector is moving and how it is attempting to react to both the opportunities and challenges faced. This issue includes the following contributions: • Academic libraries working in the sector; • A publisher viewpoint; • An organisational insight into opportunities for open textbooks; • A revealing insight from a recent student using digital textbooks; • A major technology stakeholder in the sector who has driven the digital textbook agenda in technology and access terms. From a library perspective we have contributions from three academic libraries in the UK who are amongst the leaders in the new area of activity for libraries. As referenced earlier, libraries are increasingly involved in textbook acquisition and supply and the three articles from these libraries look at the issues involved and also map a route and direction for other libraries to either follow or look for inspiration to. Olivia Walsby and Flora Bourne explain how at, our institution, the University of Manchester, we have scaled up the offer to a fully-fledged integral institutional service from the Library. Jason Harper from the University of Plymouth provides a thoughtful analysis of three key issues that libraries have in order to overcome with e-textbook provision. Suzanne Tatham and Annette Moore from the University of Sussex provide a nuanced perspective on some of the potential pitfalls to consider in what is often a complex and rapidly evolving service offer. One of the big debates around textbooks, which largely originates from the disruptive nature of the current state of the industry, is around the whole concept of both Open Textbooks and Open Educational Resources. This has really taken hold in the U.S. with a number of recent initiatives, notably the Affordable College Textbook Act in the U.S. Congress. This bill aims to make higher education more affordable for students by expanding the use and awareness of open educational resource. Graham Stone and Caren Malloy from the
12 Against the Grain / June 2019
organisation JISC describe how and where they see the potential for Open Textbooks in the UK, with JISC as a leading figure actively supporting this. For libraries this potentially provides an alternative focus in terms of both access and costs savings. With our work at Manchester and indeed for most of the UK universities, the student is at the very heart of what we want to do with textbooks. Industry consultant Becky Hartnup is in a unique position to provide an invaluable commentary as she has both extensive experience working in the textbook sector (including recent consultancy with both VitalSource and JISC), but also recently as an MBA student at Imperial College London. Her insight from this student perspective, especially in relation to use and functionality of digital textbooks, offers a constructive perspective for publishers and libraries as they look to define their offer in a digital age. She also documents some of the frustrations of students with traditional textbook provision from libraries, and indeed highlights why so many libraries in the UK are looking to meet and indeed exceed students’ expectations. This complements the article from Saskia Watts and Vanessa Boddington from industry player VitalSource, who look at the opportunities digital textbooks can offer students in real and practical terms through a range of applications and increased functionality. Kevin Ohe from publishers Bloomsbury offers an intuitive, open and very welcome assessment of the challenges and prospects for publishers in this fast moving environment. In summary, the range of articles provided in this special issue should provide the reader with perspectives from a number of key participants in the sector, who are both reacting to and pro-actively meeting the immediate challenges faced, whilst embracing all the new options open to students, librarians, academics, publishers and technology companies.
References
Broadhurst, D. (2017). The direct library supply of individual textbooks to students: examining the value proposition, Information and Learning Science, 118(11/12), 629-641, https://doi.org/10.1108/ILS-07-2017-00722). Cengage Unlimited 22 April 2019 https:// www.cengage.com/unlimited/. Green, K. (2019). Reframing the conversation about OER, Inside Higher Ed, February 20, 2019. https://www.insidehighered.com/ blogs/digital-tweed/reframing-conversation-about-oer#.XG89SGzMer8.twitter.
Rumors from page 6 Greg Eow, associate director for collections at MIT, has been appointed president of the Center for Research Libraries (CRL). Eow will begin in August 2019. Since joining the MIT Libraries in 2015, Eow has restructured the MIT Libraries Collections
Guest, K. (2019). I can get any textbook I want in 30 seconds: can book piracy be stopped? The Guardian, 6 March, 2019 https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/ mar/06/i-can-get-any-novel-i-want-in-30-seconds-can-book-piracy-be-stopped. Lieberman, M. (2018). Single project earns Federal OER pilot grant, Inside Higher Ed, October 2, 2018. https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2018/10/02/ department-education-awards-pilot-oer-grantuc-davis-open. McKenzie, L. (2018). Shifting focus of publishers signals tough times for textbook authors, Inside Higher Ed, December 12, 2018. https://www.insidehighered.com/ news/2018/12/12/switch-digital-first-products-publishers-are-signing-fewer-textbook-authors. McKenzie, L. (2018). Analysts: Textbook rentals could pay off for publishers, Inside Higher Ed, October 29, 2018. https://www. insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2018/10/29/ analysts-textbook-rentals-could-pay-publishers#.W9a9-ko1L3E.twitter. Olson, P. (2018). Building Brains, How Pearson Plans To Automate Education with AI, Forbes, 29 August, 2018. https://www.forbes. com/sites/parmyolson/2018/08/29/pearson-education-ai/#c479ae11833b. Pitt, B, Dobson, H, May, L & Broadhurst, D. (2018). Self-publishing, Open Textbooks and Open Practices at The University of Manchester, November 19, 2008. http:// ukopentextbooks.org/case-study/self-publishing-open-textbooks-and-open-practices-at-theuniversity-of-manchester/. Rayner, S. & Coyle, D. (2016). Books Right Here Right Now at the University of Manchester, Library. Insights, 29(2), 172–180. http://doi.org/10.1629/uksg.309 Sciponi, J. (2019). The next thing millennials are going to kill? College Textbooks. Fox Business 12 March 2019. https://www. foxbusiness.com/features/the-next-thing-millennials-are-set-to-kill-college-textbooks. SPARC (2019). Affordable College Textbook Act Reintroduced in Congress, 4 April 2019. https://sparcopen.org/news/2019/affordable-college-textbook-act-reintroduced-congress/.
directorate to advance the vision of the MIT Future of Libraries Task Force, creating the departments of Scholarly Communications and Collections Strategy and Acquisitions and Appraisal. He also worked to strengthen the relationships between the Libraries and the MIT Museum and MIT Press, partnering with the latter to experiment with models to support open access publishing. “Greg has reshaped continued on page 24
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Bet You Missed It Press Clippings — In the News — Carefully Selected by Your Crack Staff of News Sleuths Column Editor: Bruce Strauch (The Citadel, Emeritus) <bruce.strauch@gmail.com> Editor’s Note: Hey, are y’all reading this? If you know of an article that should be called to Against the Grain’s attention ... send an email to <kstrauch@comcast.net>. We’re listening! — KS
Tiny Rooms Beget Creativity
James Baldwin (1924-1987) moved into a tiny piece of a villa in SaintPaul-de-Vence among orchards and rosemary hedges. He hosted Josephine Baker, Miles Davis, Nina Simone, Ella Fitzgerald, Harry Belafonte. Plus the local artists: Matisse, Braque, Picasso, Léger, Miró, Calder, Cocteau, Chagall. Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) wrote in a converted toolshed she called her “writing lodge” on the grounds of Monk’s House in East Sussex. She and husband Leonard hosted the Bloomsbury Group. She wrote her farewell letter in the shed before walking into the River Ouse, her pockets filled with stones. Dylan Thomas (1914-1953) wrote in a little shed down the road from his family at the Boathouse in Laugharne, Wales. He wrote the play “Under Milk Wood” there. Roald Dahl (1916-1990) was living in Gipsy House in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, driven to distraction by his noisy children. He visited Dylan and saw his shed. Inspired, he built a shed of his own in the garden. See — Jane Mount, “Tiny Rooms of Literary Giants,” The Wall Street Journal, March 9-10, 2019, p.D8.
Book Shop Recommended
In a big style spread of 50 top things, the WSJ plugs a Brooklyn culinary book shop with vintage and new plus ephemera. The owner, Lizzy Young, was a pastry chef, daughter of a rare book dealer. 212 DeGraw Street; lizzyoungbookseller.com. See — “Browse the Stacks for Sustenance,” The Wall Street Journal, March 30-31, 2019, p.D11.
Vino Veritas
And in the same spread, an article on wines from the oldest regions where the grape was first cultivated: Armenia, Greece, Sicily, Turkey, Lebanon. Katina’s cousin Sofia Perpera, Athens-based spokesperson for the Wines of Greece, extolls the Assyrtiko grape, native to the island of Santorini — 2017 Santorini Volcanic Terroir Assyrtiko ($20) — crisp, very dry, seafood-friendly white with a bright citrus note. She says the 5th century B.C. Greeks created the first wine appellation system with distinct styles of amphorae as unlike one another as Burgundy and Bordeaux bottles are today. See — “Browse the Stacks for Sustenance,” The Wall Street Journal, March 30-31, 2019, p.D11.
Digital Illumination
The British Library and the Bib National in France have completed a two-year project digitizing 800 bedazzling Medieval illuminated manuscripts. They date between 700 and 1200 AD. At the website, you can learn how they were made and also about legal, medical and musical texts. A UK charity, the Polonsky Foundation, has financed the project. See — J. P. Mauro, “800 Medieval illuminated manuscripts are now available online,” Aleteia.org, Feb. 24, 2019.
14 Against the Grain / June 2019
Publisher Obit
Betty Ballantine (1919-2019) and her husband Ian had witnessed the British success of Penguin paperbacks and set sail for NYC in 1939 with a $500 wedding gift to establish the imprint’s U.S. division. Hardback sold for $3, the equivalent of $45 today. Their NY apartment became the headquarters of Penguin USA. At 25¢, paperbacks flew off the racks. This led the couple to set up Bantam Books in 1945 and seven years later Ballantine. Betty was fond of science fiction because it was cerebral and predicted the future. She published Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke and Theodore Sturgeon. See — “The publisher who helped make paperbacks mainstream,” The Week, March 1, 2019, p.35.
Rock ‘n Roll Obits
Hal Blaine (1929-2019) was the drummer for the Wrecking Crew, elite session musicians who played the instruments on 35,000 recorded tracks because the actual “artists” were incapable. The most recorded drummer in history lay down the “boom ba-boom chack” that opens the Ronettes’ “Be My Baby.” He whacked soft drink bottles for the Beach Boys’ “Caroline, No,” and hit a snare drum near an empty elevator shaft for the shotgun-like explosions in Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Boxer.” Dick Dale (1937-2019) made his guitar roar like a crashing wave and created surf rock. He and his band the DelTones launched with the 1961 “Let’s Go Trippin’” and the next year with “Misirlou” which became the opening theme of Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. He played so fast he’d melt picks and snap strings. His amplifiers were cranked so loud they’d often catch fire. See — “The session drummer who defined the pop beat,” and “The rapid-fire guitarist who pioneered the surf rock sound,” The Week, March 29, 2019, p.35.
The Joy of Disorganized Books
When the author was a child, her parents had two systems of book arrangement. Downstairs, the mother organized them immaculately according to thematic, alphabetic and aesthetics demands. Upstairs the father reigned, and his books were in a monstrous Mt. St. Helens pile. Towers of books stood in total disorganization from the bedside across the room and over a tall dresser always seeming on the verge of a cataclysmic collapse. He broke the spines, scribbled on them, stained them with coffee, Scotch and pistachio dust. The father read aloud to the children at bedtime and made certain that books were a given in their lives. She is now a writer and her sister a professor. See — Kathryn Schulz, “The Stack,” The New Yorker, March 25, 2019, p.28.
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Putting Our Students at the Heart of What We Do — eTextbooks at the University of Manchester by Olivia Walsby (Reading List Services Manager, University of Manchester) <olivia.walsby@manchester.ac.uk> and Flora Bourne (eTextbook Coordinator, University of Manchester) <flora.bourne@manchester.ac.uk> The Books Right Here Right Now Project
In common with HE Libraries across the UK sector one of the key challenges facing the University of Manchester Library is the perennial issue of providing our students with access to the books that they need in order to be successful in their studies, and in particular “core textbooks.” As a result of paying fees, UK students now have higher expectations of Library provision and equality of access to its resources. This is a particular issue for large cohorts and distance learning students where traditional print and eBook models cannot satisfy demand. In line with the University of Manchester’s 2020 vision for achieving an outstanding teaching and learning experience for our students, the Library took a strategic approach to solving this problem. Our reading list strategy is the final output of a three year library project, “Books Right Here Right Now,” which involved extensive research and consultation with academic colleagues and students to ensure that library provision of reading list material meets their needs. The project examined student reading behaviour, and investigated and tested new models for textbook provision via a series of pilots: targeted, demand driven/point of need provision for specific student cohorts (Rayner & Coyle, 2016). Prior to the project, the Library was frequently unable to purchase core textbooks in electronic format. Publishers would often not make them available to the Library, or if they did, the pricing models were extortionate. The work undertaken by the project team made significant progress towards changing the UK library model for electronic core texts and successfully provided individual copies of core eTextbooks to over 11,000 of our students over the three years of pilots.
Our eTextbook Service Today
Since its launch in September 2018, over 8,600 University of Manchester students have benefitted from seamless online access to their core reading via the Library’s new eTextbook Programme. The Library’s offer provides students on 125 modules with a personal downloadable copy of their core textbooks in eTextbook format, including large first year undergraduate courses and distance learning cohorts. Delivery of the programme sits within the Library’s Reading list Service which delivers a holistic approach to the provision of all reading list content through the University of Manchester Reading List Strategy. Our Pur-
16 Against the Grain / June 2019
chasing Policy for Reading List Items ensures the timely provision of recommended reading in sufficient quantities and in the most accessible and cost-effective format. This includes the use of Evidence Based and Demand Driven Acquisitions as well as the digitisation of book chapters under the University’s Copyright Licensing Agency licence (CLA, no date). We aim to ensure that all students benefit from appropriate provision according to specific content type, level of study and cohort size, not just those receiving an eTextbook as part of the programme.
Evidence of Impact
In order to ensure that any future implementation was evidence based, throughout the three years’ of pilots at Manchester we consulted with both students and academic staff to assess the value of delivering eTextbooks via this 1-1 model. Surveys, focus groups and 1-2-1 interviews together with usage data has provided us with a wealth of evidence which points to the success and positive impact our eTextbook provision has had. Improving library provision of core text books in electronic format is, we believe, the only practical solution to satisfying demand from large numbers of students and those off campus. Key Benefits — A number of key findings from our student survey clearly demonstrated the role that the provision of eTextbooks had on their learning. Students responded (82%) to say that they are more likely to complete their assigned reading when provided as an eTextbook, thanks to increased availability, convenience and low cost. Data gathered pointed toward the pedagogical impact that eTextbook provision could have and the opportunity to positively affect student attainment levels through an increase in the amount they read and engage with their texts (Broadhurst, 2017). Teaching staff also reported benefits for their teaching, with provision enabling them to regularly refer to the textbook during lectures/seminars, knowing that all students had ready access. Furthermore, many reported seeing a reduction in student enquires regarding their reading. Placing the library as the central point of expertise in the negotiation and coordination of the purchase of eTextbooks has enabled us to achieve increased value for money including higher economies of scale for the institution. We have begun to explore the potential for the programme to inform early intervention and address issues of retention by contributing
to the growing area of learner analytics. In particular, evidence from a recent national survey which included over 100 responses from University of Manchester students suggests that provision of eTextbooks has a particular benefit for those students who are currently under-represented in higher education. Of these students, 73% said they would have delayed purchasing or reading content if their university had not provided access with 58% stating that they did not believe they would have completed their required reading without them (Vital Source & Shift Learning, 2018).
From Project to Service Funding — Additional funding to support the programme and increase its reach was sought from the University as part of the Library’s annual budget review. It was agreed to more than double the budget for service launch, followed by additional incremental increases over the subsequent five years. Programme Remit — The eTextbook programme at the University of Manchester is strategically targeted and explicitly seeks to enhance the University’s digital, distance and mobile learning agenda. Our other primary focus is on increasing student satisfaction levels through direct support for the University policy on additional costs and through the provision of equality of access to core reading for all students on a particular course unit, supporting work on social inclusion and differential attainment. The programme has initially been targeted at addressing issues of access for large Under Graduate first year cohorts, a group identified as making the most significant use of core textbooks. However, we aim to extend our reach to large cohorts across all years of our UG programmes as funding and further economies of scale allow, potentially providing targeted help to support the outcomes of the National Student Survey (NSS). The NSS provides information for students selecting their prospective Higher Education Institution (OFS, National Student Survey, no date). Provision for our increasing portfolio of Distance Learning Programmes will ensure students benefit from an equitable experience to those studying on campus. Scaling Up — Throughout pilot phase we used a number of different platform providers which allowed us to evaluate service in practice, however we felt that using one provider would be more practical to support roll-out of the programme on a larger scale. Therefore prior to launch in September 2018, guided by our experiences during pilot and the SUPC framework (Southern Universities Purchasing Consortium), we selected a single platform continued on page 18
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Putting Our Students at the Heart ... from page 16 provider with whom to work for the coming year, Kortext. Using Tableau Reader software we were able to run reports on our university course data to identify course unit modules that would fit within the programme’s agreed remit and budget. This in itself wasn’t straightforward. The University of Manchester has the largest student community in the UK (just under 28,000 undergraduates) and more than 1,000 degree programmes running across 17 diverse schools. Large cohorts were easy to identify but tended to fall within the same schools, leaving schools with smaller cohorts at a disadvantage by not qualifying for the programme, resulting in a potential unequitable offer. Nevertheless, this potential dissatisfaction would be resolved via alternative provision through the Library’s reading list purchasing policy. Since September 2018, we have doubled the number of modules provided with an eTextbook and the practicalities of where to store and manage this data has become increasingly complex with much time spent evaluating the potential of various commercial systems. With no solution found to date we are now relying on support from specialist colleagues within the library to help us develop a tailor-made solution. Extending the programme also impacted the Academic Engagement Librarians. Previously, during pilot phase, the Librarians were able to provide a bespoke service to our academics due to smaller numbers. However, by necessity, we have now moved the majority of support to our platform providers and eTextbook Programme Coordinator, resulting in a more hands-off approach for the team. Advocacy of the programme has been vital for its success, and we have worked closely with the Library’s Marketing and Academic Engagement teams to raise awareness amongst the academic community and the wider University. The programme’s benefits have been reinforced in School Teaching & Learning Committees and we’ve used University wide communication channels to garner support, buy-in and uptake. Successes — The Programme’s success since the beginning of this academic year is clearly evidenced through the analytics showing that uptake has been high, with 73% of students registering to read their eTextbooks, 95% of whom have then actively engaged with their copy. The positive response from students and academics continues to support the theory that eTextbooks have the potential to transform how students access and engage with their core reading. Students’ usage of the integrated learning tools such as note sharing, highlighting and annotations has demonstrated that they are engaging deeply with their reading in this format, and academic staff are benefitting from an analytics dashboard, helping them to monitor usage and track engagement. One Senior Lecturer commented that “… students commonly use the search function (key words, events, concepts)…
18 Against the Grain / June 2019
They often have it open on their device or laptop in tutorials. In terms of accessibility and our commitments to widening participation, I think we have benefitted enormously.” Analytics also show that students are accessing their eTextbooks in 96 different countries across the world, demonstrating the global reach of the eTextbook Programme, particularly for distance learners. Lecturer feedback echoed this, noting the availability of offline access “proved invaluable and a real asset to the course unit.” The programme’s aim to support University policy by reducing the cost burden to our students has been our ultimate success which many of our academic staff support citing that it “sent a key message that ‘we’ (University of Manchester) invest in our students and that we ‘care’ about their success.” Challenges — Moving from pilot to service also presented a number of challenges. The team were working within a tight time scale prior to roll-out in September 2018, putting pressure on requirements gathering, publisher negotiations and delivery via the VLE. The drawn out nature of publisher negotiations and complexities of access set-up require a long lead in. This continues to be a challenge, with the need for title requirement gathering as early as May for teaching in September, which does not necessarily fit with our academics’ teaching planning timelines. This has led on occasion to last minute changes of title and a few cases where a title is no longer required due to changes in unit or programme leads. Liaising with publishers, we have agreed a more centralised approach to promotion of the eTextbooks as we have found, on occasion, that they have operated independently within Schools leading to confusion about the Library’s eTextbook programme offer. We are keen to see an increase in Academics’ use of user analytics. Whilst we see evidence that they are making use of the integrated analytics dashboard, we suspect academics are not benefitting from its full functionality.
The Future of the Service
The success of the programme to date and response from academic staff demonstrates the desire to see the programme expanded to further year groups to increase impact on final exam results, The Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF) and National Student Survey (NSS) outcomes. The TEF is a national exercise in England assessing excellence in teaching at universities and colleges, and how well they ensure excellent outcomes for their students (OFS, Teaching Excellence Framework, no date). Importantly, however, there are a number of significant potential challenges emerging within the Higher Education sector, creating an uncertain backdrop to the expansion of the programme. The imminent outcome of the Augar Review, a major review of post-18 education by the UK Government, may have significant detrimental effects on budgets in Universities such as Manchester (Department for Education, 2019). In addition, uncertainties remain around the impact of Brexit on econom-
ic growth, EU staff and students; it was recently reported in the Financial Times (Jack, 2019) that there has been a 3% drop in the number of EU students starting studies in Russell Group Universities for the 2018/19 academic year. Expansion of the programme is planned with incremental budget increases across a five year period, but due to the current financial challenges outlined above we will need to be flexible in our approach to expanding coverage. The advocacy work that has already been done around the programme should generate interest and uptake and we will need to manage expectations with the context of budget restraints. After our initial targeted approach to title identification, expanding the programme will now be more organic, relying on greater awareness of the offer and asking teaching staff to self-identify titles via our Reading List Service. Roll out of the wider strategy and implementation of new reading list software will allow us to streamline the requesting process over the next few years. Ultimately the benefits are clear and evidential and we will continue to pursue expansion, prioritising those areas which can see the biggest impact and benefits for our students, whilst ensuring a flexible approach and adapting our service to fit the changing institutional and sector landscape.
References
Broadhurst, D. (2017). The direct library supply of individual textbooks to students: examining the value proposition, Information and Learning Science, 118(11/12), 629-641, https://doi.org/10.1108/ILS-07-2017-0072. CLA. UK Copyright Licensing Agency, n.d. Web. 7 Mar. 2019. www.cla.co.uk. Department for Education (2019, Feb 19). Prime Minister launches major review of post-18 education, Gov.UK. https://www.gov. uk/government/news/prime-minister-launches-major-review-of-post-18-education. Jack, A. (2019, Jan 4). EU student enrolment drops at top UK universities, Financial Times Online. https://www. ft.com/content/32072762-0f6b-11e9-a3aa118c761d2745. OFS. National Student Survey. Office for Students, n.d. Web. 7 Mar. 2019. https://www. officeforstudents.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/ student-information-and-data/national-student-survey-nss/. OFS. Teaching Excellence Framework. Office for Students, n.d. Web. 7 Mar. 2019. https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/teaching/what-is-the-tef/. Rayner, S. & Coyle, D. (2016). Books Right Here Right Now at the University of Manchester Library. Insights, 29(2), 172–180. http://doi.org/10.1629/uksg.309. Vital Source & Shift Learning (2018) eTextbooks and differential learning: reducing inequalities in UK higher education. Web. 7 Mar. 2019. https://news.vitalsource.com/etextbooks-and-differential-learning?hsCtaTracking=b09e4eda-6266-4c07-b83e-8a0169db3 aa2%7C5d4d1422-8dcf-4dee-a9b1-e036713 a17a1.
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2nd Annual Karen Hunter Memorial Award call for nominations Award recognizes collaborations between librarians and publishers or librarians advancing information dissemination via technology
New York, May 3, 2019 Elsevier, the information analytics business specializing in science and health, announced today the call for nominations for the 2nd Annual Karen Hunter Memorial Award. The award recognizes demonstrated evidence of the desire to encourage collaborations between librarians and publishers, or exemplar experience with advancing information dissemination via technology. Awardees receive $5000 and travel support to attend the Hunter Forum at the annual ALA Mid-Winter Meeting in Philadelphia, PA from January 24–28, 2020. The Elsevier Karen Hunter Memorial Award was established in 2018 to honor Karen’s legacy. In her four decades at Elsevier, Karen led groundbreaking initiatives in scholarly communications in partnership with the research community. You can read more about Karen and her contributions here. “There is no better way to honor Karen’s Hunter’s legacy than to issue an award to a librarian or ensemble of librarians who demonstrate leadership in applying technology to scholarly communications, or who have partnered with a publisher to advance the sharing of research findings,” according to Jean Shipman, Vice President, Global Strategic Networks, Elsevier. The inaugural award was presented to the University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries team during the 2018 ALA MidWinter Meeting. A team of librarians worked on applying APIs to provide full-text journal articles—both version of record and author manuscripts—via its institutional repository (IR) to highlight the over 8,000 publications per year of the faculty of the University of Florida. The project saved faculty time and helped them with meeting funder compliance requirements, as it eliminated the need for them to individually contribute their publications to the IR. The project also saved library staff time as they did not have to solicit the articles from the faculty.
How to submit nominations and notification schedule Demonstrated evidence can be a project, a product, a publication, a program event, a testimony, or other form of collaboration between librarians and publishers or a technological advancement. The collaboration or technological development does not need to be related to Elsevier. The awardee is selected by Elsevier’s North American Library Advisory Board (NALAB), and it is issued at the Hunter Forum, American Library Association (ALA) Mid-Winter meeting. Award criteria include being: 1. An accredited/degreed professional librarian or group of librarians. 2. Currently employed within the United States. 3. Any kind of librarian—e.g., academic, government, school, public, medical or special. 4. Able to attend Elsevier’s Hunter Forum to accept the award and participate in the Hunter Forum if requested. 5. Willing to say a couple words of award acceptance at the Hunter Forum. Nominations are due midnight US Pacific Standard Time, July 31, 2019. The nomination should be sent to Jean Shipman at j.shipman@elsevier.com and include: a cover letter stating nomination justification and by whom; the nominee’s qualifications as they relate to the award criteria; the nominee’s CV; and two to three letters of support from colleagues. The awardee will receive notification of their selection no later than the end of November 2019. This will provide the awardee time to register and participate in the 2020 Hunter Forum, usually held at the ALA Mid-Winter meeting.
Three Things to Consider Before You Tinker with eTexts — A Perspective from the University of Plymouth by Jason Harper (Collections and Content Strategy Manager, University of Plymouth) <jason.harper@plymouth.ac.uk> Introduction
Consider the key drivers for your institution before embarking on such an initiative. The context in England may differ slightly from that in the wider UK, or elsewhere in the world. In 2010, tuition fees payable by students in England controversially rose to a capped maximum of £9,000 pa (now £9,250),1 creating a competitive market for student recruitment across the Higher Education sector. The concept of student as consumer has also coincided with a demographic dip in 18-20 year old students available for University recruitment (forecast to last until 2021),2 and the introduction of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF),3 a national audit exercise, which measures quality of teaching, and is tied to the fees which can be charged by an institution. This places emphasis on the extent to which Universities support students throughout the transition into higher education, with weighting given to measures which address students at an educational disadvantage. In England, the concern with improving educational inclusion and outcomes for disadvantaged students is mirrored by National Union of Students’ campaigns to highlight the poverty gap in education,4 and identify “Hidden Costs” (calling for greater transparency on how student fees are spent),5 as well as a wider recognition of the extent of debt incurred by graduates from low income backgrounds.6 U.S. eTextbook schemes tend to negotiate for cheaper copies on behalf of students with the cost being passed onto them (e.g., Florida State University, 7 Brigham Young University Idaho, 8 and Indiana University9) perhaps through additional course fees dubbed an “inclusive Access” model.10 However, issues of inequality also affect U.S. Universities and Colleges, with mobility measures increasingly being used in rankings and divisions in the equality of access to elite institutions.11 U.S. institutions are starting to explore and develop open access alternatives and open educational content as a response, such as Rice University’s Open Stax contribution funded initiative12 or the SUNY Open Textbooks13 scheme. For the University of Plymouth, these were the drivers behind our eTextbooks scheme, and it was originally started in 2011 by the academic, Dr Phil Gee, to level the playing field and ensure that all students, regardless of socioeconomic background, could begin their studies with the same access to core reading as their peers, enabling lecturers to deliver inclusive teaching.14 Our service provides core eTextbooks to new University of Plymouth undergraduates at no additional cost (a point of difference to U.S. schemes).15
Do You Have Buy-in from the University Executive?
Institutions going down this route will need to be clear about what expectations they have and the return expected from piloting or implementing a digital textbooks programme. This is particularly important if any initiative is to be scaled from a Library or Faculty based project to an ongoing or institutional service. Important stakeholders and champions need to be identified and engaged at executive level, including those with an input into teaching and pedagogic practice and strategy. Their drivers and expectations must be clearly understood and if necessary, managed, particularly if they see the initiative as supporting University strategic aims (such as recruitment, retention, student experience, or student outcomes). Any performance indicators used must be clearly agreed, achievable and measurable, and evaluate the service in the light of any criteria set for it. Be wary of undertaking to prove that digital textbooks will improve student success and outcomes, and instead concentrate on the value of the service to its users, paying particular attention to key demographic groups — such as black, Asian and minority ethnic students (BAME), students with disabilities, or those in the lowest quartiles of social
20 Against the Grain / June 2019
equality. Look to any additional benefits provided (such as support for different teaching practices, inclusion of technology enhanced learning and collaborative working into the curriculum), and emphasise the value that can be achieved by providing digital texts to students in this way — for the institution and the student.16 At the University of Plymouth, the scheme is directed by a Steering Group which is academically led. The service reports regularly into University Teaching and Learning Quality Committee against a number of defined performance indicators, and is periodically revaluated by the Executive Group as part of the University planning round. The service is run by the Library with dedicated staff who negotiate directly with publishers on format and price, liaising with academics to rationalise title and publisher choice and promote competitive alternatives, then leveraging this alongside bulk purchasing to ensure a heavily discounted and affordable unit cost for each student copy, in the most accessible format.
Are Digital Texts What Your Students and Academic Staff Want and Need? If digital textbooks are to be provided as part of a recruitment or inclusivity strategy, there is a temptation to assume a one size fits all model and provide them to all students. However, not all disciplines and programmes will teach to the concept of core books. In such cases, the value and benefit of providing digital textbooks has to be questioned. At Plymouth, we know that the cost of books for a degree is an issue for our students. The Students Union has identified buying books as the second biggest concern behind printing costs, and ahead of equipment, travel or materials required for a course. Nevertheless, we conduct an annual academic consultation exercise with Programme Leads on the scheme (teaching staff and texts can change). These conversations are underpinned by data provided about the uptake, usage and deeper engagement with texts selected for teaching. This helps us understand where engagement is poor and guide selection of really “core” titles of value across all years of a course, more viable alternatives, or identify where a programme is not suitable for participation. This data also informs our negotiations with publishers, who are challenged about their pricing models, the real value of their product, and pushed for content to be reformatted to the accessibility standard required (EPUB), or asked to repackage content into bespoke eTextbooks. We look at the overall cost of providing copies on a programme, and the number of copies (out of those bought) which have been activated. We also look at the extent to which students have engaged with texts, and have developed indicators such as the “cost per page read”. Just because a title has been activated, it doesn’t mean it has been utilised. All of this data, alongside viably alternative titles from rivals, forms the basis of negotiations with publishers. We share it with them and have open, frank discussions about what price they wish to charge for a copy, and what price we feel represents value, or whether we even want to title at all. In the early days we challenged their pricing model. Unit costs of eTexts were based on the recommended retail price of a hardback print copy, but in the EU, value added tax (20% in the UK) is payable on electronic books (making an eText more expensive, and raising the starting price from which we would negotiate). The overheads on eTextbooks (marketing, printing, distribution, etc.) are far less than print format, and this was part of our negotiating tactic. Now, many publishers work with a lower “digital list price” which reflects that reality. continued on page 21
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Three Things to Consider Before ... from page 20 eTextbooks are only provided on programmes where there is evidence of engagement and impact. This is reflected in the very positive feedback about the value of the service that we get from all participating students, which is evidenced even more strongly by our disabled students, BAME students, and students from lower socioeconomic quartiles. To underpin this, training and guidance is provided by both the Library and the platform provider (in a joint initiative) for academic staff on how to embed eTexts into pedagogy and teaching, and the use of interactive platform features, so that they become meaningful technology to enhance course delivery and support learning objectives and collaborative learning exercises. By utilising the platforms effectively in class, lecturers themselves become drivers of behaviour for their students.17
Consider the Wider Context in which Digital Textbooks will be Provided
If digital textbooks form part of a marketing strategy, either on their own, or as part of a wider offering (alongside printing credits, technology, equipment, etc.), then the financial and institutional commitment needs to be unequivocal. In England, this means having assurances eighteen months in advance of the student intake, so that marketing can be targeted at prospective students throughout the recruitment cycle and clearing round. Conversely, if the service is to be discontinued, then this has to be unstitched from marketing long before the next intake, otherwise there is the risk of creating a verbal sales contract which cannot be honoured.18 Service owners will want to identify if the budget is at risk from external influences or University planning cycles, and look at the competition for this money, e.g., what else the University would forego to fund this initiative, other “enrichment” incentives being offered at the institution, and whether these can demonstrate equal or greater benefit. Institutions should look at whether the offer can contribute positively towards strategic benchmarking or audit outcomes (such as the TEF and National Student Survey in the UK), and if so, how this can be maximised and presented. The rich data available from eTextbooks may also be of value as one of many engagement touchpoints with regard to predictive analytics and developing personalised learning pathways. Libraries will need to consider how digital textbooks fit into wider collection development and reading strategies, and how they evidence and balance decision-making about when to buy digital texts. The provision of eTextbooks to individual students is expensive, and there may be more sustainable options such as Library licensed eBooks, digital extracts, already subscribed alternatives, and open educational content. In the UK, Universities make heavy use of journal bundle collections licensed sector wide (such as JSTOR collections, ScienceDirect or IEEE Explore), and the Copyright Licensing Agency’s digital extract service (which supports the request of digitised and copyright fee paid extracts and articles from a volume for use with a class). Initiatives such as Knowledge Unlatched and Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB) are growing in scope, but the selection of titles available and their nature (often monographs and secondary texts rather than core teaching titles) currently has little impact on teaching practice. At institutional and sector level, awareness, development and promotion of open access books and eTextbooks and open educational resources is a work in progress,19 and do not yet rival the U.S. scenario with its Open Stax or SUNY Open Textbooks schemes.
Final Thoughts
Digital textbooks are still a new service in UK Higher Education, offered at scale by only a handful of English in-
Endnotes 1. Department for Business Innovation and Skills. Securing a Sustainable Future for Higher Education: An Independent Review of Higher Education Funding and Student Finance [Browne Report]. BIS/10/1208. London, 2010. 3rd January 2019, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-browne-report-higher-education-funding-and-student-finance. The student fees cap is currently under review and may be significantly lowered, see “Review of Post-18 Education and Funding: Terms of Reference.” 20th February 2019, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-post-18-education-and-funding-terms-of-reference. 2. Universities UK. Patterns and Trends in UK Higher Education 2017. London, 2017. 3rd January 2019, https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/facts-and-stats/ data-and-analysis/Documents/patterns-and-trends-2017.pdf. 3. Office for Students. The Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework: National Contextual Statements. OfS 2018.45. 2018. 3rd January 2019, https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/media/4013afd5-0943-4350-8d77ee46a59af38b/ofs2018_45a.pdf. 4. National Union of Students. “Poverty Commission.” 2017. NUS Website. 3rd January 2019, https://www.nus.org.uk/en/take-action/education/poverty-commission/. 5. National Union of Students. “NUS Launch Campaign to Expose Hidden Costs.” 2012. NUS Website. 3rd January 2019, https://www.nus.org.uk/en/news/ nus-launch-campaign-to-expose-hidden-costs/. 6. Belfield, C. et al. Higher Education Funding in England: Past, Present and Options for the Future. BN211. London, 2017. 3rd January 2019, https://www. ifs.org.uk/uploads/BN211.pdf. 7. Student Business Services. “Included Textbook Program.” 2019. Florida State University. 20th February 2019, https://studentbusiness.fsu.edu/how-pay/ included-textbook-program. 8. Brigham Young University Idaho. “BYU Idaho Textbooks.” 20th February 2019, https://byui.uloop.com/textbooks/. 9. Lewis, David W. “How the IU Etext Program Works.” Etexts 101: A Practical Guide. Indiana University, 2019. 20th February 2019, https://iu.pressbooks.pub/ iuetexts101/chapter/how-the-iu-etext-program-works/. 10. Strumshel, C. “Is Inclusive Access the Future for Publishers?” Inside HigherED 2017. 21st February 2019, https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/01/31/ textbook-publishers-contemplate-inclusive-access-business-model-future. 11. Chetty, R. et al. Mobility Report Cards: The Role of Colleges in Intergenerational Mobility. No. 23618 (revised version). 2017. 18th February 2019, https:// opportunityinsights.org/paper/mobilityreportcards/. 12. Rice University. “Free Books No Catch.” 2019. Open Stax. 20th February 2019, https://openstax.org/. 13. State University of New York. “SUNY Open Textbooks.” 2019. 21st February 2019, https://textbooks.opensuny.org/. 14. Tickle, L. “Teaching Excellence Winner: University of Plymouth.” Guardian Professional 28th February 2013. 3rd January 2019, https://www.theguardian. com/higher-education-network/2013/feb/26/teaching-excellence-winner-university-plymouth. 15. “Etextbooks with University of Plymouth “ 2019. 4th January 2019, https:// www.plymouth.ac.uk/student-life/etextbooks. 16. Broadhurst, D. “The Direct Library Supply of Individual Textbooks to Students: Examining the Value Proposition.” Information and Learning Science 118.11-12 (2017): 629-41. 18th February 2019, https://doi.org/10.1108/ILS-072017-0072. 17. “Etextbooks | Senior Tutor Miles Opie.” Dir. Read, A. Short Video, 2018. 7th January 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDNQ2IiqSNk&index=3&list=PLvxCkx9MnYUJ52tmuNufSApTopfh-UgSh&t=0. 18. “Consumer Rights Act 2015.” London: The Stationery Office, 2015. 4th January 2019, http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/contents/enacted. 19. JISC. “Institution as E-Textbook Publisher Toolkit.” 2018. 21st February 2019, https://www.jisc.ac.uk/guides/institution-as-e-textbook-publisher-toolkit. 20. Coventry University. “Flying Start — Course Essentials at No Extra Cost.” 2018. 4th January 2019, https://www.coventry.ac.uk/study-at-coventry/student-support/flying-start/. 21. University of East London. “Ebooks Bursary 2018.” 2018. 7th January 2019, https://www.uel.ac.uk/undergraduate/fees-and-funding/uk-eu-2018-entry/ scholarships-and-bursaries/ebooks-bursary-2018. 22. Middlesex University. “Etextbooks.” 2018. 7th January 2019, https://unihub. mdx.ac.uk/study/etextbooks. 23. University of Manchester. “Etextbook Programme.” 2018. 7th January 2019, https://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/using-the-library/staff/teaching/support/ etextbook-programme/. 24. JISC Collections. “Jisc Collections E-Textbook Publisher Strategy Group.” 7th January 2019, https://www.jisc-collections.ac.uk/About-JISC-Collections/ JCCSG/Jisc-Collections-E-book-Publisher-Strategy-Group/.
continued on page 24
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How Valuable are e-textbooks to the Student Experience? An Analysis of e-textbook Provisions at the University of Sussex by Anette Moore (University of Sussex) <s.tatham@sussex.ac.uk> and Suzanne Tatham (University of Sussex) <a.moore@sussex.ac.uk>
T
he Library embarked on an ambitious project to roll out e-textbooks to the University of Sussex Business School. Smaller scale pilots in previous years demonstrated the potential for e-textbooks to enhance the student experience by providing access to essential reading for every student. Feedback from both staff and students had made us aware of the increasing problem within the School with providing essential reading. Textbooks are generally very expensive which means students are often reluctant to purchase them. Increasing student numbers within the Business School has put more pressure on limited Library print copies. Furthermore, the publisher model has been to target textbook sales directly to students rather than providing a standard eBook for library acquisition (Chad 5). E-textbook provision is a relatively new model of acquisition and delivery for university libraries. It has been implemented very successfully at a number of universities, who have used it for promotional and recruitment purposes, notably Coventry University’s “No Hidden Costs” campaign (Forster 125) and the University of Manchester’s “Books Right Here Right Now” strategy (Broadhurst 629). A key driver behind the provision of e-textbooks at the University of Sussex is the student experience, not just in terms of removing hidden costs and improving access, but also expanding on student digital capabilities through the enhanced technologies of e-textbooks and the opportunities for digital learning. This thinking is supported by student feedback in a recent survey: “E-textbooks are so much easier to use than regular textbooks and it’s great that you don’t have to spend a lot of money that you would buying a regular textbook. I find the e-textbooks much less intimidating than regular textbooks, as some are so long and thick, whereas e-textbooks not difficult to use and finding the exact subject or section in the book is very easy.” For the last few years, the Library has supplied e-textbooks to students at the University of Sussex Business School. This year, e-textbooks were provided for 17 first year Autumn term modules where there were over 200 students and where the tutor had indicated that there was a “core” textbook. Our e-textbook suppliers provide extensive analytics, enabling us to monitor usage closely. The analytics reveal quite a mixed picture with uptake varying from 17% to 100%. By this we mean the percentage of students on any one
22 Against the Grain / June 2019
module who have “redeemed” their e-textbook. The mean average across the 17 modules is 65% uptake. With increased pressure on library budgets, we need to be certain that e-textbooks represent good value for money but what does that look like? Can we put a percentage on it? And can we find out why 35% of first year students are not using their e-textbooks? We sent a survey to the Business School to obtain some qualitative feedback. Of the students who responded, 97.6% had used one of the e-textbooks. The self-selecting nature of the survey meant that those who had not engaged with the e-textbooks were much less likely to engage with a survey asking them questions about the e-textbooks. The 2.4% of respondents who had not used an e-textbook said they had either purchased their own book or used a library copy instead. Though not captured by the survey results, it is likely that this percentage is much higher, given the low take up of the e-textbook for some modules. However, it is also possible that as first year students, they are just aiming for the pass mark for their module and feel they can get by with only using the lecture notes (avoiding the use of a textbook altogether). This has certainly been identified as one of a number of attitudes in a previous survey. An additional observation from the Kortext Analytics Trends dashboard is a noticeable reduction in engagement with the e-textbooks midway through the term. The ability for a lecturer to see this level of granular detail around student engagement with the text provides a unique opportunity to respond to this at an early stage. There is more investigation to be done around this low take up in some modules. We will be finding out from tutors how closely the teaching in their modules mapped to the e-textbooks. It seems highly likely that in modules where the content of the e-textbook was embedded into the teaching, high student engagement with the e-textbook was recorded. Conversely, it seems probable that in modules where there was low take-up, the e-textbook had been requested by the tutor as the key text for that module but it had not been closely integrated into the teaching. This would suggest that there is more work to be done on tutors’ interpretations of “core reading” or “key textbooks.” For example, in the module which had the lowest take-up, a particular Macroeconomics textbook had been requested but a glance at the reading list revealed that the tutor had listed weekly readings from an alternative textbook which was available online as a standard eBook.
For the students who did take advantage of the e-textbooks, how did they use them and what did they like about them? The survey indicated that the majority of students find e-textbooks easy to use. It is concerning that 17% of students in our survey said that they found the e-textbooks difficult to use. At the start of the year, instruction was provided by library staff during introductory lectures. Most students felt that they had received enough instruction but 10% felt that they had not. This does not map very neatly to the 17% of students who reported finding the e-textbook difficult to use. It is possible that some of those students had missed the introductory lecture but we may need to give further consideration to the support that we offer at the start of term, to maximise student engagement. Students were given space in the survey to tell us what they thought of e-textbooks. The advantages that they listed included the ease of keyword searching: “They are a very useful and easy to use source for studying a subject — e.g., searching through them is much quicker than searching through their paper versions” and “The ability to look up keywords can help in gaining a fuller understanding to those words you do not fully understand.” Students also appreciated the financial saving: “It’s amazing that I didn’t have to spend money on buying the actual hard copy, and it’s easy to use. I love that you can get it offline as well.” Portability was listed as an advantage: “They are accessible and portable meaning you can read on the go and not have to carry a large textbook with you” and “I think they are a good idea as it helps to easily carry around your textbook on different devices.” Functionality was also mentioned: “At first I thought that I would prefer a real book but the quality of the features and the accessibility was really useful for me.” Students picked out the highlighting tool as being particularly helpful, enabling them to “pick key points that are crucial for examinations.” Students also listed the time-saving aspect: “I think it is very useful, it saves me time, I don’t have to renew and borrow books over and over and it’s really easy to use.” In the survey, 50% of respondents indicated that the note taking feature was either very useful or quite useful. Interestingly, this preference was not replicated in the analytics platform, with very little use being made of the notes functionality after the start of the module. This is an area for us to follow up through further user engagement. continued on page 24
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How Valuable are e-textbooks ... from page 22 Highlighting text within the e-textbook and keyword searching were the most used features, supporting the survey responses on how useful these features were. 70% of students found keyword searching either very useful or quite useful and 50% of respondents found the highlighting feature either very useful or quite useful. The platform analytics trends mirrored the survey response for the use of copying text and printing from the e-textbook with an average of ten pages per user either copied or printed. Overall, 71% of respondents answered “Yes” to the question, “Did the e-textbook have the functionality that you need?,” 22% said that they were not sure and 7% provided free text comments. Comments included: “Would be nice if it had a full screen mode [it does] and a better phone app” and “Hovering over keywords to get a definition would be a useful addition to the features already available.” However, not all students found the e-textbooks easy to use and some stated that they would prefer a print copy if given the choice. Interestingly, there is quite a continuum of opinion ranging from “hated it,” “it’s the best substitute for not having physical books,” to “much prefer to have this option.” Initial analysis of the use of the print copy of e-textbook titles did not show a strong correlation between the low take-up of an e-textbook and use of the Library’s print copy. In some cases the Library had already purchased single user licences for the standard eBook of the same or earlier edition of the e-textbook and this is likely to have been another factor limiting the take-up of the e-textbooks. There were some comments about the ease of use of the platform app such as “it seemed quite complicated to use at first and took some learning to understand it” and “the platform can be clunky at times.” However, there were
Three Things to Consider Before ... from page 21 stitutions with a range of models, including Coventry’s holistic “Flying Start” campaign of incentives,20 the University of East London’s eBooks bursary,21 Middlesex’s eTextbooks offer,22 and Manchester’s eTextbook Programme.23 We talk to each other, share information and benchmark, and grapple with the questions of how to make eTextbooks work best for our institutions, and how to fit them into institutional strategy and Library collection development. As publishers seek to protect and expand book revenues for shareholders against a backdrop of decreasing sales, increased competition and threats from piracy, their “cash cow” core teaching titles become increasingly important to their strategy.
24 Against the Grain / June 2019
far more comments emphasising the benefits such as “the e-textbooks are a much better idea in the way that you can make notes directly on your laptop with the textbook upon your screen, making it much easier to make notes quicker and faster. Additionally, it is easily accessible to all those with access to Canvas (the Sussex VLE) which is useful. Also, the ability to look up keywords can help in gaining a fuller understanding to those words you do not fully understand.” The e-textbook platform, Kortext, includes a Lecturer Dashboard that provides interesting insights into student use of the e-textbooks, including a Search Term word cloud, percentage of the book used and the actual pages viewed. Assessing the value of the e-textbook model is as much about the lecturer engagement as the student engagement. A successful outcome is only achieved when the e-textbook is truly integrated into the teaching. The technology is there to enable this but the evidence indicates that the platform features are not always fully utilised. Going forward, we need to ascertain whether e-textbooks represent good value for money and understand the best metrics to demonstrate their value. For the majority of the engaged students, the provision of e-textbooks have been warmly welcomed but is it a good use of limited Library budgets if a significant proportion of the class does not feel the need to use it? We need to work more closely with the Business School to ensure that all tutors understand the selection criteria to avoid the scenario whereby e-textbooks are requested but are not then fully embedded into the teaching. We will need to decide what we think acceptable use looks like in terms of the percentage take-up by students, and then be prepared to decline requests from tutors where it has fallen below this level. The big lesson that we have learnt is that tutors play a crucially important role in the successful implementation of e-textbooks. A thorough introduction provided by library staff is not enough if the tutors do not teach closely with the text.
This seems to be predicated around protecting one-to-one sales (mimicking the print model) or subscription and pay per access models based on student numbers and protecting digital rights for these titles. Inclusion of this content within adaptive learning platforms offering value added engagement data and assessment exercises, also creates tie-in and does not offer interoperability with chosen digital learning environments and intermediary content platforms. Until such time as teaching in some disciplines can be divorced from the concept of commercial core titles, Libraries need to wrestle with the issue of how to provide equitable access to required reading at a fair and sustainable cost. In the UK, the lead in this area has been assumed by JISC24 which is looking at options for sector wide negotiation on pricing and products.
On the whole, students like the idea of having e-textbooks purchased for them and find them engaging, easy to use, flexible and time-saving. However, we need to investigate further the non-use of e-textbooks to enable us to be certain that e-textbooks are valuable to the student experience as a whole.
References
Broadhurst, Dominic. “The Direct Library Supply of Individual Textbooks to Students: Examining the Value Proposition.” Information and Learning Science 118.11/12 (2017): 629-41. Chad, Ken. The student consumer and the rise of e-textbook platforms, HELibTech, 2018, http://www.kenchadconsulting.com/ wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Student_consumer_and_e-textbook_platforms_March2018.pdf Forster, Sandy. “E-textbooks at Coventry University: a pilot project”, Ebooks in Education: Realising the Vision, edited by Hazel Woodward, Ubiquity Press, 2014, 125-129. Survey results available on Figshare: https://doi.org/10.25377/sussex.7804241.
Rumors from page 12 the Collections directorate and helped position the MIT Libraries to influence the scholarly communications landscape, all in pursuit of our goal to democratize access to information and the fruits of research,” says Chris Bourg, director of MIT Libraries. “CRL has made an outstanding choice, and I’m excited to see how Greg’s strategic leadership will advance both CRL and the shared aims of the larger research libraries community.” As president of CRL, Eow will provide vision and leadership for the development of collective action among its members and with other institutions and consortia to preserve endangered and difficult-to-acquire materials, develop robust shared collection preservation strategies, and expand the corpus of digital research material. Before joining the MIT Libraries, Eow held appointments at the Harvard Library, Yale University Library, and Fondren Library, Rice University. He holds a Ph.D. in history from Rice University, an M.L.I.S. from the University of Pittsburgh, and a B.A. from Hendrix College and is a member of the American Historical Association, the Grolier Club, and the Society of American Archivists. https://libraries.mit.edu/news/named-president-center/29563/ John Wiley and Sons Inc. (NYSE:JWa) (NYSE:JWb) and UNSILO have partnered in a pilot to boost researcher capacity for simplified submission and screening of research content using UNSILO’s artificial intelligence tools. An increasing amount of time is spent by authors, editors, and reviewers on submitting and screening research for publication — rather than doing research. It has been estimated that continued on page 29
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Open and Affordable Textbooks — Three Levels of Open by Caren Milloy (Deputy Director, Jisc Collections) <caren.milloy@jisc.ac.uk> and Graham Stone (Senior Research Manager, Jisc Collections) <graham.stone@jisc.ac.uk>
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nstitutions need to provide high quality teaching and learning and meet the expectations of their students; the provision of key course material with no hidden or extra fees is one area where institutions continue to focus their efforts. To support this, Jisc Collections seeks to provide its members with a range of affordable e-textbook content licensing options to support teaching and learning and support parity of access. However, at a sector level, little progress has been made in securing direct agreements with acceptable savings and access models requirements with major textbook publishers for UK higher education (HE). This is due to a number of factors, such as a lack of influence of the UK market on publishers’ strategies and offerings, differing requirements of many UK institutions1 and the lack of any additional money to bring to negotiations. Indeed, current moves from publishers appear to include increases in recurrent costs alongside reductions in access periods for rentals, the removal of sustainable options via book suppliers and a strategy to encourage publisher lock-in through vendor platforms. There is a need for the sector to take back control of many of these issues, to prevent the “big deal” for e-textbooks, to curtail costs and to maintain the “uniqueness” of each institutions offering. In 2019 Jisc Collections will consult on a new approach to e-textbook, which will feature a mixed model offering with short, medium and long-term actions and goals to keep the community informed. While continuing to investigate other options, such as inclusive e-textbook provision, courseware and agreements with smaller specialist textbook publishers, Jisc Collections would like to build on its experience of the Institution as e-textbook publisher project and toolkit (Jisc, 2018), market intelligence around key textbook titles and a recent study on author motivation, to encourage institutions to create their own open and affordable textbooks. There is the opportunity to build capacity and skill sets through the growing movement of New University Presses to challenge traditional textbook publishing and to produce affordable alternatives. Open and affordable textbooks are an ideal way to offer “personalised” course content and to include the “student voice.” To achieve this, we need to develop a strategy that has buy in from the sector. It needs to be affordable and scalable, which is why we have based it on evidence from the above projects and initiatives. This paper is an attempt to define the approach we have discussed and
Against the Grain / June 2019
developed with our e-textbook strategy group, as part of our consultation with the community in the UK and beyond.
Approach
The vision for an open and affordable e-textbook landscape in the UK is based on a three-tiered approach.
Tier 1
Tier 1 includes high-level textbooks where there is potential for a large readership. These can be divided into “Introduction to…” textbooks and interdisciplinary guides. “Introduction to…” textbooks are those aimed at 1st year undergraduates. Openstax (n.d.) at Rice University have already produced a number of titles across various disciplines. However, it is yet to be gauged whether these textbooks are transferable to a UK HE audience. There is also a crossover with the work of the UK Open Textbooks project (Rolfe & Pitt, 2018). A major drawback for pursuing an open/affordable agenda with this type of textbook is the cost of producing a new title. This poses the obvious question, would an open/affordable version of this type of textbook actually reduce costs for universities or the sector? There may be a reduction in direct costs, but indirect costs, such as academic times and publishing infrastructure could negate this. Therefore, the strategy will answer a defined set of questions to establish what models will suit the UK and how such titles can be produced affordably. Interdisciplinary guides appear on many course reading lists. Commercial versions of these guides are relatively inexpensive; our evidence also suggests that there is no firm favourite or key text for UK libraries. However, libraries will purchase tens, even hundreds of copies of these guides, meaning that the total expenditure is potentially quite high. Work done by the University of Highlands and Islands/Napier University during the Institution as e-textbook publisher project has produced two such guides (Jisc, 2018). Evidence from the project shows that these affordable guides can compete with the commercial version. However, further work is required to investigate whether these guides are a “nice to have” or essential texts, and whether a sector owned version may deliver savings.
Tier 2
In 2018, Jisc Collections conducted an author motivation study. While purely indicative, results told us that for academics as teachers only 30% rated entire textbooks as “really
important,” while 20% rated them as “unimportant.” However, 55% rated chapters from textbooks as “really important.” Academics as authors were also demotivated by the lack of time available to produce textbooks and having to produce entire textbooks on their own. This leads us to the 2nd tier: textbook series/case studies. Tier 2 is inspired by the “living books’”produced by Liverpool and UCL in the Institution as e-textbook publisher project (Jisc, 2018). The idea behind these series would be to appoint a series editor or board for a given subject area or theme. In support of the evidence above, authors from multiple institutions (UK or internationally) could be approached to contribute chapters. This could include case studies, video, extended reviews and even student material. The chapters themselves could be written and revised reasonably quickly. These points go some way to answer the issue of textbook currency surfaced in the author motivation study. There is also potential for disciplines that do not have a set textbook, such as new and developing research areas that are moving into learning and teaching. These titles could also give an entry level to New University Presses (NUPs) and Academic-Led Publishing, which is a growing movement in the UK. Indeed, a 2017 Jisc report (Adema & Stone, 2017) notes that three NUPs are already publishing textbooks and this could be further harnessed to support a sector led programme.
Tier 3
The third layer is not necessarily open or even strictly a textbook and will only be discussed briefly. This tier includes accompanying material, such as tests and quizzes (courseware), lecture notes or open/alternative educational resources (OAERs). We believe that there could be a logical connection between lecture notes and case studies/series outlined in Tier 2. With the right incentives, academics could be encouraged to convert lecture notes into chapters within case studies, with quality control taking place at the editorial level of the series. This may provide an entry level to early career academics. However, this is very much a longer term aim as there are issues around IPR and copyright that need to be answered. There may be a role for Jisc in making a set of guidelines widely available and in creating a set of licences, but any work in this area would need to follow on from tiers 1 and 2.
Stakeholder Engagement
It must be stressed that this article outlines the approach we would like to take regarding open and affordable textbooks; it is not the finished strategy. As a first step, it was taken to Jisc Collection’s e-textbook strategy group, who reacted positively to the ideas put forward. continued on page 26
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Open and Affordable Textbooks from page 25 During 2019 we will liaise with stakeholders and develop a strategy and plan for the following two years. Our immediate goal is to go through a period of validation and ratification from academics, pro-vice chancellors for teaching and learning, libraries, educational technologists, library presses and others including learned societies and other consortia who have had some success in this area. In addition, the student voice, including distance learners, must not be forgotten. The strategy will also aim to leverage collaborative action and partnerships at an international level alongside other consortia strategies to ensure we are taking a community approach to increase our influence on the marketplace. We are seeking feedback and comment; this article is part of that. At the very least, engagement will help us to understand the drivers and barriers in moving to open and affordable textbooks. It will also help raise their profile with PVCs for teaching and learning. We will refine the vision to include what is realistic and outline what needs to happen in the background before the above can be achieved in a sustainable way. As such, the vision will be developed iteratively, and some parts may not be taken forward. We also hope to identify potential disciplines and partners in order to start to apply the vision.
Cultural Change
One of the key takeaways from our author motivation study was that authors felt practical institutional support was uncommon. Where there was support, academics were clear that unilateral support for textbook publication by their institution would not enhance their own professional credibility with future employers. Therefore, for any future strategy to be successful, there is a requirement for significant cultural change in addition to buy-in across the sector. Potentially this is an issue for university selection procedures and recognition (both institutional and individual) in national assessment, such as the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF), which “assesses excellence in teaching at universities and colleges, and how well they
ensure excellent outcomes for their students in terms of graduate-level employment or further study” (OFS, n.d.) and /or the Knowledge Excellence Framework (KEF), which is “intended to increase efficiency and effectiveness in use of public funding for knowledge exchange (KE), to further a culture of continuous improvement in universities by providing a package of support to keep English university knowledge exchange operating at a world class standard. It aims to address the full range of KE activities” (KEF, n.d.). This is clearly a longer-term goal of the strategy. However, lack of cultural change may well operate as a block to anything in the final strategy being achieved. Therefore, conversations about cultural change need to begin as soon as possible to understand the significant challenges. At the time of writing, this process is already underway with Jisc’s work to support learning and teaching in higher education.
Business Models
A further goal of the strategy is to have evidenced existing spend and to set out new models that enable some spend to be diverted into supporting open and affordable models that match the ethos of our education system. An example model might be to crowdfund targeted disciplines/titles, perhaps as a collaboration of New University Presses, particularly if there was evidence for demand from library data and the appetite for joint ventures by presses.
Conclusion
This paper has outlined our initial thoughts around a vision for open and affordable textbooks in the UK. Open textbooks have potential to be moulded to individual teaching methods, while protecting copyright and IPR. They could also level the playing field for students, giving parity and no hidden costs. Textbooks published by the sector, for the sector also present the opportunity to keep funds within the system and to build capacity and skills. Furthermore, cultural change leading to recognition and reward at a national level can promote teaching excellence. The challenge as always is realising the potential and making it something viable and achievable — hence the need for a new approach to be endorsed and adopted by the sector as a whole — not just the libraries. The flip side is that if the
sector doesn’t take control, if the sector doesn’t engage or consider how change could lead to new affordable models or embrace open, then we will remain in the hands of the large commercial textbook publishers heading further down the road of vendor lock in.
References
Adema, Janneke and Stone, Graham. Changing publishing ecologies: a landscape study of new university presses and academic-led publishing. Bristol: Jisc, 2017. Web. 19 Mar. 2019. http://repository.jisc.ac.uk/6666/. Broadhurst, Dominic. “The direct library supply of individual textbooks to students: examining the value proposition.” Information and Learning Science 118. 11/12 (2017): 629641. https://doi.org/10.1108/ILS-07-20170072. Web 19 Mar. 2019. Jisc. Institution as e-textbook publisher toolkit. Jisc, 2018. Web 19 Mar. 2019. https:// www.jisc.ac.uk/guides/institution-as-e-textbook-publisher-toolkit. KEF. Knowledge Exchange Framework. UKRI, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2019. https://re.ukri. org/knowledge-exchange/knowledge-exchange-framework/. OFS. Teaching Excellence Framework. Office for Students, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2019. https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/teaching/what-is-the-tef/. OpenStax. About us. Open Stax, 2018. Web. 19 Mar. 2019. https://openstax.org/ about. Rolfe, Vivien and Pitt, Beck. “Open textbooks: an untapped opportunity for universities, colleges and schools.” Insights 31. (2018): 30. http://doi.org/10.1629/uksg.427. Web. 19 Mar. 2019.
Endnote 1. Some institutions, with endorsement and funding for an inclusive access e-textbook programme, have managed to leverage high discounts through direct negotiations with publishers (Broadhurst, 2017) though we would note that publishers are now starting to push back on the discount levels as they move away from a “pilot” into continuous service.
Understanding e-textbooks through a Student Lens by Becky Hartnup (Publishing Consultant) <becky.hartnup@gmail.com>
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hat do students think about e-textbooks? Over the past two decades I have worked on numerous projects gathering student feedback, from focus groups and interviews as well as learning analytics, in order to answer this question. Then in 2016 I began an online MBA. This gave me the opportunity to experience the student perspective for myself and to develop a deeper
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understanding of the impact of the digital transition within Higher Education. Below I combine e-textbooks insights from my industry background with personal reflections from my time as a student. The term e-textbooks is a loose one encompassing everything from print-under-glass to interactive, multi-media versions that are as similar to adaptive learning courseware as to
traditional print (Gu et al, 25-41). Specialist platforms with built in learning functionality have emerged as alternatives to Amazon Kindle. They are used by a growing number of institutions to provide students with a personal copy of essential e-textbooks. This helps tackle affordability, which continues to be an issue for students (Worlock, Digital textbooks, continued on page 28
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Understanding e-textbooks ... from page 26 1-16), Shift Media, Digital Learning). Some students do purchase their own e-textbooks, but just as cost pressures led to a second hand market for print copies, they have supported the emergence of e-textbook rental models. At my university e-textbooks were provided by the library. Links to digital copies were embedded at module level in the Virtual Learning Environment /Learning Management system. This is a common and convenient way for students to access e-textbooks. Digital reading lists and weekly module activities listed links to e-textbooks, a wide range of other digital content, articles, videos and quizzes. However, unlike these other sources, the e-textbooks were in limited supply. Library e-textbook licences do not offer the same access terms as online journals and reference products. They emerged from the consumer market which shaped the commercial models for print textbooks. Even in a print dominated world, journals and reference products were primarily developed for library distribution. Textbooks, in contrast, were developed for sale to students. High sales figures and economies of scale support their comparatively higher cost structure and longer lead times as well as the author royalty model. In recent years sales have sharply declined (Worlock, Digital textbooks, 1-16). As the e-textbook market emerged, many publishers anticipated that unlimited library access would cannibalise student sales and undermine revenues further. This concern shaped e-textbook models (Chad,1-11). In some cases, institutions must purchase e-textbooks on a copy per user basis. Other approaches include restrictions on the numbers of students who can concurrently read the e-textbook, and credit systems to limit total usage. Students are neither aware of nor interested in these factors. Netflix, Spotify and YouTube set their norms for accessing content. The immediate, anytime access of streaming services fits well with student study patterns, particularly those of non-traditional students and distance learners. In the world of education, the more permissive site-wide licencing terms of journals replicate this user experience, do the wealth of free platforms offering free multi-media content. In this context, the need to purchase textbooks is becoming an anomaly for students. The concept of buying your own copy is so out of line with student experience that it is easy to ignore university recommendations. The price of textbooks creates an additional barrier. As a result, students are increasingly reliant on institutional provision of content. Library provision removes the costs, but due to licencing terms, it fails to provide the stress-free access that is expected. Students on my course found it frustrating that digital copies were unavailable when they needed them. For those that were first in the queue and managed to access copies, they were surprised to find their access was for a limited time and that their digital copy needed to be ‘returned’ in
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order to allow another student to use it. Despite the best efforts of library staff to explain terms and conditions, students on my course found terminology confusing and the user experience clunky. To the user, the licensing terms appear to undermine a key benefit of digital provision — any time access to multiple users. Students rank anytime access as one of the most important benefits of having their own copy of an e-textbook (Shift Media, Digital Learning and eTextbooks. Shift Media, Digital Learning). Previously I interpreted this as a disappointing indication that sophisticated functionality was not being adopted, for example, promoting best practice learning behaviour or social sharing. As a student my perspective changed. When I attend support events for MBA students my tip for success is “Stay on top of your reading.” If Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is applied to learning, core course reading is at its base — an essential, like water and food. When students fall behind on reading, they can miss out on core concepts. This limits their ability to participate in lectures and group work. As well as holding back their learning this is frustrating for classmates and lecturers trying to make the most of limited face-time. In recent years UK universities such as Manchester, Middlesex, Plymouth and University of East London have begun purchasing e-textbooks on behalf of their students. This recognises that guaranteed access to content is fundamental to teaching and learning. Inclusive access models emerging in the United States are an alternative approach to ensuring all students have access to essential materials from day one of their course. With mental health now a serious concern in higher education it is worth noting that stress reduces students’ ability to learn (Arnett 219-222). Students are already under pressure whether they are 18 year olds leaving home for the first time or mature learners putting careers on hold as they return to formal education. Difficulties accessing content and the resulting gaps in understanding are an additional source of concern (Shift Media Digital Learning and eTextbooks). For students facing specific challenges, whether these relate to financial circumstances, responsibilities, or the need for accessible content, anxiety levels can be even higher. Online courses raise their own difficulties. I observed first-hand how distance learning has the potential to isolate students and make it harder for them to seek help, even on low level issues such as gaining access to essential content. Despite their differences, all of these categories of students would benefit from flexible, reliable access to course content. If students have a low awareness of the need to purchase e-textbooks, they are equally ill equipped to make the purchasing decision. My university’s ‘Where to buy’ list linked to publisher websites, print ecommerce sites,
specialist digital learning providers such as VitalSource and, of course, Amazon. This appears to support student choice, but it ignores asymmetries of information. Students are not experts in learning or in digital tools and they are unaware of their knowledge gap. They treat textbook purchase as a low involvement decision that requires little thought. Due to their inexperience in evaluating source material, there is a temptation for students to use free content from Google instead. The default behaviour of students on my course who did choose to buy, was to buy cheaply via Amazon. Some students have a strong print preference and would choose this route even if they were fully informed. However, most students I spoke to were interested to find out more about eBooks that had been designed with learning in mind and with functionality that went beyond standard PDF or Amazon Kindle. Overall, the student purchase model results in an uninformed choice for those who can afford it at the expense of universal digital access. Based on my experience of e-textbooks, I chose a specialist digital supplier and took full advantage of the digital aspects. I downloaded my e-textbooks onto my laptop and phone, for reading on the train. This provided offline access and saved me the inconvenience of navigating through webpages and signing in. Like many non-traditional students combining study with a career, reading on my commute saved me from falling behind. I used the digital notes and highlights, selecting different colours to distinguish passages I needed to re-read from those that were useful for assignments. The interface was easy to use. I could mark up the text without breaking the flow of my reading. In a context of information overload this prevents important information from getting lost in the noise. The immediate benefit was that I could easily retrieve key points when I needed them. This saved me time and hassle, particularly with citations. At a deeper level, these activities can contribute to the learning process. Identifying the key points to highlight, summarising and critically commenting on content require greater engagement than passive reading. I found the functionality beneficial and straightforward to use. However, students without a background in learning might need more information and guidance from their university to convince them of the value of these strategies and to ensure they are used effectively. (Miyatsu et al, 390-407. Van Horne et al, 407-433). Often study skills and digital literacy skills are handled through optional, online modules intended to allow students to personalise their learning and fill specific gaps. This approach frees teaching staff to focus on valuable subject content, rather than basic learning skills. However, I recommend making study skills mancontinued on page 29
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Understanding e-textbooks ... from page 28 datory. Overloaded students do not prioritise optional activities. If study skills and digital literacy are wrapped into the curriculum and key skills are covered in alignment with assignments, they can feel relevant and supportive. Study skills training material also needs to evolve to recognise emerging opportunities and challenges. Specialist platforms allow students to share notes with one another which can benefit group-work and peer support. However, it also creates social risk for students (Hartnup et al) who are reluctant to make themselves vulnerable and to reduce their status by revealing their knowledge gaps. Students on my course were also concerned about risks of plagiarism if they openly shared their ideas in this way. The need for study skills is not new, but it is vital that provision continues to adapt in line with the dynamic nature of digital learning. My university had a strong, well-funded ed-tech lab and the course was designed with a good understanding of digital pedagogy. The format was varied and interactive. In contrast, the e-textbook experience felt disconnected and old fashioned. Textbooks are highly structured and comprehensive, but perhaps due to the theoretical content and use across multiple courses, the content can lack direct relevance. The learning process is also more passive. As a result, long periods of reading can feel isolating. A textbook chapter can require an hour of concentration on an unfamiliar subject. If the content is too basic this is boring. If it is too difficult, attention wanders. I soon learned to avoid reading textbooks in the evening when I was tired, instead skipping on to assignments that were shorter, more active or more social. These were better at holding my attention. Specialist e-textbook platforms include built in functionality so teaching staff can highlight key sections of text, post questions or use notes to encourage students to engage actively with content. These approaches can overcome barriers to reading by providing focus, adding relevance, and creating a human connection. However, there is a learning curve for time-poor lecturers. Additional research into the pedagogical impact of this kind of intervention and its relationship to higher level learning (Dennis, 221-235) would help support its uptake. I supplemented my reading assignments with free video content sourced via Google and through recommendations from classmates. Many students find videos are helpful to text (Worlock 1-30), and research has shown some learning benefits (Zhan et al 2005, Buch et al 2014). E-textbooks offer the potential for publishers to expand beyond print and enrich their content with expert interviews, immersive video and animated diagrams to more effectively communicate complex ideas. It is disappointing that the vast majority of e-textbooks have not progressed beyond the restrictions of print. This situation may reflect the strategic tension that publishers face between investing in e-textbooks and in courseware. Courseware offers publishers the
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opportunity to develop sophisticated, adaptive learning solutions to support active learning and to build loyalty for their own platforms. Unsurprisingly courseware is more expensive than e-textbooks and beyond the budget of UK higher education libraries. My experience as a student has fundamentally altered the way in which I approach e-textbooks. Current discussions are dominated by the potential for big data and learning analytics to transform education. This is exciting and raises questions and hypotheses about the relationship between behaviours and outcomes, but my experience has made me cautious of relying solely on quantitative measures. For example, analytics showing long session lengths in an e-textbook are not evidence that students are learning. It may mean the content is complex, poorly written or even that the student is asleep. External behaviour is not necessarily evidence of an engaged mind. Looking back on my MBA two modules strike me as particularly useful in understanding student use of e-textbooks: Consumer Behaviour and Design Management. Both courses focused on the need to understand the inner and outer world of the consumer in order to better anticipate and meet their needs. What do students think about e-textbooks? Unless they encounter a problem, they don’t think about them at all. To be transformative, we need to stop asking students the same questions about e-textbooks and instead we need to understand their world, identify their problems and start prototyping solutions.
References
Arnett, J. J. “College Students as Emerging Adults: The Developmental Implications of the College Context.” Emerging Adulthood. 4. 3 (2016) 219-222 DOI: 10.1177/2167696815587422. Arnett, J & J. Jeffrey, “Emerging Adulthood: A Theory of Development From the Late Teens Through the Twenties.” American Psychologist. 55 5 (2000), 469-480. DOI: 10.1037/0003-066X.55.5.469. Buch, S.V. et al., “Video or text-based e-learning when teaching clinical procedures? A randomized controlled trial.” Advances in Medical Education and Practice, Volume 2014:5 (2014) 257-262 DOI: 10.2147/AMEP. S62473. Chad, K, “The student consumer and the rise of e-textbook platforms.” HELibTech
Rumors from page 24 tens of millions of hours are lost every year to inefficient publication workflows. Many of the tasks for preparing, submitting, and screening content are critical, yet mundane, repetitive, and time-consuming for the people who manually perform them. This contributes to poor researcher experiences, increasing resource de-
Briefing Paper (2018) 1-11 DOI: 10.13140/ RG.2.2.17262.51525. Dennis, A.R., et al., “Effects of E-textbook Instructor Annotations on Learner Performance.” Journal of Computing in Higher Education 28: 221-235 (2016) DOI: https:// doi.org/10.1007/s12528-016-9109-x. Gu, X. B. Wu, B. & X. J. Xu, “Design, development, and learning in e-Textbooks: what we learned and where we are going.” Journal of Computers in Education 2. 1(2015) 25-41 https://doi.org/10.1007/s40692-014-0023-9. Hartnup, B. Dong, L. Eisingerich, A. B., “How an Environment of Stress and Social Risk Shapes Student Engagement With Social Media as Potential Digital Learning Platforms: Qualitative Study,” JMIR Medical Education (2018);4(2):e10069 DOI: 10.2196/10069. Miyatsu, Toshiya. Khuyen Nguyen, Mark A. McDaniel, “Five Popular Study Strategies: Their Pitfalls and Optimal Implementations.” Perspectives on Psychological Science (2018) Volume 13 issue: 3, 390-407 DOI: https://doi. org/10.1177/1745691617710510. Shift Media, “Digital Learning and eTextbooks in UK Higher Education” VitalSource Technology Ltd (2016) https://news.vitalsource.com/digital-learning-and-etextbooks-in-uk-higher-education?hsCtaTracking=7b945c5d-8ad1-4c9b-809d-6b0f1efb0495 %7Cb9541530-e929-45ae-869b-dae2f7a31f3f. ---. “The Impact of eTextbooks on Learning Outcomes in Higher Education”. VitalSource Technology Ltd (2018). ---. “eTextbooks and differential learning. Reducing inequalities in UK Higher Education.” VitalSource Technology Ltd (2018). Van Horne, S. R, Jae-eun. K, Schuh, “The adoption of mark-up tools in an interactive e-textbook reader.” Educational Technology Research and Development (2016) 64:407–433 DOI 10.1007/s11423-016-9425-x. Worlock, K., “Digital textbooks, the appearance of tipping points, Market size, share, forecast and trend report”, Outsell. (2017) 1-16 ---. “Student Survey 2018, Room for Growth,” Outsell (2018) 1-30. Zhang, D., “Interactive multimedia-based e-learning: A study of effectiveness.” American Journal of Distance Education 19 (3):149–62. (2005) https://doi.org/10.1207/ s15389286ajde1903_3.
mands, and delayed publication. UNSILO and Wiley are each working on researcher-focused initiatives to address these problems and opportunities, and will now collaborate on testing UNSILO’s Manuscript Evaluation software suite. The software performs real-time analysis of incoming submissions with integrity and quality control checks, guides manuscripts to appropriate journals and experts for input, and supports preparation and screening of content continued on page 38
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Digital Textbooks Offer a Wealth of Variety and Opportunity by Saskia Watts (Marketing Specialist, VitalSource) <saskia.watts@vitalsource.com> and Vanessa Boddington (Director of Market Development, VitalSource) <Vanessa.boddington@vitalsource.com>
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igital textbooks – everyone knows what those are. Or do they? They can invoke strong opinions, both on their format as well as the benefits they offer. So perhaps before we begin to talk about the opportunity they present, we should take a step back and define what a digital textbook is, how they’ve evolved and why the changes that have taken place on that journey benefit students and institutions. The eBook dates back to 1971 when a student at University of Illinois used a Xerox mainframe computer to create an electronic version of the Declaration of Independence (Manley and Robert), and since then the primary format that most readers when asked about eTextbooks will cite is PDF (Adobe), as many originally consumed eBooks and eTextbooks online. It is clear that there are still a lot of misconceptions surrounding textbooks in a digital format. People may believe that they are only available in higher education in a PDF format, that they are just “print under glass”; that they can only be read online; they can’t be downloaded onto a mobile device; they don’t meet the needs of students with disabilities. So, back to the definition of what an eTextbook is in 2019. Yes, an eTextbook can still be delivered in PDF, but many are now delivered in EPUB3. Yes, they can still be consumed online, but the vast majority can now be downloaded onto a desktop or mobile device to suit the reading and study habits of a diverse population of students, allowing them the freedom to choose their own personal learning space and work more collaboratively with instructors and peers. Yes, they can be an accessible option to students with disabilities if the content provider has taken care to ensure that the content has been developed with this group of readers in mind. However, the continued improvement and functionality of the EPUB format still presents a challenge — aggregators within higher education can support a wealth of eTextbook features, but they are reliant on being provided EPUB content from the publishers. This limitation also stems from a lack of awareness from within the institutional system — university librarians need the support and knowledge that allows them to understand the different formats available and the limitations and benefits of each, so that they know to ask for EPUB first. But these challenges can be easy to overcome through increased awareness, knowledge sharing and thought leadership, both in the encouraging of EPUB content from publishers, and in the discussion with institutions of adopting materials from other sources. Pedagogical resources no longer have to be limited to traditional eTextbooks
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made available from publishing houses, but can be created by the academic staff themselves or sourced online for free, in the form of Open Educational Resources (OER). OER can be found from companies such as OpenStax (OpenStax) and MERLOT (MERLOT), and is often in the form of high-quality, peer-reviewed, openly licensed eTextbooks that are free of cost, with Science, Maths and the Humanities being some of the most popular subjects. Institution authored content is becoming increasingly more sophisticated with the help of tools available from platforms and aggregators. These different pathways for procuring content that digital creates for institutions means students have an ever-growing pool to aid them with their studies, and in some cases, publishers, universities and aggregators work collaboratively to bring formerly print only textbooks in the publisher’s backlist to digital, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks. Going digital also allows for various avenues in terms of business models. There is still of course the traditional 1:1 course provision, available either directly through the publisher or via an aggregator, where an institution provides one eTextbook per student per course, but hybrid models now allow for more flexibility. Whether the combination of 1:1 provision with concurrent access (a method of limiting either the total quantity of assets or the quantity of each asset that can be distributed to students, with the ability for users to return assets when limits are set) via the library, or pure concurrent access via the library, these models provide the delivery of course materials to suit a variety of needs both in content consumption and budgets. Along with the improved access to varied content, digital textbooks also enhance the learning experience for students around the world. Research conducted by Shift Media in 2016 (Shift Media) found that ninety-two percent (92%) of students surveyed, across 131 UK universities, had used and valued at least one of the learning tools that eTextbooks offer, most notably multimedia features such as audio and video, note-making and management tools. Whilst note-making is a commonality between print and digital textbooks, it is the ease of having all titles on one device that elevates eTextbooks, with a 2nd year Psychology (Shift Media) student at the University of Plymouth saying: “Best thing that happened upon starting university. Not only saved me hundreds of pounds, but also
use them more due to the fact I can access all of them, and not having to choose which ones to take with me every day. The fact that the lecturer can make notes and then share them with us is an extra bonus that I couldn’t live without now I have experienced it!” This is an attitude that is mirrored across the globe, with 87% of students in Australia believing institutional provision of eTextbooks is a good idea, according to research conducted in early 2018 by Shift Learning (Shift Learning), and 86% of U.S college students who took part in a Wakefield Research study (Wakefield) agreeing they would get better grades with interactive, high-quality digital textbooks. The added capability of substantial analytics at an instructor’s fingertips allows for further improvements in student success. Analytics dashboards often offer insight into students’ study habits as well as an overview of course engagement, allowing institutions and lecturers to confidently understand how and when their students are interacting with content — tracking these specific interactions allows for early identification of struggling students, and the implementation of actions to support these students in a more subjective and personal way. Whilst these analytics cannot solve all issues concerning student success, they offer a robust starting point that can help instructors personalise the learning journey and result in more objective office hour discussions, which in turn will positively impact students’ university experiences. Digital textbooks are more than you think because they are undeniably improving student success and satisfaction and empowering them to feel like individuals whose needs are being listened to. Findings from a study at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (Forteza, Whitmer and Fritz) found that the increased likelihood of passing a course was linked to the amount of time spent using online learning materials — at the lowest level of online activity in both platforms, students had a 70% likelihood of passing a course, which increased to 98% at the highest level of activity. In 2017 research conducted by Shift Learning (Shift Learning) found that there were more than 4,500 online courses offered by UK higher education institutions — and this number is still growing. They reach students who would otherwise not be able to study with them: overseas students, students with disabilities, or those with caring and continued on page 32
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Digital Textbooks Offer a Wealth ... from page 30 work responsibilities that make full-time study on campus difficult. For these students, eTextbooks are more than a convenient way of accessing content — they improve their learning experience. Online learners are more likely to report that eTextbooks made them feel more prepared, less worried, contributed to raising their grade, improved their digital literacy, and made them feel more employable, according to research carried out at the end of 2017 (Shift Learning). However, whether due to perceived “technical shortcomings,” the risk of eye strain from looking at a screen for extended periods of time, or the difficulty for some of reading on a small device, it is important to realise that digital is not a cure-all. There will always be users that prefer print, and institutions must be careful to embrace a blended learning approach, to avoid fragmentation of courses. But digital textbooks undoubtedly open possibilities for students with disabilities on both online courses and courses taught on campus. Accessibility is an important aspect of modern education, and one that is becoming of increasingly higher priority for both publishers and aggregators. Features like text to speech, the ability to resize text, and navigational tagging ensures a stress-free learning experience for those with disabilities. A 2018 case study with BPP University (BPP) found that students with a visual, hearing, or other cognitive disability were more likely to report that some features, such as ability to magnify
text, had a positive impact on their learning compared to their peers (94% vs. 87%), and it’s these positive impacts that truly sets eTextbooks a step above the print equivalent. Some aggregators are now even going one step further in their commitment to accessibility and are harnessing publishers’ metadata to not only present how accessible a text is to students with disabilities but also whether those accessibility enhancements are useful to the disability of that individual student. Recognising the challenges students face when seeking accessible digital course materials, companies such as VitalSource are enabling their publisher partners to identify accessible content and highlight specific accessibility features. All eTextbooks and course content in the VitalSource catalogue with one or more accessibility features will now be clearly designated with a symbol in the store. Along with the positive impact on students’ autonomous learning, this accessibility transparency also allows librarians and disability officers the chance to answer accessibility queries in a quick and easy manner — the information they need is presented in a clear, upfront manner. Yes, digital textbooks have limitations, and it can be a challenge for institutions to find the budget to fund eTextbook provisions, but it would be a disservice to the strides within higher education not to acknowledge what they can offer students and institutions. The improved access to content, and accessibility features for those who do not have the same sensory abilities that the majority enjoy should in their own right be enough to change perceptions and show that digital textbooks are more than you think. eTextbooks give students whose
circumstances do not allow them to study on campus access to higher education and the chance to complete a university degree, which they may have previously believed to be unobtainable. They can be accessed anywhere, or anytime, meaning students do not have to rely on previously created learning spaces, and can study where they are most comfortable. They provide librarians and teaching and learning staff insights into engagement, to be harnessed for decision making in the future and early intervention with struggling students. Digital textbooks are not everybody’s first choice, but they are nevertheless made for everyone.
References
Adobe. Adobe Document Cloud. 2019. March 2019. BPP. “BPP University Case Study.” 2018. Forteza, Diego, et al. “Improving Student Risk Predictions.” 2018. Manley, Laura and Holley P. Robert. “History of the Ebook: The Changing Face of Books .” Technical Services Quarterly (2012). MERLOT. MERLOT. 2019. March 2019. OpenStax. OpenStax. 2019. March 2019. Shift Learning. “Australian Students’ Success and Satisfaction Research.” 2018. —. “How eTextbooks Impact Learning Outcomes.” 2017. —. “Online Learners Report a High Positive Impact From eTextbooks.” 2017. Shift Media. “Digital Learning and eTextbooks in UK Higher Education.” 2016. Wakefield. “2017 Wakefield Research.” 2017.
Textbooks in Libraryland — Perspectives from a Publisher by Kevin Ohe (Academic Publishing Director, Bloomsbury Digital Resources, Bloomsbury Publishing, Inc.) <Kevin.Ohe@bloomsbury.com>
T
raditional American-style textbooks and college libraries have engaged in a curious, sideways-glance kind of relationship for many years. In bygone days textbooks often would have been purchased by librarians in small numbers and relegated to the reserve desk. Those textbooks may not have even been added to the library catalog or OPAC as an official part of the collection. On their side, textbook publishers and their sales representatives may never have set foot in the library, except to ask directions to a certain academic building or possibly just by mistake. Our current era of digital disruption is jumbling traditional practices and is enabling — or perhaps more accurately, forcing — libraries and publishers of textbooks to review old practices and experiment with new models. New models potentially affecting libraries abound: inclusive access, aggregated textbook
32 Against the Grain / June 2019
packages, licensed pedagogical content, among others. We will return to these in a moment, but first an overview from a textbook publisher’s vantage. As all ATG readers will know, the commercial higher education textbook sector has struggled mightily over the course of the past decade. A few core elements have contributed to the decline, related in some way or another to digital technology. Digital’s ability to present pedagogical content in new, interactive ways created either the demand or the perception of a demand for educational materials that moved from the page to the screen. It seems safe to say that a lot of these early iterations now look more like exercises in wishful thinking and gee-whiz technology. Shades of CD-ROMs in the early ’90s. With extensive amounts of time, imagination, and investment, educational technology continues to evolve, and it also
seems safe to say that we are working toward better and more effective digital interaction in the education and research processes. Meanwhile publishers solely continue to finance the creation of textbooks and their appurtenant materials but sell relatively fewer new books than in previous eras due to a variety of reasons. Perhaps the greatest digital-enabled textbook disrupter has been the Internet’s effect on the textbook supply chain. With the Internet’s enabling of sales of used and rental books from anywhere on the planet, students are no longer limited to their own college bookstore’s offerings and avail themselves of books with more advantageous pricing. In most cases, publishers — and authors — don’t realize any revenue from used and rental sales. That money goes to the third-party resellers. The Internet also made geographical distances continued on page 33
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Textbooks in Libraryland ... from page 32 less of a logistical impediment, and as a result cheaper international editions of textbooks sold by the publishers at significant discounts in export territories find their way back to the States. Internet-enabled piracy takes a bite out of publisher — and author — earnings as well. Also, students in greater numbers are opting to share or bypass accessing assigned textbooks altogether. Textbook publishers needed to find ways to address the reduction in new book sales. In very broad strokes, the reduced market of potential new book buyers and lower new book sales led to tightened revision cycles (the timespan between a book’s editions). Tightened cycles led to smaller print runs. Smaller print runs led to higher production costs. Higher production costs led to higher list prices. And of course, textbook publishers didn’t and don’t publish textbooks as simple, freestanding entities. Textbook publishers need to support both the teaching and learning enterprises in a course. In order to support that mission and thereby secure and retain adoptions, ancillary materials for students and, crucially, instructor resources ride along with the core text. Oftentimes there is no additional cost attached to these materials, but of course there is a cost to produce them. So in essence, a good deal of professional development for instructors (think adjuncts and other academics given a course adjacent to their specialty at the eleventh hour) is provided by publishers and supported by the cost of a textbook’s list price. Commercial publishers expect to make a profit for their efforts. Their survival depends upon it. It’s been my experience that most publishers operate under the guiding principle that being attuned to the market and publishing quality materials marks the best path to success. This certainly holds true at Bloomsbury with our Fairchild Books imprint. Publishers make a commitment to the field. Publishing core textbooks is not a one-off. In essence publishers pledge to commission and craft text, images, videos, ancillaries, etc. to enable instruction and learning for a particular class or course of study; and publishers are there for the long haul, keeping material up-to-date, including items that might seem invisible, like test bank questions and image banks. Publishers spend lots of time investigating courses and how they are structured. Publishers spend lots of time searching for qualified writers; they spend lots of time on peer review and working with the authors to craft the materials for maximal utility. Publishers spend lots of time selling the materials which often requires sales reps to walk instructors through the features and benefits of each book and its associated array of supporting materials. These associated tasks have proven to be requirements in
Against the Grain / June 2019
ensuring quality textbook programs. Textbook publishers take on these tasks because they charge for their wares and need to deliver a valuable, consistent educational experience to their customers. Cutting corners introduces the risk of lost adoptions, tarnished reputations, and a diminishment of the business in all ways, including financial. As you will have noticed, none of the activities cited above mentioned libraries or research. Most of us have been enculturated to view textbooks as living firmly in the realm of instruction and as a result firmly outside the realm of research and by extension outside the realm of the library. Rick Anderson in The Scholarly Kitchen posted a thought-provoking piece entitled “Academic Libraries and the Textbook Taboo: Time to Get over it?” that neatly frames this issue in relation to our current times.1 He concludes by offering a rationale for libraries to justify considering offering wide scale access to textbooks: their commitment to ensuring students’ academic success. While librarians and publishers may canter toward each other from different directions, we both converge at this point: student success leads to our success. Instruction and research are closely bound, with instruction often leading to research. In truth, while occasionally clear cut, the separation between instruction and research is often tenuous if not effectively indistinct. I’ve spent many years in reference publishing, and currently I work for an academic publisher which publishes both research and instructional material. I am fortunate to split my time between two editorial departments, one devoted to publishing digital materials for research libraries, the other devoted to publishing core textbooks in the subjects of fashion and interior design. Fairchild Books’ title Survey of Historic Costume serves as an example of the fluidity in function textbooks can display. Survey is the leading adopted text for required courses on costume history, but researchers looking for solid, foundational information about this subject would be well-served by its information. Practically speaking, it’s an outstanding reference work. Most of our works, in fact, provide essential reference functions: identifying and defining terms, techniques, and concepts; providing an informed and authoritative overview of a subject’s history; suggesting ideas for further research and sources to pursue those ideas. The same can be said of many textbooks regardless of the publisher. Is it possible that traditional models and terminology no longer apply in the same way in a digital world? In recent years the models for content delivery of textbook and reference offerings have changed dramatically while their underlying educational need continues unabated. We can ask ourselves, “what is reference?” or “what is a textbook?”, but perhaps the more urgent question is Rick Anderson’s, “how do we help our students succeed?”.
When we were creating a digital platform for our varied fashion content which included Berg Fashion Library, the Applied Visual Arts imprint’s fashion books, and the Fashion Photography Archive, we thought about the de facto reference role that textbooks play and also considered textbook buying and usage habits outside of North America. Given that U.S. textbook sales were showing declines, and given Bloomsbury’s willingness to experiment with new models, we decided to aggregate all our fashion textbooks into a single database-like research product. Fairchild Books Library https://www.bloomsburyfashioncentral.com/ products/whats-in-fairchild-books-library2 contains virtually every fashion textbook we publish (the few exceptions are books that come packaged with physical materials like fabric swatches). We chose to host the product on our Bloomsbury Fashion Central (BFC) platform https://bloomsburyfashioncentral. com3 so that it is cross-searchable and shares a unified BFC taxonomy that covers all of our widespread fashion publishing. We included the ancillary materials and self-assessment quizzes so that students and instructors could access all of the valuable content we create and assemble in our individual textbooks. Test banks and other instructor-specific materials are made available to those with instructor accounts but not to students. We knew we were putting out a product that differed fundamentally from most research products on the market, and yet we looked around and saw purely instructional entries like Lynda.com finding homes in academic libraries’ collections, and considering the aforementioned reference service that our textbook content offers, we forged ahead with the product. We did not expect it to supplant our books or eBooks but rather simply to stand next to them as another model, an experimental model that might hold appeal for certain libraries that would be interested in offering full-text access on an unlimited basis to all of their users. Those users may engage with the content because a book is a set text; instructors may want to combine content from multiple books on a similar topic to create a customized set of chapters; students from any number of fields may need definitions or other reference-type information; or users may simply want to explore any of the panoply of elements of fashion and the fashion industry for their own enlightenment. As an aggregation, the content set is flexible and opens itself to an abundance of uses. It is early days in the product life of Fairchild Books Library, but it has secured a toehold in a variety of ex-North American academic libraries. We have recently released the product on a pilot basis in North America, and our first pilot libraries are just starting to roll out the offering. Library experimentation with textbook models brims with activity these days. The promise of OERs has captured the imaginations of many librarians, and led in meaningful ways by the advocacy of librarians, OERs have already carved out a place in the educational landscape. Using its expertise in largescale continued on page 34
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Booklover — Systematically. Short Stories. Symbols. Column Editor: Donna Jacobs (Retired, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425) <donna.jacobs55@gmail.com>
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ne can work through a bucket list randomly or systematically. Systematically was the methodology used for this choice from the Nobel Literature bucket list. “The Massacre of the Innocents” by Maurice Maeterlinck was the next short story in the book Great Stories by Nobel Prize Winners. I had already read and written about the first three authors. Let’s just delve into what is next in the book. The title is a gut punch. Buckle up; it is a grisly read. (I may go back to random after this read.) Maurice Maeterlinck was awarded the 1911 Nobel Prize in Literature “in appreciation of his many-sided literary activities, and especially of his dramatic works, which are distinguished by a wealth of imagination and by a poetic fancy, which reveals, sometimes in the guise of a fairy tale, a deep inspiration, while in a mysterious way they appeal to the readers’ own feelings and stimulate their imaginations.” Count Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck was born in 1862 in Ghent, Belgium. At the age of 12 he was sent to study at the Jesuit College of Sainte-Barbe where he pursued his interest in writing short novels and poetry and acquired his distaste for Catholicism and organized religion. However, his father’s career choice for him was different and Maeterlinck finished law at the University of Ghent in 1885. One biographical sketch had him practicing law in his hometown for a brief minute; another makes no mention of this short career. However, all biographers agree that a stay in Paris rekindled his literary flame and Maeterlinck fell under the influence of a group of Symbolist writers. A Google search of “Symbolism” gives this definition: “an artistic and poetic movement or style using symbolic images and indirect suggestion to express mystical ideas, emotions, and states of mind. It originated in late 19th century France and Belgium, with important figures including Mallarmé, Maeterlinck, Verlaine, Rimbaud, and Redon.” “The Massacre of the Innocents” does contain “a wealth of imagination,” albeit gruesome and maybe symbolic; however, its content seems to fit better under another description of his works — “The main themes in his work are death and the meaning of life.” At this point I became curious and searched to see if there was a critical literary analysis of this work. At litreact.com a 2011 entry suggested that Maeterlinck was retelling the biblical story written in the Gospel of St. Matthew that recounts the events after the birth of Christ when Herod ordered the slaying of all infants in the town of Bethlehem. The parallels are there and yet the graphic illustration of the massacre is appointed with colorful descriptions: “Blue Lion”; “red clouds”; “Golden Sun”; “Red
Textbooks in Libraryland ... from page 33 licensing, OhioLink helped forge a framework for an Inclusive Access model for eBooks which offers students considerable and consistent discounts in exchange for the purchase coming from the school rather than the individual student. Greater discoverability, streaming products, and new product types like Bloomsbury Digital Resources’ unlimited access Bloomsbury Fashion Business Cases https://www.bloomsburyfashioncentral.com/products/whats-in-bloomsbury-fashion-businesscases4 that offers a much used teaching method in a reference model will all populate the library sphere striving toward the aim of helping students succeed. With any luck, students will succeed like never before.
34 Against the Grain / June 2019
Dwarf”; “ a foot-soldier dressed in yellow or red”; “blue farmhouse”; “pink, red, and white clothes of their motionless children”; “old hut with pink tiles”; “farmhouse painted the color of lilacs”; and “dyeing the village a blood red.” Symbols to stimulate our thinking? I’ll give you the beginning. Search it out and decide for yourself. “On Friday the 26th of December about supper time, a little shepherd came into Nazareth crying terribly. Some peasants who were drinking ale at the Blue Lion threw open the shutters to look into the village orchard, and saw the lad running across the snow. They recognized him as Korneliz’ son, and shouted at him from the window: “What’s the matter? Go to bed, you!” But the boy answered in a voice of terror, telling them that the Spaniards had come, having already set fire to the farm, hanged his mother from a chestnut bough, and bound his nine little sisters to the trunk of a large tree. The peasants quickly came forth from the inn, surrounded the boy and plied him with questions. He went on to tell them that the soldiers were clad in steel armor and mounted on horseback, that they had seized the cattle of his uncle, Petrus Krayer, and would soon enter the wood with the sheep and cattle. They all ran to the Golden Sun, where Korneliz and his brother-in-law were drinking ale, while the innkeeper hastened out into the village to spread the news of the approach of the Spaniards. There was great excitement in Nazareth. Women threw open windows and peasants ran forth from their houses carrying lights which they extinguished as soon as they came to the orchard, where it was bright as midday, because of the snow and the full moon. They gathered round Korneliz and Krayer in the public square before the inn. Many had brought pitchforks and rakes. They took counsel, speaking in tones of terror, out under the trees. As they were uncertain what to do, one of them ran to fetch the curé, who owned the farm that was worked by Korneliz. He came forth from his house with the keys of the church, in company with the sacristan, while all the others followed him to the churchyard, where he proclaimed from the top of the tower that he could see nothing, either across the fields or in the wood, but that there were red clouds in the direction of his farm. Over all the rest of the horizon the sky was blue and filled with stars.” The massacre continues.
Endnotes 1. Anderson, Rick. “Academic Libraries and the Textbook Taboo: Time to Get Over It?” The Scholarly Kitchen, Society for Scholarly Publishing, 7 July 2016, scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/. 2. “What’s in Fairchild Books Library.” Bloomsbury Fashion Central, Bloomsbury Digital Resources, 2016, www.bloomsburyfashioncentral. com/products/whats-in-fairchild-books-library. 3. Bloomsbury Fashion Central, Bloomsbury Digital Resources, 2015, www.bloomsburyfashioncentral.com/. 4. “What’s in Bloomsbury Fashion Business Cases.” Bloomsbury Fashion Central, Bloomsbury Digital Resources, 2015, www.bloomsburyfashioncentral.com/.
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Collecting to the Core — Social Entrepreneurship by Kimberly Copenhaver (Associate Professor/Librarian, Reference, Instruction, and Access Services, Eckerd College; Business Subject Editor, Resources for College Libraries: Career Resources) <copenhka@eckerd.edu> Column Editor: Anne Doherty (Resources for College Libraries Project Editor, CHOICE/ACRL) <adoherty@ala-choice.org> Column Editor’s Note: The “Collecting to the Core” column highlights monographic works that are essential to the academic library within a particular discipline, inspired by the Resources for College Libraries bibliography (online at http://www.rclweb.net). In each essay, subject specialists introduce and explain the classic titles and topics that continue to remain relevant to the undergraduate curriculum and library collection. Disciplinary trends may shift, but some classics never go out of style. — AD
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ntrepreneurship is an area of business administration that is receiving increased focus in higher education. Essential works cover a wide spectrum of business topics such as management, accounting, marketing, leadership, and small business development. Libraries may already own specific core works in each of these areas that support student research. However, a distinct aspect of entrepreneurship that demands additional attention is social entrepreneurship. Social entrepreneurship and social enterprise are interdisciplinary topics that have sparked considerable interest among leaders in the business, nonprofit, and government sectors, as well as among academics in management, nonprofit, and public administration or policy programs. The term “social entrepreneur” was coined in the 1970s by Bill Drayton, founder of Ashoka, an international organization that supports and promotes social entrepreneurs. Social entrepreneurs act as change agents who advance and promote solutions to social or community problems in new and innovative ways. For students, Blake Mycoskie, founder of the California-based shoe company TOMS, may be one of the most well-known social entrepreneurs. While volunteering in Argentina, Mycoskie was inspired to make a difference in the health of children. TOMS was built based on a one-forone business model promising to donate one pair of shoes for every pair sold. Initial success allowed TOMS to move its supply chain for shoe donation to countries they actively give in, presently manufacturing in Kenya, India, Ethiopia, and Haiti. TOMS has expanded its retail product line beyond shoes to include eyewear, apparel, accessories, and coffee, putting money toward giving shoes, eye treatment and services, and water services for those in need. TOMS is a certified B Corporation business, meeting standards that balance profit and purpose in order to build a more sustainable economy, and has recently expanded its one-for-one giving model by investing in nonprofit organizations working to end gun violence in the United States. Another example of a mission-driven social enterprise is Alternative Waste Technologies (AWT). AWT provides clean biomass briquettes to mitigate against climate change and deforestation, converting organic and charcoal wastes into low-cost and eco-friendly fuel briquettes. The briquettes have replaced charcoal and firewood in many Kenyan households and businesses, resulting in reductions to fuel costs and environmental pollution. In addition to providing alternative energy solutions, AWT creates employment opportunities for at-risk youth through a work-study program so that they can develop skills, learn basic technologies, and earn degrees. This mission-driven business model combines technology and entrepreneurship to address both environmental and social concerns. The interdisciplinary nature of social entrepreneurship often makes collection development difficult due to the breadth, depth, and intricate social and economic themes impacting specific business enterprises. Social entrepreneurs need to clearly understand the unique market conditions as well as the complexities of the social issues being addressed. This essay presents a selection of foundational titles on social entre-
36 Against the Grain / June 2019
preneurship, including theoretical contexts and practical approaches for students or practitioners interested in solving social problems through purpose-driven business enterprises. In Social Entrepreneurship: What Everyone Needs to Know, David Bornstein and Susan R. Davis provide a comprehensive introduction to the general principles and theories of social entrepreneurship.1 A professional consensus on the definition of “social entrepreneurship” has been difficult to achieve; Bornstein and Davis devote the first section of the book to exploring various definitions, including distinctions and relationships between business and social entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship and government, activism and social entrepreneurship, and social entrepreneurship and democracy. The undergraduate student will benefit from the breadth and depth of the summative discussion. Part two examines the challenges of causing disruptive change and addresses financial constraints, staffing, and assessment. Part three asks readers to explore and envision the role of government, education, philanthropy, journalism, and business to innovate social change. The work includes a selected bibliography and is supplemented by a lengthy list of additional recommended books and articles. Though it is nearly ten years old, this title remains a sound foundational work and general introduction for those students new to the field. In Scaling Your Social Venture: Becoming an Impact Entrepreneur, Paul Bloom, social marketing expert and Senior Fellow at Duke’s Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship, outlines practical recommendations for scaling impact-driven businesses.2 Bloom notes that the idea of scaling venture solutions to societal problems has become a popular theme in business. Scaling is an essential skill for social entrepreneurs and necessary to sustain funding while supporting growth. Entrepreneurs must show evidence that their business model can successfully create change on a larger scale in order to obtain the capital needed to fuel expansion. Bloom defines scaling as achieving more efficient and effective adoption for your innovation. While the idea of scaling is commonly valued, the practice is difficult and not easily transferrable from one organization to another. Bloom argues that the unique ecosystem of each venture will dictate the approach to scale. He recommends the SCALERS model to help changemakers assess organizational strength and evaluate the feasibility of ventures: Staffing, Communicating, Alliance-building, Lobbying, Earnings-generation, Replicating, and Stimulating market forces. In contrast to other texts that focus on the benefits and goodwill associated with a social enterprise, Bloom does not overlook the challenges and obstacles that often derail success. He presents the reader with self-assessment tools to help gauge a venture’s readiness to scale and the corresponding potential for successful growth. The text is well-organized and offers real-world examples that are understandable and accessible for undergraduate students. Social Entrepreneurship for the 21st Century: Innovation across the Nonprofit, Private, and Public Sectors, by Georgia Levenson Keohane, provides context on the market conditions necessary to fuel social entrepreneurship’s growth in the twenty-first century.(3) Keohane teaches in the Social Enterprise Program at Columbia Business School and is President of the Philanthropic and Social Impact Foundation & Head of ESG Practice at Navab Holdings. While this work lacks the global perspective provided by other titles highlighted here, the attention to social innovation in the three distinct realms of nonprofit, private, and public sectors makes this an important contribution. Keohane’s assertion that public policy can and should shape markets to a common purpose offers a new vision for changemaking. Historically, social entrepreneurship continued on page 37
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Collecting to the Core from page 36 has focused on individual efforts to create social capital, but Keohane highlights the critical role government serves in fostering climates and shaping markets that support and grow social entrepreneurial activity in the twenty-first century. Thomas Lyons is the Lawrence N. Field Family Chair in Entrepreneurship and professor of management at Baruch College of the City University of New York. Lyons’s research focuses on the relationship between entrepreneurship and community development. He edited the three-volume Social Entrepreneurship: How Businesses Can Transform Society.4 Practical in nature and accessible to the undergraduate student, this work addresses the organizational structure of successful entrepreneurial ventures, the financial challenges associated with impact-driven businesses, and assessment standards designed to evaluate social impact and venture performance. Topics receive global perspective from a diverse range of contributing authors, both practitioners and scholars, who examine key issues and best practices in the field. Lyons provides an informative summary at the conclusion of each volume. Students will find the interdisciplinary and international approach to both the challenges and opportunities associated with social enterprise valuable. The third volume outlining assessment strategies is noteworthy and an essential addition to the social entrepreneurship literature. Authors Ryszard Praszkier and Andrzej Nowak provide clarity to the dense subject of social entrepreneurship in their monograph Social Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice.5 The work begins with an overview and discussion of the various dimensions and definitions of social entrepreneurship. The authors use case studies to illustrate how social entrepreneurs foster change to empower people and solve societal problems. Praszkier and Nowak differentiate between social activists and social entrepreneurs, arguing that while both are important, the latter is rare. They address shared characteristics, review personality traits that distinguish one from another, and detail the corresponding entrepreneurial leadership traits. While grounded in theory, illustrative case studies offer best practices and a framework for students interested in becoming successful social entrepreneurs. An appendix includes an extensive bibliography for further reading and guidelines for becoming a social entrepreneur.
Founder and CEO of Entrepreneurs4Change, Ron Schultz showcases the power of disruptive design to bring forth societal change in Creating Good Work: The World’s Leading Social Entrepreneurs Show How to Build a Healthy Economy.6 This edited volume is divided into two parts — the first is focused on theoretical foundations and the second on practical applications. Contributors address theory and application through the lens of their own business experience, increasing the appeal and readability for students. Of particular value are the entries on microfinance projects and social profit. Contributor biographies and corresponding links to social ventures offer concrete examples of successful impact-driven business enterprises to inspire undergraduate students. As the selections in this essay illustrate, social entrepreneurship presents the potential for purpose-driven business practices to solve societal problems and facilitate positive global impacts in the twenty-first century. The resources highlighted here provide foundational knowledge and real-world contexts that clarify this complex and interdisciplinary topic for undergraduate students and aspiring social entrepreneurs. Consider them for inclusion in any library collection supporting programs in social entrepreneurship.
Endnotes 1. Bornstein, David, and Susan R. Davis. Social Entrepreneurship: What Everyone Needs to Know. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. 2. Bloom, Paul N. Scaling Your Social Venture: Becoming an Impact Entrepreneur. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. 3. Keohane, Georgia Levenson. Social Entrepreneurship for the 21st Century: Innovation across the Nonprofit, Private, and Public Sectors. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2013. 4. Social Entrepreneurship: How Businesses Can Transform Society. Edited by Thomas S. Lyons. 3 vols. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 2013.* 5. Praszkier, Ryszard, and Andrzej Nowak. Social Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012.* 6. Creating Good Work: The World’s Leading Social Entrepreneurs Show How to Build a Healthy Economy. Edited by Ron Schultz. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. *Editor’s note: An asterisk (*) denotes a title selected for Resources for College Libraries.
Little Red Herrings — An Interview with Peggy Glahn by Mark Y. Herring (Dean of Library Services, Dacus Library, Winthrop University) <herringm@winthrop.edu> Column Editor’s Note: My column this issue is devoted to an interview with Peggy Glahn, one of the principals of Reveal Digital. RD is doing some fascinating work in the Open Access arena and I wanted to make sure libraries are fully aware of its significance. In the interest of full disclosure, I have served on RD’s Executive Committee for several years but in a completely uncompensated manner. Neither I nor Winthrop stand to gain any benefit whatsoever from RD and its success. My interest here is purely for the sake of informing colleagues who may as yet be unaware. After reading the interview, I think readers will agree with me it is information eminently worth sharing! — MH MH: Let’s begin at the beginning. What is the mission of Reveal Digital? PG: Our mission is to define and develop open access digital collections that have a significant impact on research and teaching. We do this in a way that is truly ground-breaking in terms of the level of collaboration with libraries and the transparency we bring to the entire process, including what it all costs and how funds are used.
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MH: For the benefit of those who may not have yet heard about Reveal Digital, can you give us a brief history? RD goes back some years and isn’t some Johnny-Come-Lately to the Open Access party, right? PG: We love a good party and I think we arrived at just the right time. Jeff Moyer, the founder of Reveal Digital, started working on our first collection, Independent Voices, in 2012. Jeff spent the first year consulting with subject matter experts to develop a target title list and pursuing open access rights to the content. At the same time, Jeff was meeting with key thought leaders in libraries who helped him shape the business model that ultimately proved to be successful. By 2013, Jeff had secured enough rights, enough source libraries and enough funding to begin digitizing content and putting it online. MH: One of the new developments for RD is its recent association with ITHAKA. Can you go over how that came about and what benefits will accrue to RD and therefore its clients in this marriage? PG: I love the marriage analogy. As newlyweds, we are absolutely thrilled with married life with ITHAKA and look forward to growing continued on page 38
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Little Red Herrings from page 37 together. The path to ITHAKA wasn’t easy, but it was worth it. When Jeff started Reveal Digital he recognized Reveal Digital needed a support base from which to grow. A company called IDC was providing Reveal Digital with scanning services. They offered an array of support services. They were a good home for us in the beginning. Unfortunately, due to factors beyond us, IDC’s business took a downturn and ultimately failed. We have a big vision for Reveal Digital, so we immediately began seeking a new home with a large and stable non-profit organization. We considered a number of excellent partners. ITHAKA proved to be a perfect match for us and us for them. There are so many great benefits that come from being part of ITHAKA. Let me try to narrow down to the top three. First, ITHAKA is a strong and stable organization with a high level of trust among libraries. Libraries can invest in Reveal Digital with confidence, knowing their investments will continue to have an impact for years to come. Second, Reveal Digital collections will reside on the same platform and be cross-searchable with JSTOR and Artstor. Humanities students start their research with JSTOR. Once our collections are on the JSTOR platform, our content will be discovered by many more people than would have been possible if we remained on our own. In one search, students will find both the secondary and primary sources they need to do great research. The third benefit is a little more nebulous, but potentially transformative. ITHAKA’s leadership team brings a tremendous amount of experience working with libraries and they share the same goals we have. The synergy these relationships bring helps us think really big about where Reveal Digital can go. Being part of ITHAKA expands our vision for the future, which means we and the libraries who work with us can have a huge impact on the future of scholarly publishing. MH: What is RD’s model? Is it Open Access entirely, a hybrid, something else? I note on the RD web site (http://revealdigital. com/) that collections have a “funding goal” and what percentage has been reached. Tell us how that works.
Rumors from page 29 in the context of prior research discoveries. Dr. David Flanagan, Director of Intelligent Solutions at Wiley, said, “at Wiley we’re all about trying to improve the publishing experience for researchers. Machine learning powered tools like UNSILO’s Manuscript Evaluation soft-
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PG: Our goal is to make everything we digitize open access. As you noted, each of our projects has a funding goal. We begin digitizing content for a collection as soon as enough money has been contributed to enable us to digitize a meaningful number of pages. As soon as we have enough content to load onto our delivery platform, we open the collection to our funding libraries. Funding libraries continue to have exclusive access all the way through the project’s development. When we finish a project we open the collection to everyone. MH: What is RD’s flagship collection? Tell us a little about it. PG: I love talking to librarians about our Independent Voices collection. The content meets real needs on campus and librarians are always delighted to hear they can add it to their database A to Z lists without having to pay an invoice. Independent Voices is a collection of 1,000 alternative press newspapers, magazines and newsletters published by activists in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. It is composed of seven series, each of which focus on one of the major social movements active during this era. By bringing this material together into one collection, students and researchers are making new connections between organizations and movements that were never possible before. MH: One of RD’s collections touched a bit of controversy a while back. RD’s Hate in America collection. Tell us about that collection and how RD navigates the tempestuous waters of First Amendment Rights and what are now being called “trigger warnings” regarding certain themes or topics some might not want to hear about. PG: Yes, our Hate In America collection (originally called KKK Newspapers) has sparked a lively debate. Chelcie Rowell and Taryn Cooksey recently wrote a really thoughtful blog post about the ethics of digitizing this kind of material. They raised issues around engaging more deeply with communities that might be negatively impacted that we have taken to heart. We have had numerous discussions with people who represent these communities. What we have consistently heard is there is research value in the content we are digitizing, but we need to place the content into context. This contextualization should include lesson plans, further reading lists and essays. We are working on how best to develop and incorporate this material.
We have also heard it is important to include more newspapers representing opposing views. As a result, we are expanding our target title list to include newspapers published by Catholic, African American and Jewish organizations. It is because of this expanded scope that we think it made sense to change the name of the collection to Hate In America. MH: What are some of the benefits of RD’s collections to researchers? PG: Primary sources are critically important to quality research and learning. Yet, a lot of valuable primary source content is hidden away from people who need it. Primary source archives are rarely catalogued to the item level, making discovery difficult. Even if a researcher locates content that might be useful, most will have to travel to use the material. Reveal Digital collections eliminate those barriers. The digitized material is much more discoverable and physical proximity to the content is no longer an issue. The cherry on top is that our collections are open to everyone, no affiliation with a well-funded institution required. MH: What are some of the other RD collections, both those on the site and perhaps some being considered? PG: New Reveal Digital collections will come from our Diversity & Dissent Fund. We are expecting to add at least 100,000 pages of new content under the Fund this year. We are working pretty intensely with our Diversity & Dissent Editorial Board to determine a thematic emphasis for this year’s publishing program. Once we finalize the thematic emphasis, we will begin soliciting proposals from libraries. More to come on this very soon. MH: If I am a library director or collections head, how do I get involved with RD? PG: Call me! Let’s talk! The best way to get started is by making a funding commitment to Hate In America, the Diversity & Dissent Fund or both. Being a Diversity & Dissent funding library opens up the opportunity to help guide Reveal Digital through our advisory boards and to help set our publishing agenda. It also gives the library an inside track on contributing content for digitization. MH: Anything else we haven’t covered? PG: We didn’t talk about the libraries that provide the source material for our collections. We have partnered with more than 40 libraries so far who have benefited greatly from their participation. This would be a great topic for a future conversion!
ware have the potential to do some of the publication checks and analyses on behalf of human authors, reviewers, and editors. This can lead to more reproducibility while saving precious time for what our customers really want to be doing — their research.” UNSILO is an artificial intelligence software company that develops advanced tools for text understanding and processing. UNSILO tools deliver workflow improvements by reducing processing
time. The UNSILO Document Enrichment service forms the basis of over 20 separate functional solutions and APIs for publishers, including identifying trending topics as they emerge, automated collections, locating precise relatedness, and now manuscript evaluation. UNSILO works with information services in research to improve discoverability across their platforms and internal publishing processes. continued on page 50
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ATG Interviews Bob Vrooman Publisher, New Business Development, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. by Tom Gilson (Associate Editor, Against the Grain) <gilsont@cofc.edu> and Katina Strauch (Editor, Against the Grain) <kstrauch@comcast.net> ATG: What was it about Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. that most appealed to you as you were deciding whether or not to join the company? BV: I have encountered many Mary Ann Liebert journals over the years, and I have always admired their reputation for publishing high-quality, cutting-edge research while also remaining a privately-held company. I also thought it would be really fun to work with such a nimble publisher that moves so fast on new ideas and initiatives! ATG: We noticed that you are based in CA, while the corporate office is in NY. Can you talk about that? BV: This is correct that Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. has corporate headquarters in NY. However, Mary Ann has long desired to set up a smaller, west-coast satellite office, and serendipity led me to her since I was already living here. I have therefore set up my location in Ventura County and will be growing a West Coast presence for the company, which is very exciting for Mary Ann, me, and the entire company. ATG: You held a number of leadership positions at SAGE Publishing, most recently as the Director of STM Journals. How has that experience prepared you to take on your new responsibilities at Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. BV: My experience at SAGE in both commercial sales and STM editorial provides me the ideal background to apply to my new role here at Mary Ann Liebert. My new role will oversee all aspects of growth strategy, which includes editorially-driven initiatives such as new innovative launches and society partnerships, but it will also include close collaboration with the commercial and institutional sales teams to maximize those revenues. The company is very creative with their business models and revenue driving initiatives, which plays perfectly with my background. After all, I did earn the nickname of “Mr. Revenue” while at SAGE! ATG: As you consider Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. current position in the marketplace, what do you see as key factors in an emerging growth strategy? Where do you see the major opportunities? BV: One of my first observations when I started here was the length of staff tenures. There are quite a few staff members who have tenures well beyond 20 years. This is a testament to the unique and exciting culture of the company, which includes regular involvement from Mary Ann herself. This experienced and nimble staff allows us to move quickly on new ideas and growth strategies. We do not limit our growth strategy to just one facet of the business such as open
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access. Instead, we pursue a diverse growth plan that includes development of our subscription-supported journals, commercially-supported journals, and open access journals, along with a robust and creative custom publishing program. The academic publishing market is undergoing significant flux and uncertainty right now, which requires us to be nimble and pursue a diverse array of business models, with the one constant being the identification and dissemination of high-quality, cutting-edge research, often before it becomes mainstream. ATG: Are there any potential barriers standing in the way of the company’s growth? BV: No! ATG: Where does open access fit into the company’s growth plan? How about society partnerships? BV: As mentioned above, both Open Access and Society partnerships will be important parts of our growth plan, and I have considerable experience in developing both of these. Open Access is now available for all journals, whether a fully OA model or hybrid model. Researchers are among Mary Ann’s heroes, and she is very careful to protect their resources for conducting research, so we do not want to accelerate any siphoning of such funds to article processing charges. That said, we do support the broader initiatives of open science and removing barriers to research discoverability, provided it can be done feasibly and fairly to all parties, most notably to the researchers themselves. As a result, we will be developing our OA program accordingly and appropriately. As for society partnerships, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. prides itself on nurturing our society and editor relationships. In fact, we take a more journal-centric approach to our society program than do many of the larger publishers. Every journal we publish is
unique, and we provide the customized care and attention that allows us to maximize the return to our society partners, financially and qualitatively. I predict we will see more partnerships going forward. ATG: How do libraries factor into your growth strategy? BV: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc is fully committed to the needs and resources of the library community. As we all know, libraries prefer to subscribe to content they actually want and need, and not be forced into larger packages of content they do not need. This is why we do not offer our version of the “Big Deal” and, instead, we allow our library customers to choose the exact content they need and use. While this may seem old-fashioned to some, it allows us to maintain our journal-centric approach, and our library sales teams are therefore equipped to discuss the scope and benefits of each of our 90+ journals with our customers and prospective customers. ATG: Product innovation is essential in growing a business. Can you share the company’s plans for new products and services? Are there any cutting-edge launches being planned that our readers should know about? BV: Recent launches include The CRISPR Journal and Bioelectricity, both first in fields that have enormous potential and also challenging ethical considerations. As usual, the company is ahead of the curve. We will continue to launch such ground-breaking journals in the future, but in addition to innovative journal launches, we are starting to look at product innovation beyond journals and traditional products. ATG: When you look into your crystal ball, where do you see Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. in the next two to three years? BV: I don’t want to spoil any surprises, but you can count on new publications, new society partnerships, diverse business models, complementary services, and new adventures! ATG: If and when you find some free time, what do you like to do? Are there any hobbies or activities that you particularly enjoy? BV: My hobbies include playing guitar, bike riding, and spending time with my family, which includes my wife, two sons, and one daughter. My daughter is an avid equestrian, and we own a mini-ranch with 3 horses, so that keeps me very busy. So, I guess you could say I am a publisher by day, rancher by night.
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ATG Interviews Todd Carpenter and Deanna Marcum NISO Executive Director and NFAIS Board President by Tom Gilson (Associate Editor, Against the Grain) <gilsont@cofc.edu> and Katina Strauch (Editor, Against the Grain) <kstrauch@comcast.net> ATG: How did the idea of the merger of NISO and NFAIS take shape? What role did the leadership of NISO play? How about the leadership of NFAIS? What is the proposed timeline for implementation? DM : T h e NFA I S Board began serious discussions about possible alternative organizational structures approximately two years ago. Although the annual conference was highly rated by those who attended, participation had been declining. We were concerned about our limited ability to have impact. NFAIS Board members began investigating possible merger opportunities and having confidential conversations with a few of them. TC: The former President of the NFAIS Board, Eric Swensen (formerly at Elsevier), approached me in the summer of 2018 to discuss ways that our two organizations might partner. After some initial conversations, an Exploratory Committee was formed to consider whether and in what shape a union of the two organizations might be beneficial to both communities. The group reviewed the mission, programming, finances, staffing and governance of both associations to assess the feasibility and sense of pursuing a partnership. After this thorough due diligence process, the group recommended we pursue a merger. The recommendation was unanimously approved by both Boards of Directors in January and was brought to the NFAIS members for a vote in February. This measure passed with the support of 84% of the NFAIS members, with no votes in opposition. We expect the merger with NISO to be completed by July 1, 2019. ATG: From your individual perspectives, what was the strongest rationale for combining the two organizations? What tipped the balance for you? DM: NISO seemed the best option for a merger because our missions are similar, we both serve the publishing, library, and technology communities, and our members are approximately 50% overlapping. In our discussions, we realized that NFAIS is a great convening organization; NISO has the infrastructure to carry out the ideas that emerge in the convening sessions. Together, both would be stronger. TC: From my perspective, the greatest opportunity that will develop through bringing the two organizations together will be the combination of thought leadership with the practicality of bringing those ideas to fruition.
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As Deanna mentioned with NFAIS’ tradition of bringing together leaders in our community, many great ideas have germinated. Marrying those ideas with the in-the-weeds implementation focus that has been NISO’s strength will create an engine for advancing the community. By bringing together the resources of the two entities, we will also have the capacity to advance those ideas and initiatives. ATG: What benefits and opportunities does the merger afford the members of both organizations? How else will the merger impact current NISO and NFAIS members? Have any concerns or reservations been expressed? DM: We believe the greatest benefit is that the merged organization will have a broader reach and a greater impact on the information communities. NISO will be able to use the convening function of NFAIS that it does not currently have. NFAIS members will be able to work on specific problems throughout the year. The educational opportunities for all members will be more numerous and better targeted to identified needs of the membership. TC: An Implementation Committee has been organized and is exploring ways to streamline our existing educational programs and benefits. Part of that process will be reviewing — and hopefully expanding — the benefits that we provide to members. In the short term, NISO and NFAIS programs will continue as planned, with expanded benefits being announced this fall. In addition, as with every merger, we see there being opportunities to rationalize operations and find ways to be more efficient. We plan to use these savings to reduce the financial burden on those organizations that currently participate in both organizations. Feedback on the merger has been overwhelmingly positive. As noted more than 80% of the NFAIS community supported the merger, with no opposition. NISO members also have expressed their support and there haven’t been any objections raised to moving forward. ATG: How does the merger affect the current mission / goals of NISO and NFAIS
looking ahead? What will the governance structure, staffing, and leadership look like? What will the new organization be called? Will the fee or membership structure change? TC: The missions of the two organizations are quite similar, with both being focused on improving the creation, discovery and distribution of content, albeit with slightly different methods to achieve those aims. Those methods are and will continue to be complimentary. In practice, the work of bringing people together, which had been NFAIS’ strength, and the work of developing standards and best practices, which has been NISO’s strength, will both continue. Because of the overlap of our two memberships, these goals and the community we serve will remain constant. DM: NFAIS will be merged into NISO, and Todd will become the CEO of the new organization. The staff functions of program planning and marketing will continue within NISO, but the current staff of NFAIS will not be moving to NISO. The governance structure of both organizations is remarkably similar. In the new organization, the Board will be expanded to 15 members, eight of which will be from NISO, seven from NFAIS. Membership fees for organizations that now belong to both NISO and NFAIS are expected to go down. The Implementation Committee made up of four representatives from each organization is working through the business model for the new NISO and will be communicating with all members about the new dues structure. ATG: How will current independent activities like the NFAIS Humanities Roundtable and the highly thought of Miles Conrad Memorial Lectures be affected? How will NISO’s standards development and training operation be impacted? DM: We were delighted to see NISO’s enthusiasm for these programs that are so important to us — the Humanities Round Table, the Miles Conrad Memorial Lectures, and the NFAIS Honorary Fellows program. All of these will continue in their current form within NISO. TC: Those NFAIS programs that have a long and meaningful tradition in our community will be honored and continued. What was interesting from my perspective participating in the Humanities Roundtable in DC in March was the focus by several of the speakers on the continued on page 42
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Interview — Carpenter & Marcum from page 41 need for common methods and approaches to make the creation and distribution of digital humanities projects. Standards, efficiency in content creation, and community best practices were the focus of several of the speakers at that event — a pleasant, if unplanned coincidence given the timing of the announcement. The process of developing community consensus will remain unchanged and the NISO standards development activities will continue unchanged moving forward. We do anticipate a growth in the pace of activities as a result of the thought leadership ideas, such as those brought up during the Humanities Roundtable event. ATG: One of the stated goals of the merger is to enable the newly formed organization to better serve the information community. How will the merger enhance current services? Do you envision any new services or programs evolving from the merger? More specifically, how do you see libraries and publishers being impacted? TC: Whenever an organization goes through a change, such as this combination, it provides a catalyst for review of the positioning and role of its programs and activities. Both organizations have strong offerings, but there is duplication and areas where improvement is possible. With technology playing such an important role in how content is created,
distributed, managed, discovered and used, it is critical that the staff in libraries and publishers be aware and understand changes in this constantly morphing landscape. We have been experimenting with approaches to educating the community and these efforts will continue to adapt our approaches to suit the changing needs for skills development among our members. DM: Both organizations take considerable pride in serving as a place where publishers, librarians, and technologists can have meaningful conversations and collaboratively solve problems. All organizations, no matter how small, have significant operating costs. By consolidating staff and eliminating redundancy, more resources can go toward solving problems and developing programs rather than organizational overhead. More resources can be directed toward educational programs and marketing than either organization could manage on its own, so members will be better served. ATG: According to the merger Q&A website, the purpose of the merger is about “maximizing the contribution and impact we have.” What does that mean for members of NISO? How will it play out for members of NFAIS? DM: NFAIS has been a significant player in the information community. We identified emerging topics, brought influential speakers to our conference, and hosted forward-looking educational programs. Yet, with a very small
staff and a limited budget, we did not have the capacity to move from ideas to action. We believe that the new NISO will have the scope and scale to combine ideas with follow-up action. TC: I constantly repeat that were it not for the contributions of the many volunteers who participate in our work, very little would be accomplished at NISO. This is equally true within NFAIS, as it is with most every non-profit organization. Through this merger, we expect more organizations and their staffs will be engaged in the efforts we advance, be they standards, or thought leadership initiatives. One of the distinguishing characteristics of NISO is the explicit union of library, publisher and supplier communities for the purpose of consensus development. Expanding the circle of organizations engaged in those conversations, which this merger will do, will benefit the entire ecosystem. NFAIS has historically had strengths in elements of the community, such as with government agencies that will be welcome additions to the NISO processes. The larger the pool of participants and the larger set of use cases against which those ideas are tested, the more likely those results will serve the broadest possible community. Of course, this organization doesn’t happen of its own accord. Through consolidation of activities, we will be able to focus resources to speed development and deployment of the work we do.
ATG Interviews Philip Croom Associate Dean, Rare Books and Special Collections Library and Archives, American University in Cairo by Matthew Ismail (Director of Collection Development, Central Michigan University Library) <ismai1md@cmich.edu> Philip Croom received his master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a specialization in rare books, conservation and international, multilingual library activities. His thesis, “The New French Library,” was on innovations in services and buildings and based on a research grant to study libraries in Paris, Lille, Chartres, Nice, Arles and Cannes. Mr. Croom also completed a master’s in business administration at the Thunderbird School of Global Management that included study at Templeton College, Oxford University and License in History from the Universite de Nice, France. As associate dean for the Rare Books and Special Collections Library and Archives at AUC, Croom directs all activities of AUC research collections including acquisition, conservation, and reformatting of all library materials — including extensive rare book and archival collections. He is also responsible for
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the Center of Excellence for the Middle East and Arab Cultures. Previously, Croom served as assistant professor for Collection Management at Virginia Commonwealth University (1989-1993, 1994-1998). He has also served as head of collections management at Eskind Biomedical Library, Vanderbilt University, where he oversaw collection development, acquisitions, cataloging, conservation and special collections departments. (Adapted from Philip’s American University in Cairo biography: https://www.aucegypt. edu/fac/philipcroom) MI: Please tell us where you were born and where you grew up. PC: I was born (somewhat by accident) in a small town in North Carolina and spent most of my childhood in Richmond, Virginia, returning to North Carolina for college. continued on page 43
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Interview — Philip Croom from page 42 MI: How did you decide to become a rare books librarian? What was in your background that prepared you for it? PC: I have always had a great love of history (hard not to when you grow up next door to Thomas Jefferson’s boyhood home) and an interest in old and rare books was a natural progression. I’ve always been fascinated by vintage engravings and the thought of how many hands a book had passed through since its production. Another link is a real desire to preserve and conserve those materials for humanity. I’m honestly intrigued by human history, culture and the arts and their many ups and downs throughout the centuries. MI: What brought you to Cairo? PC: Coming to Cairo was a fortunate accident. I was actually trying to get a job in Paris in order to do research for my PhD in the history of architecture. The Chronicle of Higher Education coincidentally had a job advertisement for the Libraries at the American University in Cairo, so I applied to that as well. Within a few days a phone interview resulted, and I came mid-year as head of Collection Management for the Main Library. I already had had considerable experience in similar roles at Virginia Commonwealth and Vanderbilt Universities and the new position
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offered opportunities. I was also keen to get to know another part of the world — see the pyramids, ride a camel, master Arabic ... I am now in my 20th year at the American University in Cairo. I was fortunate to discover shortly after my arrival the wonderful opportunities for collection building and scholarship that the University could offer. Every day I was handling 16th, 17th, 18th century volumes so rare that other libraries would envy such treasures. I also had the good fortune to learn about an extraordinary collection of photographs — the life’s work of a local photographer — that he was eager to donate to the Libraries. This opened up a five-year professional relationship with the extraordinary Van-Leo whose artistic photographs of famous Egyptians, including a very young Omar Sharif, opened up venues worldwide, winning the Prince Claus Foundation prize as well as an invitation to attend the ceremonies in the Royal Palace in Amsterdam. Then there was the Hassan Fathy Collection containing virtually all the architectural work of this exceptional artist and architect that was but the first of many architectural collections that we managed to acquire resulting into our stellar Regional Architecture Collection. So, in short, the Rare Books and Special Collections Library opened up wonderfully interesting opportunities to acquire exceptional materials, work with artists and scholars in the production of exhibits and building digital collections.
MI: Tell us a bit about the American University in Cairo. PC: The AUC is an American-style liberal arts institution operating in Cairo since 1919. Academic program enrollment is about 5,000 full time students with many part time as well. There are Schools of Business, Global Affairs and Public Policy, Humanities and Social Sciences, Sciences and Engineering. The University has a generous mix of Egyptian, American, Canadian and other nationalities among both faculty and students giving all undergraduate and graduate programs an excellent international mix. After three-quarters of a century being located on Tahrir Square in central Cairo the University moved to an entirely new and state of the art campus in the desert suburb of New Cairo in 2008. MI: What is the origin of the AUC Rare Books collection? What was in the collection that established it? PC: The core of the Rare Books and Special Collections is the Creswell Library, a collection of materials focusing on Islamic art and architecture assembled with great care and passion by Sir K.A.C. Creswell from the 1920s until his death in 1974. The library collections continued to grow, albeit gradually, through the years and culminated in the establishment of the Rare Books and Special Collections Library in an elegant turn of the continued on page 44
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Interview — Philip Croom from page 43 19th century villa near the Downtown campus. For many years this collection of donated and purchased rare books was a showplace for VIP visitors and the setting for exhibits and other memorable special events. MI: How has the mission of the Rare Books Library changed over the years? PC: For years the RBSCL collections were rather stable holdings of rare books specializing in two areas principally: Islamic art and architecture and Egyptology. With the addition of the Hassan Fathy and VanLeo collections things began to change as for the first time the library had the challenge of sorting, cataloguing and conserving large and unprocessed document collections of world heritage status. When I became head of the RBSCL, I immediately recognized that from the University’s and international scholarly perspectives the most valuable collections would be these unedited document collections that offered promise of new research topics and discoveries perhaps unsuspected. Since that time we have continued to acquire rare books but that collection is somewhat stable now at about 20,000 volumes, whereas the archival collections have grown by leaps and bounds
especially in the Regional Architecture and University on the Square collections, the latter an impressive primary source documentation of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. Today we are busily transforming these holdings into digital format as part of our archival repository DARR (Digital Archival Research Repository) and RBSCL Digital Collections websites. We also have now major programs of recording oral and video histories. In short, we have become a research library offering primary source materials unavailable elsewhere, making the AUC an exceptional and unique research facility. MI: What is your favorite piece in the collection? PC: My favorite part of the collection is probably our rare first or Imperial Edition of the celebrated Description de l’Egypte, the 23 oversized volume study of Egypt’s people, flora, fauna, architecture, historic ruins and every other aspect of Egypt’s terrain and culture as documented by the team of scholars accompanying Napoleon during his invasion and occupation of the country 1798-1801. The brilliantly colored engravings and massive scope of the study make the set an exceptional publication.
PC: I am not sure that the city of Cairo has greatly changed during my residence with the exception of the urban expansion into the desert suburbs which have doubled or tripled the overall size of the metropolitan area. There is even a new capital being constructed miles from the Nile and the traditional Downtown making what was desert a few years ago some of the most fashionable and busiest of neighborhoods. Downtown now is seeing several efforts to restore and gentrify some of the run-down areas. The transfer of the AUC to New Cairo has left a void at Tahrir but the traffic is still overwhelming and never-ending. 2011 was an unforgettable year but, in terms of affecting the physical fabric of the city, I’m not sure that it did. MI: You’re quite an international man. Where do you consider home? PC: Unfortunately, people like me have some difficulty in identifying where we call home. I honestly am “at home” in lots of places. I have ties to where I grew up but also to family in France, a love of Italy and of course so many friends in Egypt. I see all that as an advantage and consider myself to be very fortunate to have experienced so much.
MI: How has the city of Cairo changed in the years you’ve been there? How have things changed since the revolution of 2011?
“How Complex This Industry Is” — An Interview with Katherine Daniel by Bob Nardini (Vice President, Library Services, ProQuest Books) <bob.nardini@proquest.com> Library Acquisition Patterns is a major report on trends in U.S. academic libraries’ book purchasing. The report, conducted by Ithaka S+R, was released in January (https:// sr.ithaka.org/publications/2019-report-library-acquisition-patterns/). ProQuest’s Bob Nardini spoke recently with Katherine Daniel, the report’s lead author. BN: Katherine, please tell us about yourself, and how you came to your position at Ithaka S+R. KD: I was born in Singapore but spent most of my childhood and teenage years in Colorado, where my dad’s family is from. My parents instilled in me a global outlook on life and I’ve always loved learning new languages, leading me to study French and Spanish in high school, so when it came time to choose a major in college, I fell into international affairs at the University of Colorado Boulder and eventually added a double major in Russian literature and culture to go along with learning Russian for my international affairs degree. After graduation and a short stint teaching English in Slovakia, I bounced around between a few different jobs and eventually wound up working at a gift shop
44 Against the Grain / June 2019
in Boulder, but I wanted to do a lot more with my life and had become interested in social science research, so I applied to a master’s program in political science at Central European University in Budapest, Hungary and, thankfully, was accepted at the very last minute. Funnily enough I first met my thesis supervisor at the gift shop when he was in town for a conference, although I obviously had no idea who he was at the time.
After grad school I was fortunate enough to land an internship at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in New York City that really gave me a leg up in my career and solidified a passion for working in the humanitarian/public good space. Throughout the internship I was searching for a full-time position and wanted to continue working on the East Coast where more non-profits are located while continuing to strengthen my research skills. When I found ITHAKA, I was drawn to their focus on education and initially applied to a completely different role that, to be honest, I don’t think I was particularly qualified for or interested in (but I was pretty desperate for money at that point so anything would do). Then I saw the posting for an analyst position at Ithaka S+R which fit my skill set and interests much better. Roger Schonfeld, director of the Library, Scholarly Communications, and Museums team at Ithaka S+R, took a bit of a chance in hiring me since I was relatively inexperienced, but now I’ve been with Ithaka S+R for nearly two years. BN: Please tell us about your analyst role at Ithaka, and about some of the things you’ve worked on. continued on page 45
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Interview — Katherine Daniel from page 44 KD: Just a point of clarification: there’s ITHAKA Harbors, fondly referred to as “Big ITHAKA,” and Ithaka S+R is a part of this umbrella organization. The S+R stands for Strategy and Research. Much of the work that I’ve done here has entailed conducting research for publication on the S+R website (https:// sr.ithaka.org/) or towards consulting services. The role I was hired on to fill was envisioned as more of a generalist position in that it was supposed to span across qualitative and quantitative research and support my colleagues’ projects. I hit the ground running when I first started, working with Danielle Cooper on her Research Support Services (RSS) program that examines scholars’ research needs by discipline, and with Liam Sweeney on his museum case studies that examine diversity and inclusion initiatives at select art museums in the U.S. I also took on a project examining staff diversity for a library consortium, which was my first crack at a more quantitative methodology in the library space, and after that I turned my attention more or less fully to the Library Acquisition Patterns project and other library systems-related work. BN: How did the Library Acquisition Patterns project come about? KD: The Library Acquisition Patterns project was Joseph Esposito’s brainchild. He came up with the idea around 2014 when he started wondering about the extent to which academic libraries were purchasing books from Amazon instead of through traditional wholesale vendors. This was possibly causing university press sales to libraries to look deflated because those purchases made through Amazon were not being counted toward these presses’ sales, whose metrics were often derived from sales made through established wholesalers. I’m not entirely sure how the project came to Ithaka, but Joe is a consultant with ITHAKA Harbors so it makes sense that he would bring the project to Ithaka S+R’s LSCM team. Roger and Liam did the initial legwork piloting the methodology of obtaining data from an integrated library system, in this case Ex Libris’s Alma. These initial stages of the project were done long before I joined, but I remember Roger pitching LAP to me during my interview for the analyst role because he wanted to take it to the next stage and thought that my experience doing data management and descriptive analysis at UNFPA would make me a good fit for this project. Shortly after I joined, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation provided a grant to fund the LAP project, making it possible to expand the number of Alma libraries supplying data while adding libraries that use OCLC’s WorldShare Management Services (WMS), building a database to house all this acquisitions data, and synthesizing findings into the final report. BN: And what did you learn over the course of the LAP project? KD: How complex this industry is; how the publishers, vendors, and libraries are so
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interconnected but, it appears to me, simultaneously siloed with ramifications for each group’s ability to make optimal business decisions. It also became apparent to me throughout this project that print and electronic resources are very different in the ways they are acquired. With print, you either have it on your shelf or you don’t. But with electronic, it’s more likely that you can get it in a bundle, you can have it for a limited amount of time, multiple people can access the same item at the same time. Like with everything else these days, there’s a need for richer data that captures these differences between print and electronic resources, especially as the acquisition models for both continue to evolve at a rapid pace. BN: We certainly agree on the complexity. ProQuest’s position in the eBook market, in fact, we felt was under-represented due to the types of things you mention. The report itself highlighted data gathering as a major challenge. Can you tell us about some of those challenges? KD: It was more so the data clean-up than the data gathering that was a challenge, although to your point, some of the data that would have been valuable to an analysis we weren’t able to collect. I think anyone who works with data anticipates that it’s not going to be perfect right off the bat, so it’s a matter of getting your hands on it, unspooling all the issues, and doing a lot of research to make an executive decision on how something should be cleaned up, which can be daunting in itself. One of the big challenges was the degree of miscategorization present in the dataset, which made the analysis much less straightforward than pulling all book items into a subset and analyzing that. Instead, we had to research which items were most likely to be books in the first place — hence the pricing parameters we introduced in an attempt to isolate monographs — and craft a dataset based on those findings. Another example of a challenge was that publisher and vendor names were listed completely idiosyncratically and, in the former’s case, required quite a bit of engineering and manual work to standardize in the dataset, while finding every possible variant of a vendor’s name in the latter’s case was time-consuming but not particularly difficult. There were also the unanticipated challenges, like discovering that book packages are invoiced as one acquisition record instead of each book listed with its own record. BN: The report, on the other hand, delivered some very useful information, such as documentation of Amazon’s share of the academic library market. What parts of the report do you think are the most significant? KD: Like you mention, Amazon’s share was particularly important. It is striking how many books go through either GOBI or Amazon on their way to the academic library. In 2017, for example, GOBI and Amazon accounted for approximately 80 percent of print book expenditures made by libraries in our sample — GOBI took about 69 percent of expenditures and Amazon followed in second place with 11 percent. eBooks, as I’ve mentioned, were more difficult to assess because of the different ways that academic
libraries acquire and access them, but of the eBooks in our sample that were obtained on a title-by-title basis, 86.4 percent of eBook expenditures still passed through GOBI, while Amazon barely registered at all as a vendor of electronic books. Other big names like ProQuest/Coutts, JSTOR, Taylor & Francis, and Gale-Cengage continue to dominate in the eBook sector over Amazon, but it still remains that a majority of eBook expenditures for items included in our sample were funneled through GOBI. Being able to provide evidence on university presses’ share of the market was also significant, as that figure was mostly speculation before. In a way, one of the most significant findings is what isn’t in the report because this points to areas where data for acquisition records could be improved, as well as different ways of conceptualizing an analysis that could yield a more in-depth portrayal of what libraries are buying and how. BN: If you were to organize a follow-up report, what questions would you try to answer? KD: I’d like to look at the items classified as books in the data that are above our pricing parameters. These items accounted for a substantial amount of libraries’ book expenditures, and some of the feedback we received suggests that these more expensive items are actually books, not misclassified items, and their cost is a result of evolving business models for books as they themselves evolve, especially regarding digital books and how they are accessed. These items could therefore point toward future trends instead of the past trends that the report assesses. Ideally, a follow-up would also be able to bring in those book packages for analysis to examine their share of the market and if they make up for any of the print book declines we saw, but right now there’s no easy way to identify those packages. BN: I understand you are leaving Ithaka. We wish you all the best, Katherine, but hope one day that we might see you again back in the world of books and libraries. Tell us about your new position. Do you think anything you learned at Ithaka will be helpful there? KD: Thanks, Bob! I’ve transitioned into a business analyst role at a company called SumZero. They publish buyside finance research and otherwise serve as a networking platform for investors, so everything I learned about how publishers disseminate information and how individuals and organizations buy it may come in handy. The work I did on the Library Acquisition Patterns report as far as data collection and analysis goes, as well as the qualitative research I did working with Danielle and Liam, has definitely prepared me for this new role. It was hard to leave Ithaka but I’m quite excited to dig into SumZero’s data and be a part of their growth.
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Op Ed — Opinions and Editorials
Op Ed — Stop, Look, Listen Open Access at the Crossroads: Why Books and Journals are Supposedly Different — and How that Harms the Model Column Editor: Dr. Sven Fund (Managing Director, fullstopp GmbH, Society for Digitality, Wartburgstraße 25A, 10825 Berlin; Phone: +49 (0) 172 511 4899) <sven.fund@fullstopp.com> www.fullstopp.com
O
pen Access (OA) has been of growing importance in scientific publishing for two decades. And although the phase of experimenting with free access to content has long since given way to a professional approach to the model, the differences between journal articles and book content on the one hand and various fields of research on the other continue to be repeated and seem to be widening. The different speeds at which the model is adopted in the academic disciplines are not problematic. Rather, it is the cementing of constructed differences that may have been meaningful in the past, but are increasingly losing their substance in digitality. Stakeholders in libraries, publishing houses and the promotion of science must take care not to leave untapped transformation potential.
Findings
Scientific publishing and its library equivalent have been drifting apart for decades. The schism occurs along the disciplinary boundaries of science, technology, medicine (STM) on the one hand and humanities and social sciences (HSS) on the other. While representatives of the “hard” sciences publish a large number of articles mostly in journal format, their colleagues in the humanities and social sciences concentrate on writing books. In addition, research at the STM is better financed, often by third-party funding from interested industry, than scientific work in HSS disciplines. The consequences are well known: Journals in the natural sciences are highly profitable economic objects, the consolidation of the sector among a few publishers is well advanced. Libraries are coming under increasing selection pressure from subscription prices, which have been rising for decades; the socalled journal crisis is taking its course, mostly at the expense of monographs. As a reaction to falling unit sales per title, the prices for books have been rising for years, and in this case as well, of course, more efficiently enforced by large publishing conglomerates with massive quantities of new titles per year. In both markets, small publishers fall by the wayside economically, if they do not consistently focus. Market consolidation continues to run its course, with big publishers including smaller ones in their portfolios and so on.
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Open Access was originally intended to clear up this ordoliberalism in the publication market and break the oligopoly of the big players. This was not successful. With the Public Library of Science (PLoS), Hindawi, Frontiers and a few other companies, newcomers have managed to enter the journals market by consistently implementing the Open Access concept, forcing traditional large corporations such as Elsevier, Wiley and SpringerNature to adapt their business models. Had they not been on the market as an alternative, the political mandates of the European Union, various nation states and major research funding agencies would never have developed the explosive energy that is currently turning the science market upside down. Financial investors are increasingly nervous as to whether science publishers are still a good investment target. While these were previously in demand as defensive investments primarily in times of crisis, the development of Open Access is increasingly turning financial participation into a speculative element — not exactly what investors are looking for in terms of security. At the same time, books are increasingly falling off many peoples’ agenda when talking about Open Access. There is hardly a conference that does not regret the fact that developments are diverging noticeably — only to quickly concentrate again on the “core topic” of journals. The problem for the book disciplines concerned is no less serious than for those subjects whose researchers primarily use journals to impart and acquire knowledge. While market researcher DeltaThink estimated the market for journals in Gold Open Access at around 600 million U.S. dollars in 2018, SIMBA’s competitors expect an OA book market of 37 million U.S. dollars in the same year — less than 6% of the total market and thus considerably less than any library would spend on books from its budget.
Causes
The causes of this development are not only factual. Of course, the supplier
market for books is much more fragmented than for magazines. As a result, providers are often less potent when it comes to scaling and thus implementing a model. Secondly, magazines are grateful economic units, highly standardized and easy to negotiate due to their structure. The funding and financing landscape for research that leads to articles in journals is often financially strong, well-organized and interested in science policy. The book as a medium is usually not on the agenda of these sponsors. In my opinion and observation, however, the different treatment of a model in the two major areas of research is primarily a consequence of different perceptions. Publication traditions in the sciences and of scientists play a greater role than financial or technical restrictions. Science policies are easier to implement with a bundle of money in your hand than with a well-intentioned appeal alone. Only recently have sponsors in the humanities and social sciences increasingly adapted their behavior to their rhetoric, which has long been fundamentally supportive of Open Access. Libraries are also increasingly moving towards financing Open Access in the monographic field, via so-called Book Processing Charges (BPC) or on the path of institutional funding, for example through Knowledge Unlatched and Language Science Press internationally or initiatives such as OpenEdition in the French-speaking world. In addition to this behavioralist component, in an environment in which OA monographs are gaining in importance, at least in quantitative terms, three major problem complexes can currently be observed that are proving to be obstacles to the faster implementation of the model: Financing, quality perception and infrastructure.
(Shared) Problems
Financing issues on the one hand and (lack of) knowledge and attitudes of scientists towards Open Access on the other have accompanied the model in its development since its inception. continued on page 47
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Op Ed — Stop, Look, Listen from page 46 While in the case of journal articles it has been possible to dispel initial concerns about quality perception by a massive increase in downloads and citations — and as a consequence very often also the impact factors of OA journals — it is much more difficult to provide this empirical evidence in the case of monographs. My own studies have shown that researchers still consider Open Access as a model for monographs to be inferior in quality in many cases, not least because they — usually wrongly — assume that the print version of a book will not be available. I attribute this in particular to the fact that respondents usually do not receive concrete usage statistics for their titles. In the digital environment, regular reporting of key figures and clarification of their significance are mandatory. Only competent information can objectively change perceptions of quality over time. According to my observations, the quality perception of Open Access is significantly influenced by the integration of OA publications into existing programs, both in terms of content and formats. The content aspect is known from scientific journals and has shaped the discussion on hybrid publishing for more than a decade:
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Researchers are not particularly interested in the business model of a given publishing house (especially if funding is available), but rather the reputation of the environment is of decisive importance — in the case of books, in other words, publishing brands, their programs, series profiles, editorial committees, etc. In this respect, pure OA publishers certainly have reputational disadvantages to make up for, but they can often make up for them with better author services. The format aspect relates to the availability of printed editions of books. I don’t know of any major publisher that would do without it — but the perception is obviously different, especially among market-leading companies. Science publishers always emphasize their coordinative role in science communication — in addition to the peer review aspect. There is no doubt that it is thanks to them that global communication can be given structure even where science lacks the appropriate structures. Despite numerous initiatives, the structures in Open Access remain fragile, both in the area of pure OA hosting solutions and in vital detection systems. Especially in hosting, the fragmentation of provider models seems problematic, as it massively influences the search experience and comfort of researchers’ work. It is unanimously estimated that there are about 15,000-25,000 Open Access eBooks available that meet scien-
tific standards. They are neither fully indexed nor can they be used under a uniform search and work interface. The Open Research Library is attempting to counter this trend, initiated at the beginning of May this year by an international consortium. The model aims to bring together all the OA books in the world for publishers and users on one platform free of charge. It is open to all publishers, but above all also for further use in library catalogues, discovery systems and academic networks. It provides usage statistics to participating publishers and libraries.
Conclusion
Open Access, which has long been a successful model in some disciplines and for some product types, is developing increasingly unevenly. However, this path is neither positive nor irreversible for the various disciplines. On the contrary, it is precisely the humanities and social sciences, which have hitherto been rather disadvantaged, that would benefit from a broader use of the access model. Research could accelerate and become more international if access to current literature were improved. In addition to the consistent use of funds for publicly funded research, the provision of joint, central infrastructures is a necessary prerequisite for the stronger pooling of existing resources. Libraries in particular have a high degree of responsibility in both cases. In recent continued on page 48
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Biz of Digital — Developing and Growing a New Repository Service: Part 1 Getting Started by Column Editor: Michelle Flinchbaugh (Acquisitions and Digital Scholarship Services Librarian, Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery, University of Maryland Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250; Phone: 410-455-6754; Fax: 410-455-1598) <flinchba@umbc.edu> Column Editor’s Note: This is Part 1 of a 3 part series on Creating a New Repository Service. Part 2: Procedures for Library Submissions will appear in the September 2019 issue. Part 3: Expansion will appear in the November 2019 issue. — MF
Introduction
After implementing a new repository platform, several questions arose. Where to begin? What would work for adding materials to the repository and what wouldn’t? What kind of support and service would the library need to offer?
Background
The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), a research-intensive institution with 546 Full-time, 292 Part-time faculty, participated in the Maryland Shared Open Access Repository (MDSOAR) pilot and has the MD-SOAR DSpace platform available to it. UMBC’s repository is branded ScholarWorks@UMBC. Through a planning and implementation process, general policy decisions were reached both by the MD-SOAR Governance Group (MD-SOAR policies appear at the bottom of this page: http://usmai.org/resources/md-soar) and by a campus-wide ScholarWorks@UMBC Advisory Group. Help documentation was developed and posted in a LibGuide for self-submitters (here: https://lib.guides.umbc.edu/c.php?g=728911). Additionally, UMBC’s Faculty Senate passed an Open Access Resolution (https://lib. guides.umbc.edu/c.php?g=728911&p=5872742), recommending that faculty provide open access to their works via MD-SOAR or another repository. Finally, structure and workflow decisions were made and set up in the system (the procedure for setting up collections and configuring their workflow is here: https://wiki.umbc.edu/display/library/ Structure--Setting+Up+Collections). As is typical with repositories, the initiative was led and managed by UMBC’s Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery, with an existing librarian gradually shifting responsibilities to become a full-time Digital Scholarship Services Librarian and manage the repository.
The Seed Collection
While MD-SOAR was still being implemented, a decision was made to move all UMBC’s Electronic Thesis and Disserations (ETDs) that were in CONTENTdm to MD-SOAR and that move was completed before MD-SOAR was fully implemented. There were additionally a small number of faculty publications acquired via a grant in CONTENTdm that were also migrated to MD-SOAR before the system’s launch date. ScholarWorks, UMBC’s new repository, was already populated with approximately 1,380 items, almost all of which were ETDs moved from CONTENTDm, when the Digital Scholarship Services Librarian started work on it.
Op Ed — Stop, Look, Listen from page 47 years they have regained freedom through massively improved coordination of their negotiation and acquisition strategies, which they themselves probably no longer thought they could claim. Now it is their turn to follow frequently formulated wishes with budgetary action. This is not an easy task, since it pre-
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Where to begin? Understanding Important Policies
Understanding policies impacting the scope of the collection as whole and the scope of sub-collections was critically important in determining how to process items, and in developing procedures. Both MD-SOAR and UMBC adopted policies impacting when we could and couldn’t add an item to our collection as well as what sub-collections an item would appear in. The MD-SOAR Content and Format Guide (http://usmai.org/sites/ public/files/ContentandFormatGuidelines_0.pdf) substantively impacted procedures for adding materials to the repository. These policies set the parameters of the MD-SOAR repository as one that consists primarily of free full-text of works: 1. A submission can consist solely of a link and metadata. Including files in submissions is not required. 2. All submissions must include a full-text totally free version of the work via a link or by providing a file. 3. Linking to a paywall protected version is only allowed when a free full-text version is also provided. Not all repositories define their scope this way — some require files. Others allow for the entry of citations without the full text and don’t require the inclusion of a free version so that faculty can include all of their works even if they can’t provide full-text or a free version. The intent of MD-SOAR’s policy is to ensure that the vast majority of the time, system users find full-text works that they can access for free. If MD-SOAR defined its scope differently, UMBC’s procedures for ScholarWorks might also be substantively different. With MD-SOAR’s scope, determining if items available on the web are free became an important part of procedures, this isn’t always an easy task with library subscription items automatically authenticating and each platform having a different way of indicating if an item is free or open access or not. A couple of UMBC policies also impacted procedures. UMBC wanted to clearly differentiate between faculty and student work, but the MD-SOAR metadata schema didn’t allow for this. However, Faculty Works and Student Works could be collections, and items could be added to both the collection of the author’s department, and to the Faculty or Student Collection via mapping. These collections were established, and later, a Staff Collection was also added. We also decided to add items with authors from different departments to all pertinent collections — this would help to build departments’ collections more quickly. Determining the departmental affiliation of all UMBC authors as well as their status also became part of procedures. While this is simple on a single author work where information is clear on the work or in the directory, sometimes, particularly on older
supposes redefining one’s own role. Not only the hesitant allocation of funds to Open Access can be critically questioned. Practical issues such as the cataloguing, hosting and repository strategy also need to be discussed more intensively — and, above all, the responsible persons need to act with due respect. The greatest risk of Open Access is the loss of a holistic view of the goals and prerequisites of the model in libraries and for publishers, in favor of short-term optimization of egoistic
continued on page 49
interests. Such a view may create an attractive new model for some, but a fundamental change is not possible. Only if system-establishing and -stabilizing cooperation and healthy competition can be balanced within defined limits can the science policy intention succeed. This requires an infrastructure that is robust enough to accommodate traditional publishing systems and makes use of new ways of measuring usage.
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Biz of Digital from page 48 works, there is no information and this is impossible. Other times when many authors from different departments have participated in writing, mapping can become time-consuming.
What would work for adding materials to the repository and what wouldn’t? On Jan. 2, 2018, the Digital Scholarship Services Librarian began seriously working on adding works to the repository, starting with small scale experimentation. The Library preferred faculty self-submission but realized that, at most universities, faculty don’t and the library has to do it for them. The Digital Scholarship Services Librarian decided to try both asking faculty to submit themselves and also a small-scale service to add materials for them. For the self-submission test, she began emailing individual faculty members, telling them about the repository and offering to meet with them to show them the system to hopefully get some started submitting works themselves. For the library submission service, she signed up for Google Scholar Alerts for new items added with “The University of Maryland Baltimore County” or “UMBC” in them, a means of discovering new faculty publications that she’d learned from another repository manager at a conference.
Outstanding Class Projects
Prior to implementing the repository, librarians were aware of a strong interest in including outstanding class projects in the repository. With several possible ways of doing this, meetings with faculty members were an opportunity to find a test case and work with a faculty member on how to best get this done. With some discussion, the following procedures were put in place for student self-submission of their outstanding projects: 1. Faculty emails the Digital Scholarship Services Librarian, providing the name and number of the class, the name of the project, and the names and emails of students who they want to invite to submit their work to ScholarWorks@UMBC. 2. The Digital Scholarship Services Librarian sends them an email inviting them to do so.
Self-submission After sending dozens of emails from January-August 2018 offering to show faculty the system, a handful responded to arrange a time. The Digital Scholarship Services Librarian met with them, showing them the system and how to submit items. All said that they would Figure 1 Example of email inviting a student to submit an Item enter items when they have time, but none did. This provided valuable experience in how to (and how not to) talk to people about the repository. 3. The students create accounts in the system. We no longer ask faculty to contribute directly to the repository 4. The Digital Scholarship Services Librarian gives them submisthemselves. Rather, we let them know we can do it for them but sion privileges for the Student Collection, then emails them encourage them to use student assistants or administrative assistants back telling them that they can now add their item. She also instead. In the rare instance when a faculty member wants to add re-sends the instructions on how to do this in email. materials themselves, we’re happy to let them. To date, approximately 5. The students add their works. .03% of the items in our repository were submitted by people outside 6. The Digital Scholarship Services Librarian checks the stuof the library. While these meetings didn’t result in them submitting dent’s self-submission, completing or correcting metadata, and items themselves, they did provide a valuable idea to include works ensuring an appropriate file and no inappropriate files were about UMBC and people affiliated with it in the repository, as well uploaded. A keyword is added for the class so that works for as experience with procedures for adding outstanding class projects, the particular class can be located. She then approves them both covered below. and maps them to other appropriate collections. About UMBC and Its People: A Repository Collection Using this procedure, about half the students invited to submit items do One meeting with a faculty member resulted in a new collection so. While student self-submission of outstanding class projects has been for works about UMBC and its people. A faculty member had been more successful than faculty self-submission, outstanding class projects featured in an article in a journal and wanted to know if he could add are only a very minuscule portion of works that we add to the repository. the article about him even if he didn’t write it. After an initial response It’s important to note that student work published in peer-reviewed of no, that the repository for works authored by people at UMBC, the journals, including undergraduate peer reviewed journals, is handled Digital Scholarship Services Librarian wondered why not? As long as exactly like faculty work. That is, a faculty member need not recomarticles about faculty are available for free, records with a link to the mend that a peer-reviewed work authored by a student be added because work could be included. After some discussion with stakeholders, a new we consider the peer reviewed and published status to be indicative of collection, “About UMBC and Its People,” was added to the repository. high-quality work. Items included in that collection are also included in the collections of Library Submission departments that the work is about, or the departments of people who the work is about. To date, no specific effort has been made to populate The Digital Scholarship Services Librarian began library submissions that collection, but items are added as someone suggests them, or the by utilizing Google Scholar Alerts to find out about new UMBC publiDigital Scholarship Services Librarian comes across them. continued on page 50
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Biz of Digital from page 49 cations. These items discovered via Google Scholar Alerts became her first hands-on experience in figuring out rights and adding items to the repository, and proved to be critically important in identifying gaps in her knowledge. Additionally, emails sent to faculty asking for a version of an item discovered via a Google Alert became the most effective form of outreach to faculty with many more responding to these emails about one of their works than to those where she offered to meet with them and show them the repository. Soon after the Digital Scholarship Services Librarian began processing Google Alerts, some faculty responses to questions about works or requests for a particular version also included requests to load other materials: works in their previous institution’s repository, works on a lab publications page, the works on their Google Scholar page, works on their CV, or a list pasted into an email. She also began figuring out rights for these items, and adding them when possible.
Developing New Knowledge and Revising Documentation
Within a very short period of time of beginning to do hands-on rights and submissions work, the Digital Services Librarian discovered gaps in her knowledge of copyright and Creative Commons licenses. Additionally, it became clear that the repository license and some of the documentation for users were inadequate, in that they failed to cover Creative Commons licenses and U.S. Government publications not eligible for copyright. The license and documentation were revised. The Library Repository Working Group determined to find a local copyright librarian to present on copyright on campus to faculty and to talk about the services that her library’s Copyright Center offers to their campus. The Digital Services Librarian also took the Coursera courses Copyright for Educators & Librarians (https://www.coursera.org/learn/ copyright-for-education?) and Copyright for Multimedia (https://www. coursera.org/learn/copyright-for-multimedia?) offered by Duke, Emory, and UNC Chapel Hill to hone her knowledge. Finally, the Digital Scholarship Services Librarian was asked to create a LibGuide on copyright, and did so utilizing other libraries’ Creative Commons licensed copyright LibGuides (UMBC’s Copyright LibGuide is available here: https://lib.guides.umbc.edu/c.php?g=833626). While a select group of librarians, including the Digital Scholarship Services Librarian, had taken an extensive course on Creative Commons licenses, she quickly encountered a vast array of Creative Commons license types that she hadn’t heard of. The current version of Creative Commons license are 4.0 licenses which are universal. The DSpace system utilizes 3.0 U.S. licenses, but she encountered ones for different countries and “unported” ones. She learned that before version 4.0, Creative Commons licenses were written for the laws of particular countries, and the unported ones are a generic version not written for laws of any particular country. When adding items on a Creative Commons license,
Rumors from page 38 For more information contact Thomas Laursen, CEO of UNSILO, unsilo.ai. https://unsilo.ai/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/ UNSILO-WILEY-Press-Release-May-2019.pdf Hope you are making plans to attend the 2019 Charleston Conference (November 4-5 – preconferences and Vendor Showcase; main conference – November 6-8). Sage is offering a trip to the 2019 conference. Send
50 Against the Grain / June 2019
she wanted to reproduce the license type accurately, so learned how to replace the U.S. 3.0 license with the appropriate version, and added this to procedures and documentation. Later, a discussion of a standard rights statement being applied to all records led the Digital Scholarship Services Librarian to research rights statements in various repositories. Despite discovering that most repositories weren’t using a standards rights statement, the group determined to continue using one, but one that acknowledges that some works are on Creative Commons licenses. Additionally, she noted that publisher required statements, usually regarding copyright, were placed in a Dublin Core rights element in other repositories, but they had been using the description field for this. Going forward, they began using the rights element for this.
What kind of support and service would the library need to offer? Clearly the most successful submission process was library submission with library staff processing and adding faculty submissions. Many new UMBC publications could be identified, processed, and added via Google Scholar Alerts. Many older publications could be identified, processed, and added via faculty CVs, Google Scholar Profiles, publication websites, and lists of publications. This would require a production workflow with expertise in the areas of copyright, author agreements and publisher policies on self-archiving, versions of works, Creative Commons licenses, and metadata. Tasks would include determining if an item is in-scope, what version if any could be added, acquiring an appropriate version to add, identifying information sources, determining what sub-collections to add an item to based on the affiliation and status of authors, metadata creation, and mapping into sub-collections.
Ramping up Production Within four months, with only minimal outreach to individual faculty members, the number of items that faculty had asked the library to load far exceeded what the Digital Scholarship Services Librarian could do alone. She requested a student assistant, and with hiring approved beginning in the fall semester, she began documenting library submission procedures (covered in Part 2 of this series), then figuring out how to work with a student assistant (covered in part 3 of this series).
Conclusions This early period of talking to faculty, experimenting, and learning via hands-on work was critical to increasing knowledge, refining policies, and developing basic procedures. With a novice Digital Scholarship Services Librarian, this also meant ample opportunities for professional development, skill building, and relationship building across the campus. Indeed, via this work, in four months, with minimal outreach, a regular flow of work coming into the library increased to a point that was sufficient to justify hiring a student assistant. A few months later, a student assistant was brought on board and the system rolled out to all of campus in conjunction with the start of the fall semester. This gradual implementation successfully met a library strategic planning goal of getting the repository up and running.
us a Photo to Enter to Win a Trip to the 2019 Charleston Conference. Librarians are connecting with students and faculty in new and different ways, especially beyond library walls — maybe through a library-sponsored yoga class on the lawn during finals, an online-only career fair, or a debate hosted by the library Twitter account. Show us how you connect with students and faculty beyond your brick-and-mortar walls for your chance to win a trip to the 2019 Charleston Conference. Instagram (@sage_publishing) or Twitter (@ SAGE_News) in a picture that shows what your
library is doing outside of the library, using #SAGExCharleston2019Contest. (Don’t have either of those platforms or your account is set to private? No worries! Send an email to sage.contest@sagepub.com.) In your caption, share a description of the image and the name of your institution. https://charlestonlibraryconference.com/ Clarivate Analytics Plc (NYSE: CCC, CCC.WS) has agreed to expand the role of Executive Chairman Jerre Stead to become Chief continued on page 55
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Squirreling Away: Managing Information Resources & Libraries — Finding Your Beat: Rapidity and Change Management Column Editor: Corey Seeman (Director, Kresge Library Services, Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan; Phone: 734-764-9969) <cseeman@umich.edu> Twitter @cseeman
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t’s Spring-time and change is in the air. So maybe this is a perfect time to write my second column on change management in libraries. I have long thought about this as an important topic that seems to be under-appreciated and under-explored in the professional library literature. Having recently navigated my own operation from a traditional library a few years ago to one that is virtually virtual, the time is definitely now to think about this important topic with the vantage point of what we did well, what we did poorly, and what we might do differently. As a structure for these articles (and hopefully something a bit more), I have broken down change management into six key terms: inevitability, rapidity, flexibility, hospitality, accountability, and empathy. These terms are particularly important to use in the context of your institutional culture and identity. Through these six terms, I hope to explore how to best manage your operation in even less than optimal conditions (and lets face it, most libraries are operating in exactly that “place.”) For this column, I am going to write about the rapidity of change and what it all means at individual libraries. By rapidity, I want to explore the pace and speed with which an organization can pivot. But first, a diversion.
Finding Your Beat
Back in March 2007, I had an opportunity to chaperone a middle school event that really changed some of my thinking about management. Now when you think of many of the mistakes that parents make in their lives, many of them start off with a decision to chaperone a school event. But this is not going in that direction — I promise. My son has played the cello since the 5th grade and has introduced me to an entire new world (as I am not as musically adept as I wish I was). In middle school, back in 2007, my son and a number of his classmates from 8th and 9th grades were invited to participate as a demonstration orchestra for the American String Teachers Association Meeting at the RenCen (or Renaissance Center) in downtown Detroit, Michigan. The purpose of the session was to showcase to other string educators how to find the ideal tempo for any student orchestra. The piece they chose was the beautiful Percy Grainger Molly on the Shore and it was lead by an educator from another state who needed a student orchestra to showcase. The orchestra, under the direction of Saline Area Schools’ Erin Hansen, demonstrated principles of how fast a piece could be played. While I do not have a gift for music, and I might be missing something here, the premise of the
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She wrote this talk was that an not only from her orchestra can only perspective as a play as quickly as CEO of a leaderthe musicians with ship development the most difficult consulting firm, part can play. So but also as an orif the most diffichestra member cult part goes to herself (she was the cellos, the enthe principal bastire tempo of the soonist for a compiece must be set munity orchestra by how fast that in Broomfield, group can play. If Colorado). These an instrument secSaline (Michigan) Middle School ASTA four lessons are tion cannot play at Demonstration Orchestra (March 2007) key to any organithe pace set by the zation — includconductor, then the entire orchestra will sound horrible and out ing both established and entrepreneurial ones. of sync. So the task of the conductor is to find The exact same lessons could be also identified out what that tempo is and adjust accordingly as those coming from a team sport coach who to present music that is in sync and in perfect has to get a group of athletes to work together harmony (but not NSYNC). This is the main to (hopefully) be successful on the field, court, work of the conductor in order to prepare the rink or wherever the team plays. musicians to play beautifully. But a key aspect But what is really key in the context of (especially as it relates to this column) is that this column is one element that is not listed the conductor needs to find the right tempo or — speed. How fast does the conductor lead speed for his or her orchestra. the orchestra to perform the piece? While the I remember sitting in the back of that notes and the tempo (think Adagio or Allegro room and thinking about that very concept. for starters) provide a sense of what the music It has stuck with me these past 12 years as is supposed to sound like, it does not prescribe an important part of my thoughts on how the exact rate. While we might use a metroorganizations work. In particular, this whole nome to keep the tempo steady, there is not notion that we have a singular sound coming an exact timing that is applied to a piece. The from an orchestra, and yet it is made of many actual timing of the beats per minute is set by different components, each working at differ- the conductor and he or she alone is the person ent degrees of difficulty to produce a beautiful who maintains that for an orchestra. So when (hopefully) sound. Like many people before you look at different recordings of a common me, as the music filled my brain, I was also piece, say Johann Pachelbel’s Canon in D thinking about how it all comes together. (one of my favorites), you will likely see a How do you bring together a variety of parts variety of timings. These might be caused by to create a singular sound from multiple par- edits to the piece or by the speed with which ties? How do you marry different abilities the orchestra plays. One might see variations and tasks into a single organization? How do based on the artist’s vision of the conductor you balance out the different demands of an as well. While recordings are a somewhat operation to make it seamless to the end users? narrow basis of timings, given that these are This is the very nature of good management mostly accomplished musicians, the variance in how long it takes in performance by a variety of any organization. There have been a number of articles and of different orchestras might reveal a greater other readings connecting the work of the time range. Two other ways to think of timing include conductor with the work of a manager. One piece was written by SkyeTeam CEO Morag the great Gilbert and Sullivan song “I Am Barrett and linked four leadership lessons the Very Model of a Modern Major-General” that she drew from the conductor. These four from the 1879 operetta Pirates of Penzance. entrepreneurial leadership lessons (that could This patter song requires the actor playing the Major-General Stanley to be able to perform the be applied to any organization) are: song at a very quick pace. But the entire song 1. Have a clear vision. really can only go as fast as the actor playing 2. Establish roles and responsibilities. the Major-General can. On the other hand, if 3. Provide coaching and feedback. you give the conductor some animal medication 1 4. Lead from the front and be visible. continued on page 52
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Squirreling Away from page 51 designed to make them more efficient, like in the 1963 Dick Van Dyke movie Bye Bye Birdie, you end up with a comically fast production. But the upside is that you have time for Conrad Birdie to sing One Last Kiss on the Ed Sullivan Show. Choosing the right tempo might be one of the most important things that a conductor does. Figuring out the right tempo or pace might be one of the most critical elements that a manager or director does in an organization, especially during big changes.
How Quickly Can You / Should You Change?
their own fate, they are often left to move more quickly than would be optimally taken. Many librarians tell the stories of the visit to the library (conveniently during the quiet hours) by the University administration and the ensuing desire to use the central location of the building for a more important purpose. Sometimes, these changes can take place very quickly, with library administrators being consulted only after all the other pieces (including funding) are in place. The library administrators often have little choice but to move quickly and figure out the best way to make lemonade out of these lemons. Conversely, when libraries control their own fate and are managing the direction and the pace of change, we often find that the pace is slower and more deliberate. Another word here is thoughtful. A library managing self-directed change will likely move at a slower pace of change that positions the organization more deliberately and effectively for the future. A self-directed pacing will enable the library to have sufficient time to deliberate on the required actions and community reactions. This might be a best case scenario for change in the library.
So with that introduction, I hope to make a pivot to the world of libraries and, in particular, change management. While we tend to think about change management in libraries as a very modern problem, the reality is that we have been in a steady state of change for the past 50+ years. We will continue to see dramatic changes in our field and (for many of us) in the higher education environment in the coming 10-15 years. We would be foolish to Festina Lente (Make Haste Slowly) think that academic libraries of 2029 or 2039 will look identical to the libraries that we have Maybe the ancient saying here makes sense. today. Furthermore, it is foolish to think that Our job (ideally) is to make haste slowly (or academic institutions of 2029 or 2039 will look deliberately). Alas, if we only had the chance. identical to the colleges that we have today. In But there are few library directors who would the United States, we have a higher education not love the opportunity to do just that and system that was built on post-war boom in to make the best of the situation. In thinking students. However, we are faced with new through these two scenarios, we have two challenges that have seen some schools close tales of change and the rapidity that a library or struggle to remain afloat (like Hampshire can take on. College). The threats that come from larger The first example above, in which the online schools and shrinking population of library is not in charge, we have had that situaschool-age children (especially in the Midwest) tion at my library recently. Back in 2014, when will have a huge impact on the future of our Kresge Library Services at the University institutions, let alone our libraries. of Michigan had to quickly change from a Having said all that, the pace of change traditional library to a virtual one, we had a of the modern library is similar to that of the number of tasks in front of us. Under normal orchestra. The tempo used by a conductor circumstances, this work would have taken a should be based on the quickest speed that few years to complete. However, we only had the group with the four months. When most difficult part libraries are forced to can play. In thinking manage through deciabout this concept, the sions that are already library has a variation made, the directors in difficulty among its have little choice but many diverse tasks. to move through as This is especially best as they can. In true for libraries that many regards, this are being asked to makes the work a bit make big changes. easier, since there is There will be service simply not enough units that might have time for lengthy deFox Squirrel on a Warm, Spring Day at an easier time than the University of Michigan (April 9, 2019) liberation. However, others through these there are groups that changes. There might be work that goes have a more difficult job and that will very away, and other work that multiplies. Keep- much drive the decisions that the director ing balance and a steady hand on the baton is needs to make. From a managerial perspective, critical for an organization to thrive in the new one had to ensure that the people who have conditions. the most difficult transition have the greatest But there are two distinct timings or support. Much as an orchestra director cannot tempos that might be used for change. Much ask a musical section to play faster than their of that hinges on who controls the pace of abilities, he or she slows down the entire piece change and how much time is afforded to to match their skills. This is exactly what the the library. When a library does not control library director needs to do.
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In the second example, I am drawn to a story that is unfolding as I type, but represents one of the most important changes in the library environment of the last year. In February, the University of California system announced that they would cancel their ten-campus deal with Elsevier, one of the global leaders in scholarly communications and well known to the readers of this journal. The driving discussion in the contract renewal hinged not on the usage of the resources on the University of California campuses, but on the inability to secure open-access rights for faculty published works.2 The University of California’s Office of Scholarly Communication posted a guide to help faculty find works from Elsevier post-cancellation.3 Of particular note is a one page sign with the different paths to get the full text:4 • Install browser plug-ins • Search for open access copies • Get it from the Library • Use your network • Note: The UC Libraries do not endorse using Sci-Hub for article access. This library-driven change is truly bold and the University of California needs to be recognized for this move to break this unsustainable scholarly communication financial crisis. The decision to move in this direction clearly had the support of the university and the system’s president Janet A. Napolitano was quoted as stating: “I fully support our faculty, staff, and students in breaking down paywalls that hinder the sharing of groundbreaking research. This issue does not just impact UC, but also countless scholars, researchers, and scientists across the globe — and we stand with them in their push for full, unfettered access.”5 Like many people, I will be watching this closely. But from the lens of library change, the real challenge will take place once the new issues are not accessible any longer by the faculty on the University of California campuses. What happens next? That is the million dollar question. One thing that is likely to happen is that Inter-library loan requests could skyrocket. Are the libraries in the University of California system prepared for that? These are already large departments (I assume) because of the research appetite on these campuses. However, if they are now being asked to supply Elsevier titles as well, their work just became more difficult. To that end, I trust that the library administration is considering the work being asked from the people in this department. And while this decision was years or months in the making, the change being asked of those in ILL will be swift and needs to be supported. Additionally, the work of the reference librarians also became more difficult because now there will be more road-blocks on the way to supporting faculty and student researchers. I hope that the euphoria over this decision is not lost when faculty complaints about access drown out the applause from the library community. The speed with which an organization can change hinges on what they are asked to do and how that relates to the current mode of continued on page 55
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LEGAL ISSUES Section Editors:
Bruce Strauch (The Citadel) <strauchb@citadel.edu> Jack Montgomery (Western Kentucky University) <jack.montgomery@wku.edu>
Legally Speaking — The Blockchain Revolution by Anthony Paganelli (Western Kentucky University) <Anthony.Paganelli@wku.edu>
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he new technology Blockchain is revolutionizing many facets of businesses, governments, and even educational institutions. It is most noted with the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, however; this technology is becoming an important aspect of business and governmental transactions. Blockchain has been mentioned as a “disruptive” technology, but in the good sense as it will change the traditional approaches to business activities. The recent introduction of Blockchain technology was due to the 2008 economic crisis, in which banks and financial institutions failed to properly invest depositors’ money. The bad investments were primarily in mortgages that were highly inflated and the accounts were likely to be delinquent, which left the banks with the lesser value of assets. Because of this mishandled use of depositors’ money, governments had to use taxpayers’ monies to bailout the banks and other financial institutions. The reasons the governments had to bailout the banks was due to the significance of the currencies. National monetary systems are fiat currency that rely on the faith of the governments. Therefore, the financial and economic system is based on a centralized and regulatory system of banks and governments. With the use of Blockchain technology, cryptocurrency eliminates the centralized system. This technology is a reaction to the 2008 economic crisis that would actually eliminate the use of banks, as well as other third parties that may charge fees during transactions. The technology is also more secure than using a bank that would use a server to store customers’ information. In addition to currency, Blockchain technology is being utilized in many different aspects of businesses that include contracts and titles for houses. Further uses are being developed in other fields that include higher education, as Georgia Tech University is creating ways for students to efficiently connect with future employers through credentials that are secured by Blockchain technology. What is Blockchain? The term has been around for several years. In fact, the concept has been in use since the 15th century in the Italian city-states by a ledger system that records and maintains business transactions. The handwritten or typed ledger system was significant for business owners to better manage records and to determine their successes. This system lasted until the 1960s and 1970s
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as technology began to replace the physical book ledgers. However, the actual transactions remained the same, and Blockchain technology is based on this ledger system that applies the transactional ledger and the technological infrastructure to manage the records. George Pike defines Blockchain as series of blocks that are comprised of data and each block is assigned a header and a timestamp. The blocks are connected through an encrypted hash that prevents the data being hacked. He added, “Blocks of transactions are then chained together, with each block referencing the previous block. The chain is both permanent and distributed.” The ledger concept, along with the encrypted hash technology, ensures the chain is secure from the first block created or the “genesis block” to the continuous blocks. Pike noted that the “Blockchain infrastructure uses largely open source software to create a database of data entries that represent transactions and are distributed across hundreds or thousands of computer nodes.” The open source infrastructure and the security of data are what make Blockchain significant, which is the elimination of a centralized system, such as banks. Trevor Kiviat noted that “In the physical world, security requires locks, vaults, and signatures; in the digital world, it requires cryptography, or techniques for securing digital information and transaction,” which is Blockchain technology. He added that the Blockchain is a public ledger of all transactions and is verified by the network participants through a peer-to-peer system. If authorized the transaction is recorded and it cannot be changed. The aforementioned relationship of Blockchain technology and Bitcoin cryptocurrency is an introduction to new currency. Kiviat noted that in order for Bitcoin to be considered a currency, the Bitcoin must be a “medium of exchange, a store of value, and a unit of account (collectively the functions of money).” The Blockchain technology allows for secure electronic transactions without the interference of a third party, such as a bank.
While this system of eliminating banks is enticing, the Bitcoin system does have issues. First of all, the value of the Bitcoin currency is volatile, a poor store of value, and unstable. During the brief history of Bitcoin currency, the currency exchange with the U.S. dollar has periodically spiked and crashed over 20 percent and at times nearly 50 percent in one day. Whereas, the U.S. dollar to the Euro exchange has never changed more than 2.5 percent in one day. According to Kiviat, “Even a casual observer can recognize that such instability is not a desirable currency trait because its holder’s purchasing power can increase or decrease drastically and suddenly.” The benefits of Bitcoin currency and the Blockchain technology is “technology of uniquely capable of performing several key components of transaction — record keeping, auditing, monitoring, enforcement, or asset custody — in addition to facilitating the trade itself.” Also, the act of physically transporting currency, such as currency from one bank to another, is eliminated. Even electronic transactions utilize time and funds, and the consumer and businesses are charged fees for the transaction. In 2015, Western Union and MoneyGram charged a six to nine percent fee on transactions that totaled approximately $36 billion. Of course, the Bitcoin currency has issues that include the lack of federal regulations on cryptocurrencies that provide requirements to prevent money laundering and other issues. The technology and the virtual currency concept have become difficult to regulate for governments, which has become a challenge for consumers and businesses as well. For instance, Bitcoin is considered a “money service business” that has to register with the U.S. Department of Treasury. The registration is monitored by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to support the Bank Secrecy Act. In 2015, the FinCEN filed a civil enforcement action in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of California against Ripple (a company in continued on page 54
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Legally Speaking from page 53 virtual currency) for not complying with the anti-money-laundering regulations. Also, the virtual currency in accordance to the Commodity Exchange Act is considered a commodity, therefore the Commodities Future Trading Commission has jurisdiction over virtual currency, which complicates the regulations of Bitcoin currency. States can also create legislation to regulate the virtual currency. For example, in 2015 the New York Department of Financial Services issued a framework for the “BitLicense” to regulate virtual currency businesses. Through these various regulations, virtual currency will be complicated and interpretive through the courts, as legislatures and regulators continue to struggle to understand the technology of virtual currency. There are several uses for this technology other than the Bitcoin cryptocurrency that include securities issuance, trading and settlement, insurance, notary public, music royalties, copyrights, storing and validating documents, anti-counterfeit, and decentralization of Domain Name Severs. An instance of the Blockchain technology is real estate and titles for houses that would reduce the time to access the title or transfer deeds for the consumer and reduce costs. In addition, the technology is being implemented in healthcare. In 2016, the Taiwanese government began stricter regulations of tracking and tracing plasma derivatives, vaccines, botulinum toxins, 20 highly used and priced drugs. The purpose is to reduce the risk of counterfeit drugs from entering the legitimate market to protect the public. Walmart will also utilize the technology to track produce from the farmers to the stores.
Another use for the Blockchain technology is “smart contracts,” which are terms and agreements between two parties through the use of Blockchain technology. The purpose of smart contracts is to reduce the “friction” of a transaction. Pike stated, “Friction comprises those steps in a transaction that slow down the process because of the need to verify them or engage a third party to execute them, such as obtaining a title or using an escrow account.” As noted about cryptocurrency, the use of Blockchain technology for non-financial currency transactions are subject to some form of regulations, such as the Uniform Commercial Code. While the Blockchain technology can have numerous positive and significant uses in various aspects of business, the technology has been used for illegal activity. For instance, Ross William Ulbricht created the “Silk Road,” which was a system of selling illegal narcotics, utilizing Bitcoins as the currency. He was able to act as an escrow agent between the buyer and seller of illegal drugs, since Bitcoin currency does not require ID, a bank account, or social security. Ulbricht used the Darknet for the “Silk Road” program, through which he received a commission for each transaction. Eventually, the “Silk Road” became very popular and drew the attention of the FBI and hackers. The “Silk Road” was hijacked twice for approximately $375,000 and Ulbricht was eventually caught. He was arrested in 2013 for money laundering, drug trafficking, and computer hacking and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Despite the misuse of the Bitcoin currency, critics realized that the technology was monitored by law enforcement and the technology can be used to prevent or deter future criminal activity. Policy makers will have to monitor and review Blockchain technology over the next few years to determine the best practices for regulating the uses of Blockchain technol-
ogy. Meanwhile, the technology is quickly being implemented in several different aspects of businesses, which will also provide further data in the success of the technology or bring to the foreground issues that need to be assessed and revaluated.
Bibliography
Adler, David. “Silk Road: The Dark Side of Cryptocurrency.” Fordham Journal of Corporate and Financial Law, last modified February 21, 2018. https://news.law.fordham. edu/jcfl/2018/02/21/silk-road-the-dark-side-ofcryptocurrency/ Moon, Caitlin. “Blockchain 101 for Lawyers: Part I.” Law Technology Today, last modified January 10, 2017. https://www. lawtechnologytoday.org/2017/01/blockchain101-for-lawyers-part-1/ Nofer, Michael, Peter Gomber, Oliver Hinz, and Dirk Schiereck. “Blockchain.” Business Information Systems, 59, no. 3 (2017): 183-187. Pike, George. “Blockchain Comes of Age.” Information Today. 35, no. 7 (2017): 22. Salmon, John and Gordon Myers. “Blockchain and Associated Legal Issues for Emerging Markets.” International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, last modified January 2019. https:// www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/6242c5fc-69c840eb-ba8c-50396a1ab57e/EMCompass-Note63-Blockchain-and-Legal-Issues-in-EmergingMarkets.pdf?MOD=AJPERES Trevor, Kiviat. “Beyond Bitcoin: Issues in Regulating Blockchain Transactions.” Duke Law Journal, 65, no. 3 (2015): 569-608. Tseng, Jen-Hung, Yen-Chih Liao, Bin Chong, and Shih-wei Liao. “Governance on the Drug Supply Chain via Gcoin Blockchain.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 15, no. 6 (2018): 1055.
Cases of Note — Copyrighting Distinctively Shaped But Useful Objects Column Editor: Bruce Strauch (The Citadel, Emeritus) <bruce.strauch@gmail.com> INHALE, INC. V. STARBUZZ TOBACCO, INC. UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT. No. 12-56331 (Jan. 9, 2014). And we enter the exciting world of competitive hookah manufacturing. Inhale designs and sells hookah water containers in a distinctive shape with a skull and crossbones on them. Googling “Inhale Hookah & Accessories,” you find they are goshdarn creative. They even have a “Gangsta” line with
54 Against the Grain / June 2019
hookahs shaped like various firearms. They also have a belly dancer, a mermaid, a dragon warrior, and an Eiffel Tower. Many screens of hookahs. Sexy vamp. Anubis. Pirate. The octopus for multiple smokers. On and on. It would seem there was something protectible there. But not so fast … Inhale sued Starbuzz for copyright infringement by producing an identical shaped hookah without the skull and crossbones. The district court handed Starbuzz summary judgment. Which brought us to the 9th Circuit.
Hookahs contain coals. Inhalation draws smoke through water at the base, cooling and filtering it before it hits your lungs. Yours truly certainly thinks the world would nicely survive without these. But whether we agree or not, the parties agreed that a hookah water container was a “useful article.” The design of a useful article is copyrightable “only if, and only to the extent that, [it] incorporates … sculptural features that can be identified separately from, and are capable of existing independently of, the utilitarian aspects of the” container. 17 U.S.C. § 101. This standard is met by either physical or conceptual separability. See 1 Melville B. Nimmer & David Nimmer, Nimmer on Copycontinued on page 55
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Cases of Note from page 54 right § 2.08[B][3], at 2-99-2-100 (2011). Inhale did not claim physical separability, so only conceptual was considered. Ets-Hokin v. Skyy Spirits, Inc., 225 F.3d 1068 (9th Cir. 2000) held that the shape of a vodka bottle could not be separated from its utilitarian features. It determined this as a matter of law and not one of fact for a jury. Precedent, however, holds that conceptually separating features to be a mixed one of law and fact. See Pullman-Standard v. Swint, 456 U.S. 273, 289 n.19 (1982). Here, both parties agreed a hookah is a useful article holding water. That leaves only the application of the legal standard to the facts. The vodka bottle in Ets-Hokin did not have a distinctive shape! But what follows would indicate it wouldn’t matter if it had been shaped like a pretzel. Or a donut. Or a unicorn. The Skyy bottle was blue with gold lettering. It was attractive. But it was still all bottle. So the blue and gold were not separable from the bottle’s utilitarian features. But what then of distinctive shaped hookahs? The Copyright Office is negative on distinctive shapes. “Analogizing the general shape of a useful article to works of modern sculpture” does not make for conceptual separability. Compendium of Copyright Office Practices II (Compendium II) § 505.03. Which, if you can follow that, means that an artistic hookah and its utility are one and the same. Inhale argued that you could peel away the siren, the football, the rugby football and find the filtration system inside. But the 9th Circuit said nay. Basketball player, grim reaper, AR-15 were all part of the water filtering system. It looks to me that if they had been appliqued to the filtering system — i.e., physically separable — they would be protectable.
Rumors from page 50 Executive Officer (CEO) effective June 30. As CEO, Jerre will focus on accelerating growth and profitability for Clarivate. Jay Nadler will transition from his role as CEO and member of Clarivate’s board of directors at the end of the second quarter and will serve as an advisor to the company through year-end. Stead recently served as Chairman and CEO at IHS Markit, Ltd. and previously as Executive Chairman and CEO at IHS Inc. http://www.clarivate.com https://www.clarivate.com/blog/news/ clarivate-analytics-announces-execu t i v e - c h a i r m a n - j e r re - s t e a d - w i l l - e x pand-his-role-and-be-chief-executive-officer/
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Squirreling Away from page 52 operation. With every complex organization, there are many moving parts, of which only a few are visible to the end user or outsiders. To enable the library to be effective in its new situation, the pace of change needs to match the difficulty of the individual work units with the library. If a director or dean can do that, then these disruptions can be more efficiently managed. The ultimate benefit is to the school or community that the library serves. And when that happens, it really is sweet music.
Corey Seeman is the Director, Kresge Library Services at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He is also the new editor for this column that intends to provide an eclectic exploration of business and management topics relative to the intersection of publishing, librarianship and the information industry. No business degree required! He may be reached at <cseeman@umich.edu> or via twitter at @ cseeman.
Endnotes 1. Barrett, Morag. 4 Leadership Lessons Learned From Orchestra Conductors, Entrepreneur.com, May 20, 2015. From https:// www.entrepreneur.com/article/246194, accessed April 9, 2019. 2. Ellis, Lindsay. “U. of California System Cancels Elsevier Subscriptions, Calling Move a Win for Open Access,” Chronicle of Higher Education, February 28, 2019. Accessed at https://www.chronicle.com/ article/U-of-California-System/245798 on April 10, 2019. 3. See https://osc.universityofcalifornia. edu/open-access-at-uc/publisher-negotiations/alternative-access-to-articles/. 4. See https://osc.universityofcalifornia. edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/AlternativeAccess_UC.pdf. 5. Ellis, Lindsay. “U. of California System Cancels Elsevier Subscriptions, Calling Move a Win for Open Access,” Chronicle of Higher Education, February 28, 2019. Accessed at https://www.chronicle.com/ article/U-of-California-System/245798 on April 10, 2019.
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Questions & Answers — Copyright Column Column Editor: Laura N. Gasaway (Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Law, Chapel Hill, NC 27599; Phone: 919-962-2295; Fax: 919-962-1193) <laura_gasaway@unc.edu> www.unc.edu/~unclng/gasaway.htm QUESTION: A university librarian asks about the impact of the new 2019 European Union Directive on Copyright in the Single Digital Market. ANSWER: The intent of the Directive is to make sure that creators, news publishers and journalists benefit from the online use of their works just as they do in the physical world. A key goal is to protect press publications and reduce the “value gap” between the profits made by Internet platforms and by content creators. The Directive does not create new rights but intends to see that rights are better enforced. For the general user of copyrighted works, use may be more expensive since the large Internet platforms and news aggregators such as YouTube and GoogleNews must pay creators, publishers and journalists for even short clips of copyrighted content. Some scholars believe that the Directive will encourage fair licensing agreements between creators, etc., and these large platforms. Measures will require that sites that violate copyright are legally responsible for those violations by assuming that the content is guilty unless proven innocent. There are specific exemptions for parody, text and data mining, and for Wikipedia. Large sites with uploaded content will need to automate copyright compliance systems. While the Directive does not require automated filters, it is likely the only large sites can evade liability. There is still concern that the automated filters will also filter out legal content or that content may be blocked in excessive caution. The next step is for each of the 28 EU countries to decide within two years how it will implement the Directive. This means there will be as many as 28 enforcement regimes. QUESTION: A school librarian asks if under Creative Commons (CC) she can use images and videos found on the web. ANSWER: The first step is to make sure that the item found on the web is covered by a CC license. There are two ways to determine whether the work is covered: (1) if the work contains the CC symbol and (2) by accessing the site https://ccsearch.creativecommons. org/ to search the database of over 1.1 billion works including three million images. The second step is to determine the type of CC license under which the work is made available. Generally, a CC license allows copyrighted material to be shared and reused under flexible and sound terms. According to the Creative Commons website, “All of our licenses require that users provide attribution (BY) to the creator when the material is used and shared. Some licensors choose the BY license, which requires attribution to the creator as the only condition to reuse of the material. The other five licenses combine BY with one or more of three addi-
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tional license elements: NonCommercial (NC), which prohibits commercial use of the material; NoDerivatives (ND), which prohibits the sharing of adaptations of the material; and ShareAlike (SA), which requires adaptations of the material be released under the same license.” CC licenses are non-exclusive and irrevocable unless there has been a breach by the licensee. Creators and owners may enter into different licensing arrangements for the same material, however. QUESTION: A public librarian noted that the Authors Guild recently called for a public lending right in the United States. What does this mean? ANSWER: The public lending right (PLR) has existed in many European countries, since the 1940s. In the 33 PLR countries, the government remunerates authors for their works lent by public libraries. The European Union added PLR in 1992 that was reconstituted in 2006 by the Rental and Lending Right Directive. Authors may authorize or prohibit the lending of their works by libraries. Member states may derogate that exclusive right if they remunerate authors for use of their works. PLR schemes in the various countries must include public library lending, but they may exclude lending of works from other types of libraries. Further, a country may give priority to their national cultural objectives in their PLR schemes, such as favoring works written in the country’s native language. In 2016, European Court of Justice ruled that the Lending Right Directive covers the loan of eBooks based on lending one copy of the eBook per user. The eBook cannot be loaned to another user until the first user returns it. The United Kingdom and Canada have already royalties for eBooks and Denmark introduced it last year. The Authors Guild call for a PLR in the United States will meet stiff opposition since taxpayers would ultimately pay the fees to authors. PLR has been especially important in countries where production of literature in the language of the country must be encouraged — hardly a problem for English language works. Moreover, the authors who would most benefit from a PLR in this country are authors of scholarly works, poets, etc. The result in all countries with a PLR has been that best-selling authors are the primary beneficiaries of the fees, and they are the authors who least need this remuneration. In my opinion, we are unlikely to see a PLR in the United States. QUESTION: A children’s librarian asks whether a government agency (such as a
public library) must get permission to read stories by telephone to children who phone into the library. ANSWER: The Copyright Act actually permits the noncommercial public performance of nondramatic literary work. A public performance is defined as a performance in a place open to the public or even performance of the same work to individuals one at a time. Section 110(4) of the Act provides an exception to the exclusive rights of the copyright holder to permit nonprofit performances of nondramatic literary works as long as there is no admission fee or payment to performers; or if there is a fee, proceeds are used for educational, religious or charitable purposes. While this exception excludes the transmission or works, telephone transmission to individual callers is unlikely to be a problem for copyright holders. QUESTION: A college librarian asks about the recent controversy involving photographs of slaves owned by Harvard University. ANSWER: A suit filed in a Massachusetts state court in March 2019 claims that Harvard has “shamelessly” profited from the reproduction of a series of 1850 daguerreotypes of two South Carolina slaves, identified as Renty and his daughter, Delia. The plaintiff claims that these are her ancestors and that she has verified her genealogical ties to Renty, her great-greatgreat-grandfather. The photographs were commissioned by a Harvard biologist, Louis Agassiz, and are among the earliest known pictures taken of slaves. Agassiz’s theories on racial difference were used to support slavery in the United States. The suit raises the issue of who owns the rights in a photograph: the photographer, the subject of the photograph or the owner of the photograph. The case argues that Agassiz never legally owned the photos because he did not have his subjects’ consent and that he did not have the right to pass them to Harvard. Instead, the plaintiff claims that she is the rightful owner as Renty’s next of kin. The plaintiff claims that the university has wrongfully used the images by charging high fees for their use and by “capitalizing on the intentional damage done to black Americans’ genealogy by a century’s worth of policies that forcibly separated families, erased slaves’ family names, withheld birth and death, and criminalized literacy.” The suit also argues that Harvard’s continued possession of the images violates the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery. The suit demands that the university turn over the photos at once, acknowledge her ancestry and pay an unspecified sum in damages.
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The Scholarly Publishing Scene — Forty Years From Now Column Editor: Myer Kutz (President, Myer Kutz Associates, Inc.) <myerkutz@aol.com> “It says here that you attended state-run primary and secondary schools. Can you confirm this?” “That is correct.” The young man crossed his legs and tried to find a comfortable position in the hard wooden chair in front of a large ornate table. The chair had arms, which helped somewhat, but there was no padding on the seat or on the back. A man and a woman were already seated at the table when the young man entered the room. They were, he surmised, 15 to 20 years older than he was. The older man had a full head of dark hair and a long craggy face. Even seated, he loomed over the top of the table. It was evident that he was very tall. The woman seated next to him appeared to be tall as well. Her dark red hair was pulled back severely from her handsome face. The table was in the center of a large room with a very high ceiling. The room was brightly lit by a large chandelier hanging directly over the table. The room was in a large stone building that had been refurbished recently as part of a renewal project in the old European city to which the young man had been summoned by both email and text. The young man had waited on a bench, together with half a dozen other people his own age, in a wide hallway outside the room. Everyone had received a similar summons, but no one knew why. They spoke quietly about their trips that morning. In the few minutes before his name was called by a uniformed attendant, who opened the door of the large room, the young man learned that everyone waiting with him was well educated. But he hadn’t time to find out what work they did. The two people across the table from him were looking at a binder open on the table between them. “What are you reading from?” the young man asked. “It’s your dossier,” the woman said. She smiled, perhaps to soften the aspect of the man next to her, who stared at the young man with unblinking eyes. “Who are you people?” The young man grew tense, as if he were trying to keep himself from shouting. “We represent Plan S,” the older man said, his voice calm. “You obviously know what Plan S is.” “Obviously,” the young man said quietly. He seemed to have regained control. “I don’t suppose you have names,” he went on. “Names aren’t important here,” the woman said matter-of-factly. She smiled again. “Except mine,” the young man said. “Of course,” the woman said. “May I ask what exactly is in my dossier?” the young man said.
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“Of course you may,” the older man said. His stare was unrelenting. The young man wondered if he ever blinked. “Well?” the young man said. “It’s merely your complete academic history.” The older man looked down at the binder. “Your history includes the names of all the state operated schools and universities you attended, your years of attendance, all of the stipends you received, plus all of the dormitories where you resided and ate your meals.” The older man looked up at the young man, who snapped, “That’s it?” “Actually,” the woman said, “staff has compiled the cost of everything the state has spent on you, from pre-schooling through your attainment of your doctorate and beyond.” She smiled yet again. It seemed to the young man that her eyes were taking him into her confidence. “You didn’t summon me here to check the figures, did you?” the young man said. He sounded as if he were trying to make light of the matter. “So what’s this all about?” He felt more comfortable in the unforgiving chair. “We wanted to talk to you about this,” the older man said. He unclipped a disc from the binder and held it at eye level. “This ...? “Your novel.” “How did you get it?” “All writing is reviewed by Plan S,” the older man said. “What do you want with it? It’s just a love story. Why would Plan S be interested in it?” “Two things caught our attention,” the woman said. She paused a beat. “Firstly,” she went on, “there is the matter of the background against which the action — the love story, as you put it — takes place. You provide the reader with your version of the history of Plan S over the past 40 years, from 2019 until now. I found it, well, fascinating.” The young man sensed that he was supposed to hear sarcasm in her voice. “I’m glad of that,” he said nevertheless. For once, the woman didn’t smile back. “You write that Plan S was successful in a few years in requiring academic researchers — whose work was sponsored by state funding — to publish their papers in state-run repositories where access was free and open, and not to sign copyright of those papers over to rapacious publishers, as many academics called them. “The publishers were on the road to financial ruin.” The woman smiled now. “Until, you have written, the day when a publishers’ consortium began to develop a new AI business — providing automation and robotic services to academic institutions and even to funding
agencies. Libraries, classrooms, laboratories: they all became highly automated. Though not completely, of course. “University administrators throughout the world loved it, you wrote. With the demise of journals with hefty subscription prices, the costs of maintaining libraries plummeted. Also, AI allowed universities to run classrooms and laboratories so much more cheaply with robots than when there were humans to pay. Of course, there still had to be some humans, but nowhere near as many as before. “No one seemed to notice that publishers most quickly devised replacement options for the professors who’d been their severest critics. Even tenured faculty members, who couldn’t be replaced legally, felt the pinch in one way or another. You were a quiet one, it seems, and you survived in your university’s molecular biology laboratory.” “I was lucky,” the young man said. “As was your girlfriend, I take it,” the older man said. “but that’s not the problem we’re facing here today.” “What is the problem?” the young man said. The hard chair was beginning to feel uncomfortable again. The older man shook his long head. “You sent your novel to a privately-owned publishing house for their consideration. Did you have hopes that they would publish it and that you would earn money from sales of the novel?” “Yes. My girlfriend and I want to get married, and money from book sales would help us start our life together.” “And that is the problem” the older man said. “It’s quite simple, really. Taxpayers have supported you for many years of education. As a result, they have, unquestionably, made you the man you are today. Without their support, you would not have the background to have written your novel.” “You would not have experienced the achievements brought about by the success of Plan S and publishers’ response to it,” the woman interjected. “We need to cut this short,” the older man said emphatically. He leaned forward. “Others are waiting. We have numerous cases to deal with today. So let me outline your next steps. In a few days you will receive an email that will offer you the opportunity to post your novel on the Internet free of charge to anyone who chooses to read it. I suggest you accept the offer. Don’t worry. I’m sure that a bright young man like you, someone who could write a novel as good as yours, should be able to find a way to make a living as a molecular biologist. Even in this day and age of unbridled AI.” “Make no mistake,” the woman said, her voice stern and emphatic now, her index finger continued on page 58
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Optimizing Library Services — Your Title is What? Re-envisioning Academic Library Administration by Mr. Edward Iglesias (Web Services Librarian, Stephen F. Austin State University, USA) <edwardiglesias@gmail.com> Column Editors: Caroline J. Campbell (Marketing Manager, IGI Global) <ccampbell@igi-global.com> and Lindsay Wertman (Managing Director, IGI Global) <lwertman@igi-global.com> www.igi-global.com Column Editors’ Note: This column features IGI Global’s Editor, Mr. Edward Iglesias (MLIS), the editor of the publication, Library Technology Funding, Planning, and Deployment, which has been recognized by Scopus for its comprehensive coverage on open source software, budget constraints, library systems management, and related topics. — CC & LW
W
ithin the well-worn world of academic libraries, there is a long tradition of creating departments and positions in a very predictable way. There is a director who usually has two associate directors to take care of public and technical services. There are traditional roles that have an accompanying module in the integrated library system (ILS) (cataloger, circulation, acquisitions, etc.), and those newer roles that have to do with the way that the nature of information has changed, such as scholarly communications or digital asset management. Even though new roles have been introduced, there is now the question of whether the traditional departments are set up to receive these roles. Recent postings of jobs within academic libraries and allied cultural institutions are enlightening: Software Architect (Interpretive Team), The J. Paul Getty Trust Head, Knowledge Access, New York University (NYU) Libraries, USA Reproducibility Librarian (tenure-track), University of Florida, USA Data and Information Visualization Librarian, University of South Carolina Libraries, USA Data Librarian, Western Michigan University Libraries, USA1
The Scholarly Publishing Scene from page 57 pointed at the young man,. She wasn’t smiling now. “We’re not censors. And we’re not promoting some discarded ideology. Let your voice ring out over the Internet, your words free to anyone. Make as much money, gain as much fame as you want with your molecular biology. Just don’t let any of those greedy publishers profit from what you write.”
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While there is no shortage of traditional job titles, these examples represent a trend towards specialization in areas of technology that we have been warned about for years, whether it is big data, data visualization, or even new ways of dealing with user needs such as “Knowledge Access.” Below is a particularly good example of a position at NYU of how things are changing and worth the additional scrutiny: NYU libraries invite applications and nominations for the position of head-knowledge access. The ideal candidate will provide strategic direction and leadership, both within the knowledge access department and throughout the division of libraries, for the development, implementation, and assessment of metadata infrastructure, policies, and practices. The head will actively lead a strategic redesign of library metadata services that promote innovation in support of NYU’s teaching and research mission. To this end, the head will direct major change initiatives in response to evolving user demands, technological innovation, and emerging data models (resource description framework (RDF), BibFrame, and Linked Data).2 Examining this description, the position is listed as a “Head” of something called “Knowledge Access.” We learn that this is part of “a strategic [re-design] of library metadata services.” Now the position comes into focus. NYU is rebranding and re-tasking what was
formerly a head of cataloging, and trying to breathe some life into this department by bringing in a visionary leader that will be able to reframe these services by going away from MARCbased work involving physical items to a band of newly relevant metadata professionals engaged with “RDF, BibFrame, and Linked Data.” A different type of a somewhat unusual title is the Senior Director of Development, University Library, [a position in the] University of California (UC), Santa Barbara.3 This shows a growing trend for a need which is increasingly apparent as institutions fail to fully fund libraries and they are forced to look for outside funding sources. While some libraries have always done this, it was usually private institutions seeking grants to take care of oneof-a-kind collections or public libraries raising funds for special purposes. Now we are seeing full-time positions as colleges and universities become aggressively entrepreneurial in all the worst ways, seeing libraries abdicating their primary mission of being vital institutions that preserve and organize knowledge to become cost centers hemorrhaging money. Closer to my own example below is this from the University of Waterloo’s “Head, Digital Initiatives at University of Waterloo Library”4 With responsibilities which include: • Fostering a collegial and collaborative environment • Mentoring, coaching, developing, and directing staff
“But ...,” the young man started to say, his head spinning, until he saw the two people sitting across from him rise and offer their hands. The man must have been seven feet tall, the woman over six feet. They were much taller than the young man. He had been born soon after a six-month period when a clerical error in Plan S headquarters had allowed publication of certain research papers without proper peer review. One of the papers had attracted rabid attention on social media, and mothers who’d followed the paper’s advice had given birth
to babies who’d not grown as tall as children who’d been born before or after that odd time. The young man felt like a child again. Without another word — what was the point of any more discussion with these people? — he shook hands, turned and walked out of the large room. In the hallway, he looked at the young people waiting for admittance. Who were they and whom had they contacted to publish what they had written? he wondered.
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Optimizing Library Services from page 58 • Providing proactive leadership and oversight for the library’s locally-developed, as well as web and digital services One wonders whether a life coach might be a better fit than a librarian! Much is expected in terms of “soft skills” these days occasionally to the detriment of the overall library. What should be a simple managerial position here is transformed into a cheerleader who will hopefully motivate staff and help people get along. These skills have always been necessary for managers, however, the fact they are explicitly stated says something about our current library culture. In a recent example of these ongoing changes, the Ralph W. Steen Library at Stephen F. Austin University, USA, where I am employed, underwent a reorganization as a result of campus wide information technology (IT) unification. This resulted in a loss of a dozen positions that were internal, from the library to the campus IT, including the removal of the Associate Director-Library Technology. After further deliberation, a direction was proposed and implemented with the creation of two new departments: Digital Strategies and Content Discovery, with a new head that would function as a permanent liaison with IT. Looking at this transition in its component parts, Digital Strategies became a catch-all phrase that signifies not only what we are doing, but what we wish to do. Academic libraries have always been conservative in the sense that we [were familiar with the responsibilities of our job positions]. We have always made it a point to the proper care of intellectual resources of the past, as well as facilitating access to those of the present so that scholars could build and create the knowledge of the future. This is what we have always done, whether it was preserving papyrus or receiving digital access to a database of journal articles. Academic libraries have also been the great democratizers of knowledge and technology, giving users access to resources no single person could afford and, in many cases, their first exposure to computers and now, maker spaces. Times change. While libraries have struggled in the last few decades to become a “third place” or a “platform,” we are increasingly the victims of our own efficiency to the point where students can and do obtain an undergraduate degree without ever setting foot in the physical library. To this end, we must begin rethinking how we approach the problem of continued existence and relevancy in the coming decades. Much is uncertain, but there are a few givens. First, we must realize that technology is going to play an increasing role in a field where the information bearing entities we access are increasingly difficult to categorize. As problems of income inequality filter into the library budget, compounding existing issues of copyright restrictions and vendor centralizations, it becomes clear that any strategy for going forward will be a digital strategy. This is not to demean the role of physical books, but
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to realize that in the current environment the “place” of the library is far from guaranteed or demanded, while the process of gaining and distributing access to knowledge continues as our central role. We must invest wholeheartedly in our digital strategies as we approach coming conflicts over budgets and space utilization. The core mission of the library continues to be to enable user access to the knowledge they seek. A strategic approach that focuses on this goal in whatever form it may take is key to ensuring the survival and continued relevance of the modern academic library. Content Discovery is a logical allied term to Digital Strategy. It follows that once you have the resources acquired, they must be accessible. Fortunately, this is now new ground and is the strength of libraries as the organizers of knowledge. The traditional areas of Access Services, Cataloging, and Acquisitions fall within this rubric. These departments are responsible for the cataloging and metadata responsibilities, but acquisitions librarians play an increasingly vital role. As we move towards an increasingly digital collection, thought must be given to any associated metadata records that may come with purchased collections, as well as ease of display, indexability and lendability in the case of interlibrary loan (ILL). Basically, all the “back room” work that goes into presenting a usable, accessible collection is now under one umbrella. Whether your library has standard job titles or not, look to the new job titles to judge where a library is going and how much thought has been given by the administration about its direction. If you are hiring catalogers rather than metadata specialists, and still do not have someone in charge of your social media presence, you are dangerously out of line. The continuation of the academic library, indeed of the university as we know it, is far from assured. By embracing change and building departments that allow for new approaches, we at least have a chance of surviving. Libraries must re-imagine themselves in ways that are newly relevant, or they will just be underused buildings with prime real estate. If we do not clearly demonstrate our value, [librarians will be the only ones to show value to the library]. So, dream up interesting titles that will evoke originality and excitement and dare to restructure your organizations. You have no choice in the matter.
Additional Readings
Almeida, H., & Sequeira, B. (2019). The Role of Knowledge Transfer in Open Innovation (pp. 1-397). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-5849-1 Al-Suqri, M. N., Al-Kindi, A. K., AlKindi, S. S., & Saleem, N. E. (2018). Promoting Interdisciplinarity in Knowledge Generation and Problem Solving (pp. 1-324). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-3878-3 Bhardwaj, R. K. (2018). Digitizing the Modern Library and the Transition From Print to Electronic (pp. 1-325). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-2119-8 Bhattacharyya, S., & Patnaik, K. R. (2018). Changing the Scope of Library Instruction in the Digital Age (pp. 1-286). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/9781-5225-2802-9
Costello, L., & Powers, M. (2018). Developing In-House Digital Tools in Library Spaces (pp. 1-274). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-2676-6 Doherty, B. (2016). Technology-Centered Academic Library Partnerships and Collaborations (pp. 1-309). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-0323-1 Hines, S. S. (2014). Revolutionizing the Development of Library and Information Professionals: Planning for the Future (pp. 1-313). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-14666-4675-9 Iglesias, E. (2017). Library Technology Funding, Planning, and Deployment (pp. 1-257). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-1735-1 Lowe, M., & Reno, L. M. (2018). Examining the Emotional Dimensions of Academic Librarianship: Emerging Research and Opportunities (pp. 1-168). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-3761-8 Thanuskodi, S. (2019). Literacy Skill Development for Library Science Professionals (pp. 1-410). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-7125-4
Column Editor’s End Note: Librarians’ roles are constantly evolving and while they are being challenged to acquire the timeliest, peer-reviewed research for their patrons, they are also faced with the reality of shrinking budgets, the ever-present open access (OA) movement, understaffing, and numerous other issues currently impacting the knowledge management field. For years, IGI Global has been mindful of the challenges librarians face and have collaborated with leading institutions to ensure that they are able to provide resources and services to the academic community. One example of this is IGI Global’s OA Fee Waiver (Offset Model) Initiative. Announced well in advance of mandates such as Plan S, this initiative allows librarians to maximize their acquisitions investment in IGI Global’s databases, InfoSci-Books and InfoSci-Journals specifically, by providing valuable content to their patrons and an additional source of OA article processing charge (APC) funding to their faculty and staff. To learn more about IGI Global’s OA Fee Waiver (Offset Model) Initiative and databases, please visit: www.igi-global. com/e-resources or contact IGI Global’s Database Team at <eresources@igi-global. com>. (Also, additional details can be found on page 87 of this issue). Endnotes 1. All taken from the job postings at code4lib https://jobs.code4lib.org. 2. https://jobs.code4lib.org/jobs/31751head-knowledge-access 3. https://chroniclevitae.com/jobs/0000 468939-01 4. https://jobs.code4lib.org/jobs/31790head-digital-initiatives
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Blurring Lines — Considering the Future of Discovery, Access and Business Models in Support of Virtual Reality Content for Scholarly Research and Classroom Learning: What Can We Learn from the Rise of OER and OA? Column Editor: David Parker (Senior Director Product Management, ProQuest; Phone: 201-673-8784) <david.parker@proquest.com>
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he open educational resources (OER) movement began in the years between 1999 and 2002, during which time Rice launched its precursor to OpenStax and UNESCO’S 2002 forum on open courseware coined the term OER.1 Since these early days the pace of growth in adoption of OER, while unsatisfying to some activists, has been, in my view, phenomenal. Studies, such as Opening the Textbook by Julia E. Seaman and Jeff Seaman from the Babson Survey Research Group,2 reported in 2017 that the OER adoption rate for large enrollment courses was 16.5%. And when I attended OpenEd 18 this past fall in Niagara Falls, New York, I was astounded by the number of attendees and, most specifically, by the numbers of librarians in formal or informal support roles for OER at their institutions. Across this 20-year arc from the first open textbook delivered online by Connexions (precursor to OpenStax) to today, commercial providers of textbooks and learning technology have had ample opportunity to respond competitively or to cooperate with the OER movement, yet only Cengage Learning has entered with substance via Cengage Open. Now (low cost OER-based courses inclusive of Cengage content). McGraw Hill recently announced the launch of Open Learning Solutions, allowing faculty the opportunity to create course solutions based on McGraw Hill content, OER content and faculty-generated content, but this is an effort aimed at accommodating the OER space rather than embracing it. As noted, in my view, only Cengage among the major learning technology companies has fully embraced OER. While Cengage has entered the OER space from the for-profit side of learning technology, no company in the for-profit library and research support services world has developed an OER offering, to include Cengage, the parent company of Gale. Contrast this with the vigorous and early efforts by for-profit scholarly publishers and aggregators to offer products and services to support open (OA) access digital journal and eBook publishing. Why have for-profit learning companies and library aggregation companies largely avoided OER, while scholarly journal and book publishers and library aggregators have made OA a core part of their business strategy? I raise the question of non-engagement/ engagement with OER and OA by the for-profit learning companies, scholarly publishers and library aggregation companies to examine the possibilities in what I believe will be the
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next content area that we will need to address in terms of the challenges and opportunities inherent in the meeting of freely available and for fee media content for the classroom and research: Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality/360 Video and 3D Objects. I use the terms “for free” and “for fee” to indicate the meeting of content and services provided in open formats and restricted access formats, be it OER, OA, or open source software such as holds sway in the learning management system space. There are three key vantage points from which to view the past regarding OER and OA and the near future in virtual content, they are: 1. Open (free) content as opposed to for-fee content. I often refer to this as the (potential) handshake between for-fee and for-free. 2. Repositories and common metadata, indexing and search standards. 3. The production of scholarly content versus the production of content intended to support curriculum/ learning. Open content as opposed to for-fee content: As noted above, OER content has developed largely independent of participation by or with the cooperation of for-profit learning companies, with Cengage Learning as the notable exception. The OER community has struggled with the creation of computer-based and algorithmically generated homework and test item material and this has created an opening for for-profit start-ups to provide support for OER textbooks. This movement precipitated the increasing focus of OpenStax, on “lowering” the cost to students versus eliminating all student costs,3 but the OER purists will tell you the desired end-game is zero-cost-to-the-student, although somebody always pays. Along with homework and testing solutions, other players in the for-profit world have entered the OER space to offer adaptive learning solutions tied to popular OER textbooks. But in this many-billions-of-dollars market for learning content and services, the in-roads of for-profits into the “business space” of OER is a blip in the total annual revenue generated in education. Contrast this with the participation of for-profit journal and book publishers in the scholarly space of open access. Notwithstanding more recent efforts, particularly out of Europe with Plan-S,4 to reduce the role of for-profit publishers in the delivery of OA scholarly content, the for profits have played a significant role in contributing to the various access models that define how OA research is brought to the scholar; primarily through hybrid OA
journals and book publishing models and the author-processing-charge (APC). Activists and thought leaders at the forefront of the OA movement, much like the leading thinkers in the OER space, do not view the pace of growth in converting scholarly output to OA as having moved at sufficient pace, but from where I sit as a commentator on broad trends impacting the library, OA has made huge strides. The central question I pose is, what circumstances contributed to the decision by the large textbook and learning companies like Pearson and McGraw Hill to avoid or lightly engage with OER, versus the effort of the large scholarly publishing companies like Elsevier, Wiley and Taylor and Francis in playing such a significant role in OA? There are obvious observations, such as the role of the grant funding model for research, which drives investments across the institution, the integrated place of the journal publisher in the entire research publishing process and the cache of publishing in a top-tier journal. In the end, the researcher simply wants to be published in the best journal, regardless of the access model, and this certainly aided extant journal publishers in remaining relevant as the OA model grew in reach. Or, on the OER side, the rapid growth of creative commons licensing options combined with self-publishing platforms, which encouraged faculty authorship and content sharing for newly created text. But the central observation remains, which is both OA and OER evolved with the intention of widening access and reducing or eliminating costs. On one side the for-profits engaged with reasonable success (at least so far …) and on the other the for-profits refused to enter and have seen drag on market share. What does this bode for the creators and publishers of virtual reality assets to support curriculum and research? Repositories and common metadata, indexing and search standards: Open access scholarly journals and eBook publishers have conformed to the same metadata and indexing standards as their “non-open” forerunners and have, from the beginning, sought to be discoverable in and across all library discovery systems (albeit with mixed success), knowledge bases and principal aggregations. This is to make plain that there has been no significant degradation in the researcher’s access to open access materials as she conducts her search and discovery practice. Of course, open access publishing has increased the appearance of marginal content, but publishers have not continued on page 61
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Blurring Lines from page 60 been immune to this problem and self-publishing has, in general, inured all readers to a heightened degree of awareness about quality. In other words, subpar content is not a specific phenomenon of the open access movement. OER, in quite the opposite manner of what we have witnessed with OA in terms of discovery and access, which conformed to no standards of practice, developed multiple metadata and indexing standards as multiple aggregations for access emerged. If the reader wants to put this statement to the test, I suggest searching “physics” at three of the more prominent OER aggregations: The Open Textbook Library, MERLOT and SUNY OASIS. The result sets are wildly different, and the facets presented to the searcher are entirely dissimilar. Why is it, for example, that the most widely used, widely searched OER physics textbook is not at the top of each search? My intention is not to suggest that the search experience for scholarly OA output is entirely orderly and the search experience for OER is absolute chaos, but there is a striking difference in terms of consistent output and confidence in results. That OA and for-fee journal content can generally be discovered in a single search in most library discovery layers contrasts markedly from the difficulty of discovering OER and for-fee textbooks in a single search. OA publishing emerged in a context of structure and known taxonomy, yet so did OER, that is the syllabus and university curriculum, but OER and for-fee textbooks have never “played” together nicely. There is a rigor inherent in the effort of the for-profit players who helped define the evolution of indexing and metadata standards for OA that one notes missing in the OER movement in which the for-profit learning companies have not participated. OER has grown up with all the positive hallmarks of a social movement: activism, participation, advocacy and the power of word-of-mouth; however, this has meant the sacrifice of indexing and metadata and curation/aggregation standards. How will discovery and access to virtual reality content evolve with for free and for fee content amassing to support the learner and the researcher given what we have seen with OA and OER? The production of scholarly content versus the production of content intended to support curriculum/learning: OA scholarly journals and eBooks exist to support the secondary source research requirements of scholars, be they college freshmen or post-doc fellows. OER textbooks and other learning
Rumors from page 55 Saw the article in the Atlantic (May 26, 2019) “The Books in College Libraries Are Turning Into Wallpaper” by Dan Cohen (Vice
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content exist to support curriculum. Virtual reality content will be deployed and proliferate across both the learning and the research use case. Leading edge researchers in archaeology, for example, will develop highly specific and evolved 3D models to share and revise among other scholars around the world, and they will do so in conjunction with their journal publications, such as we see from The Journal of Visualized Experiments – JoVE. And faculty teaching basic anatomy and physiology will increasingly deploy 3D models of organs rather than using static physical or text-book based models. At present, 360 video, virtual reality video and 3D objects, delivered via browser and accessible with a smart phone and inexpensive attachable devices, is in its infancy on campus, but the use case is growing. At Alexander Street/ ProQuest, in anticipation of this growing use case, we recently launched 360 and VR capabilities in our video player and licensed a body of short form virtual reality documentaries. Augmented reality (AR) content that requires special software and hardware appears to be on a further frontier but is also where much of the research and scholarly innovation is happening. There are many for-profit companies creating VR and 3D content to support curriculum in fields across science, medicine and the humanities. And there are foundations, non-profits, universities and faculty and students working in maker spaces, labs and creative spaces building virtual reality content for the classroom and the workplace; much of this will be open and freely available and some will be created with the intention of commercializing. We will see, again as with OA and OER, a coming together of the for-free and the for-fee with virtual content. Summary: The future of virtual reality content in the university use cases of research and learning will need to resolve the handshake between for fee and for free content. This will need to happen in a structure of metadata and indexing that supports efficient search and discovery and it will need to be done with an eye toward simultaneously representing content for learning and content for research, but with an understanding of the unique dimensions of use inherent in these two distinct university-centered and university-supported practices. If we do not achieve a common indexing and metadata structure for virtual reality content and deliver access to for-free and for-fee content in a unified discovery environment, faculty
will be plagued by the limitations inherent in the current landscape of OER. The for-profit sector will be a vibrant source of innovation, producing content, software and hardware in the virtual reality realm, and this will all need to co-exist with the invaluable contribution of content, software and possibly even hardware from the notfor-profit sector as virtual reality content scales. As a collective body in support of the university library, we need to take on board the successes and the lessons-to-belearned that the OER and OA movements have contributed to our understanding of publishing and aggregation models, metadata, indexing, discovery and business models that support open and for-fee content. From the world of OA scholarly output, we take the example of developing new access models built firmly on existing researcher workflows and systems and tools for curation, aggregation and discovery, so that we might see a reduced access barrier between for fee and for free virtual reality content. From the space of OER we must take on board the power of community to innovate in favor of access that reduces and/ or eliminates barriers, so that the independent producer of virtual reality content can create and disseminate meaningfully alongside the commercial producer. As a columnist and observer of large trends and movements impacting the university library, I cannot predict how access to virtual reality content will evolve, as is obvious from the focus in this column on observations and questions. But I feel certain the library will have its place and that librarians, in particular, will be among the key protagonists answering the questions I have raised.
President for Information Collaboration at Northeastern University). I know, I know, circulation statistics are going down but one of my favorite books of all time is How to Lie With Statistics and that’s what we are seeing now. Electronic resources are being shoved at end users instead of print books. Are use statis-
tics being collected on all these electronic uses? https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/05/college-students-arent-checking-out-books/590305/ There is a new exhibit at the world’s largest cartoon library in Columbus, Ohio. Front
Endnotes 1. Open Educational Resources. (2019, March 7). Retrieved April 8, 2019 from, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_educational_resources. 2. Seaman J. E. and Seaman J. (2018). Freeing the Textbook: Educational Resources in U.S. Higher Education, 2018. Babson Park: Babson Survey Research Group. 3. Open Stax Partners. Retrieved April 8, 2019, from, https://openstax.org/partners. 4. Kelly E. (2018, September 4). EU and national funders launch plan for free and immediate open access to journals. Science Business.
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Epistemology — The Passion of Librarians Column Editor: T. Scott Plutchak (Librarian, Epistemologist, Birmingham, Alabama) <splutchak@gmail.com> http://tscott.typepad.com “She hoped the library could expand and begin loaning more than books; she pictured a storeroom of tennis racquets, footballs, ‘indoor games, magic lanterns…’ The library should be ‘the entertainment and educational center of the city…’” I suppose “magic lanterns” gives it away that this isn’t the vision of some starry-eyed twenty-first century librarian. No, it’s nineteenth century Tessa Kelso, city librarian of Los Angeles, appointed in 1889. One of the many brilliant LA librarians profiled in Susan Orlean’s The Library Book.1 Orlean’s ostensible subject is the fire that destroyed the Los Angeles Public Library in 1986, and the mystery surrounding its origin. Along the way she recounts the history of the LAPL and the stories of the city librarians who built it into the award winner it is today. She weaves into this her personal history with libraries, and, in the telling, sings a song of praise for the role that librarians play in their communities. She refers to libraries as “sanctuaries,” “community centers,” “the people’s university.” They contain “the looping, unending story of who we are.” And in one of my favorite passages, near the end of the book, she refers to the library as a whispering post — “a place where you feel part of a conversation that has gone on for hundreds and hundreds of years even when you’re all alone.” Orlean’s sentences sparkle. More than once my eyes misted, as I was reminded of what a wonder and honor and fine responsibility it is to be a librarian. She captures brilliantly the multitudinousness of a big city library, the thousands of ways the librarians and the library staff make critical differences in the lives of the people they engage with daily. Arin Kasparian, mid-twenties, working the circ desk, applied for a job at LAPL only because his mom wanted him doing something more secure than making sandwiches at Subway. Now he’s planning to go to library school. He talks to Orlean about working with the homeless. At first the sight of them scared him a bit, but now he says that knowing them makes him feel good, gives him energy. “‘It makes me feel… important.’ He sounded a little bashful, and then added, ‘Like I’m doing something that really helps.’” The truths she articulates apply to libraries of all types and sizes. Of course, librarians also tend to be insecure worriers. We get lost in the frustrations of the day and the minutiae of what it takes to get the job done. We worry about our status and our salaries and our job prospects. We get defensive when someone ignorantly publishes an editorial somewhere suggesting that libraries have outlived their usefulness. In one’s dayto-day weariness it can be easy to lose sight of the magnificence of the work we do. When I was starting out in the early eighties, one of the big worries in the profession was that
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there were fewer new librarians. Leaders in the profession wondered where the fiery, passionate librarians who could step in and step up as the older ones moved on would come from. But in the mid-nineties, things began to shift. Librarians became cool. High school students, looking at the adults they knew, focused on the librarians because, “They know the Internet!” Most adults were clueless. Orlean notes that by 1997, library school applications were inching up. “[M]any library science students were coming from backgrounds in arts, or social justice, or technology. … A number of them had tattoos. Many said they were drawn to the profession because it combined information management with public good.” There are many librarians now, scattered across all types of libraries, that channel Tessa Kelso. I follow Justin Hoenke’s blog: Justin the Librarian. Justin runs the Benson Memorial Library, a small (eight staff) rural library in Pennsylvania. His every effort is focused on how his library’s offerings connect to his community. He’s got “LOL: Lunch on the Lawn” with performances by local musicians; just unveiled the online “Benson Memorial Library Obituary index”; sponsored a program on women’s safety (after he and the staff completed the Librarian’s Guide to Homelessness training); and posted on his blog, under the heading “Simplify Your Library,” a probing list of things to consider — the “many little things that public libraries do every day that we should take a step back from, look at with a fresh set of eyes, and ask ‘is this the way we should be doing this?’ and ‘how can we simplify this process to make it easier for our library guests?’” This is all in the last two months. He recently posted a link to an essay by Matt Finch that outlines a mission statement for libraries. Encouraging people to read it, Justin says, “Today’s librarians may carry the same title as those that have come before in the profession but that’s where the similarities stop. It’s a necessary evolution in a profession that has constantly been evolving. The recent rate of transformation in this profession can be dizzying and that’s where Matt’s essay comes in as super inspirational: it is a reminder that the work librarians are doing matters, that it will never stop evolving, and that it is vital to the health of all of our communities.”2 I agree with him almost entirely — except for that first sentence. I greatly admire the work that Justin is doing, and I’m inclined to think that in his enthusiasm he just stated this badly. Because the implication that other than having the same titles, today’s librarians have no similarities to “those who have come before” is flat out wrong. Justin himself is evidence of that.
“Library 2.0” was a thing a decade or so ago. It was driven mostly by people not more than a few years out of library school, afire with the desire to make libraries innovative, welcoming places that used the latest technology to richly connect with their communities. They annoyed the fool out of me. Not their passion — that was great. Not their commitment to making the lives of the people in their communities better through the work they were doing — that was wonderful, just what one hopes to see in newly minted librarians. No, what had me rolling my eyes was their appalling ignorance of the rich history of their profession. There were some bloggers who just used “Library 2.0” as a handy hip tag for being creative with social media and other cutting edge DIY technologies in libraries. That results in some great stuff and some innovative ways for making connections. So I had no quarrel with using the label that way. Not at all. It was the people who thought that their view of an engaged and innovative library operation making use of the latest technology was something radically different from the librarianship of the past that got my back up. Because that’s what the best librarians have always done. The tools were new, but the tools are always new. We like new tools. The intent was the same. In 2003, Katina invited about a dozen librarians to her house for a “Think Tank” session after the conference closed. I knew most of them by reputation, but had only met a couple. The discussion was fascinating and deep and detailed as we tried to sort through some of the possible futures for libraries and librarians in the increasingly digital landscape. We were grappling with the implications of a shift from ownership of physical materials to licensing of digital objects. I remember standing at the door, saying goodbye, with Katina saying earnestly, “What will happen if we’re not building collections anymore? That’s what librarians do!” “But that’s just the means to an end,” I said. “It’s not the end in itself.” It never has been. Now we talk about content management rather than collection development, information literacy rather than bibliographic instruction. Always evolving. But the intent is the same. The most radical of the Library 2.0 proponents were both scolds and cheerleaders. When they looked at the library organizations they found themselves in, too often they saw stagnant, risk-averse institutions, unwilling to make the radical changes they thought necessary. So they mistakenly wrote off the entire profession, proclaimed their new vision, and tried to get everybody on board. continued on page 63
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Marketing Touchpoints — Sustaining But no professional group includes even Authentic Library Brands
Epistemology from page 62
a bare majority of innovative thinkers and risk-takers. This isn’t peculiar to librarians and librarianship. In any profession, every profession, the truly innovative examples come from just those few who we refer to as being on the leading (or bleeding) edge. They drag the rest along, some quite willingly, because they just needed some exemplars, some rather thoughtlessly because they’re really not paying much attention to the shape of the journey, and some kicking and screaming (well, usually whining rather than screaming, but certainly kicking) because they really just want to keep doing things the way they have been. This last group gets far too much attention. They are the least important. Peter Drucker, the management guru, was fond of the Pareto principle — the notion that 20% of the effort produces 80% of the results. The principle can be applied in many ways. One that I’ve always been fond of, and that served me well during my many years as a library director, is that you only need 20% of the group to be actively supporting your vision in order to bring the whole organization along. Let the grumblers grumble. Just don’t let them soak up your oxygen and get in the way. What Orlean’s stories remind us is that there have always been, and always will be, those courageous, eccentric, passionate, and slightly crazed librarians who keep the profession evolving and changing and ever responsive to the needs of their communities. Not every librarian will be like them, but every librarian has the chance to be. In 1987 I moved to St. Louis to work for Judy Messerle. She taught me many things, one of which was that you can have the budget of your dreams, but if you don’t have some great people, you won’t be able to accomplish much. But if you can bring together a few of the right people, you can do anything, even if you’re close to broke. A big city public library or an ARL academic library will have the resources to attempt many projects and programs. But without those few passionate idealists they won’t accomplish nearly as much for their communities as Justin and his team will do for theirs. Be like Tessa. Be like Justin. Be the 20 percent.
Endnotes 1. Orlean, Susan. The Library Book. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2018. 2. Hoenke, Justin. “Anywhere in the universe: a mission for libraries by Matt Finch.” Justin the Librarian. February 22, 2019. https://justinthelibrarian. com/2019/02/22/mattfinchuniverse/
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Column Editor: Jill Heinze (Director, User Experience, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, VA 22904; Phone: 434-243-1368) <jill.ux@virginia.edu>
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any librarians undertake branding efforts because they rightly view them as means to stand out in a world of information abundance and to clarify the value proposition they offer stakeholders. Brands are important because they distill an organization’s identity into a form that users can relate to emotionally. Recently, I had the pleasure of leading a workshop for a group of medical librarians who are refreshing their library’s brand after some internal changes prompted a reevaluation of their service approach. Through our work together, these librarians and I applied some essential branding principles that any librarian should keep in mind as they take on a branding effort.
Branding is a Long Game
An organization’s brand is the ultimate shortcut through people’s otherwise meandering decision-making processes. A strong brand gets audiences’ notice, enthralls their emotions and propels them toward making a quick choice, avoiding detours like considering competitive offerings. Brands also make organizations resilient. People are less likely to abandon a favorite brand because of one or two bad experiences, and they are also more likely to spread the word about a brand they love. These traits make brands among organizations’ most valuable assets. They are so valuable in fact that major global brands have monetary values assigned to them by consultancies like the widely-recognized Interbrand, which, in 2018, ranked Apple as the best global brand with a brand value of more than $214 billion.1 Anecdotally, we customers know the influence brands wield. Whether we’re buying a car, a latte, shoes, or toothpaste, we automatically favor those seemingly superficial details like logos, designs, packaging, and taglines that resonate with our tastes and perceived identities. As influential and valuable as brands can be, they are equally and frustratingly abstract. While Intrabrand may assert Apple’s brand is worth $214 billion, for example, others use different methodologies to arrive at what are often vastly different sums. (Brand Finance ranks Apple the #2 most valuable brand behind Amazon at a relatively paltry $153 billion in 2019, up from $146 billion in 2018.2) The variability is explained, in part, because brands are elusive — they do not exist anywhere but inside one’s mind. Marketing thought leaders recognize this in their definitions of the term. Some have likened brands to a reputation or a promise. According to marketing guru Seth Godin, “A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories, and relationships that, taken
together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another.”3 In the face of so much ambiguity about what a brand is, it is tempting to focus on those things that are more concrete and quickly changed, such as logos. Logos are important brand signifiers, but they are not the brand. It is more accurate to think of a brand using one of the definitions above. If, for example, a brand is like a reputation, how would you go about shaping it? Most likely you would identify the kinds of associations you want to nurture, and you would use every interpersonal interaction to reinforce them. Consider, for example, how librarians at the Architecture Library at Ball State University approached their rebranding initiative. They first determined that their brand is student-focused and emphasizes the contemporary built environment.4 Then, they identified points of contact with their users that would serve to strengthen those notions. Notably, they used their collections to “broadcast the library brand” by strategically displaying attractive book covers and using scanned versions in their class presentations.5 Rather than relying on a clever tagline, these librarians sought every available opportunity to demonstrate their unique offerings (attractive collections), thereby “micro-branding” themselves continuously and consistently over time.
Find Your Brand Blind Spots
Whether you’re aware of it or not, you have a brand. The earliest public libraries in the United States started emerging around the early nineteenth century. Every day since, libraries’ brands have been maturing and evolving in ways that are both a help and a hindrance to sustaining stakeholder support and modernizing collections and services. OCLC’s 2018 report, “From Awareness to Funding: Voter Perceptions and Support of Public Libraries in 2018,” reveals that a majority of voters view their local public library as essential, but a declining number indicate they value the free access to books and computers libraries provide.6 Studies like these that illuminate what does and does not spark an emotional connection with users are branding prerequisites (though you’re likely to conduct them on a smaller scale). Without knowing how people currently think and feel, it’s difficult to determine what changes, if any, are worthwhile. Relatedly, staff need to uncover their current brand and envision what it could be in the future. During my time with medical library staff, we watched a video of Neil Blumenthal, founder of the popular ecommerce eyewear company Warby Parker. In it, Blumenthal beautifully relates a fundamental brand truth: “...we’re in a time where authenticity matters most. And you continued on page 64
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Marketing Touchpoints from page 63 need a reason for doing everything that you do. And the brand should be that reason. But it only has credibility if there’s depths [sic] to the brand. You really want to start from the core essence of why you’re doing what you’re doing.”7 The task before librarians, then, is to find that honest, core essence from which all other branding considerations follow. To begin this effort, we worked in groups to sketch social media profiles for what participants imagined their brand to be. I asked each group to draw a profile picture of their brand as if it were a person, and write answers to the following prompts: favorite quote, what patrons would describe them as, likes, dislikes, a short story about themselves, and what makes them special. Participants agreed this was an exceptionally illuminating activity. Profile pictures ranged from an octopus-like creature to a girl wearing glasses and a stethoscope. Responses to the prompts were equally diverse. For example, participants indicated their brand was special for all sorts of reasons from
comfy couches to being dependable to being open to everyone. The exercise demonstrated that we as librarians often have different and even competing ideas about who we are as a collective organization, which inevitably leads to a murky brand identity. Making time for conversation-generating exercises like the profile picture exercise help clarify your sense of who you are while giving users a personal affinity they can easily recognize.
Conclusion
Ultimately, it will be up to users to decide if your brand is one they want to connect with. Brands, like any other relationship, are grounded in mutual understanding and acceptance, and develop gradually over time. As you think about your work building collections, enabling discovery, and preserving cultural heritage, think too about how your approach to these everyday tasks fulfills, or breaks, the brand promises you make to users. The potential reward for faithfully articulating and keeping your promises is a strong brand that drives long-term support and allows your offerings to stand out from the rest.
Endnotes 1. Interbrand. Apple. (2018). https://www. interbrand.com/best-brands/best-globalbrands/2018/ranking/apple/ 2. “Global 500 2019: The Annual Report on the World’s Most Valuable and Strongest Brands,” Brand Finance, 2019, 9. https:// brandfinance.com/images/upload/global_500_2019_locked_1.pdf 3. Seth Godin, “define: Brand” Seth’s Blog, 2009, https://seths.blog/2009/12/ define-brand/. 4. Amy Trendler, “Branding the Branch: A Case Study in Marketing the Architecture Library at Ball State University,” Art Documentation: Journal of the Art Libraries Society of North America, 35, no. 2 (2016): 133. 5. Ibid., 136. 6. OCLC and American Library Association. 2018. From Awareness to Funding: Voter Perceptions and Support of Public Libraries in 2018. Dublin, OH: OCLC: 6, 9. 7. Neil Blumenthal, “Neil Blumenthal on Branding,” Lynda.com, (2016): https://www. lynda.com/course-tutorials/Neil-Blumenthal-Branding/459103-2.html.
And They Were There Reports of Meetings — 38th Annual Charleston Conference Column Editors: Ramune K. Kubilius (Galter Health Sciences Library & Learning Center, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine) <r-kubilius@northwestern.edu> and Sever Bordeianu (Head, Print Resources Section, University Libraries, MSC05 3020, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001; Phone: 505-277-2645; Fax: 505-277-9813) <sbordeia@unm.edu>
Issues in Book and Serial Acquisition, “Oh, Wind, if Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?” Charleston Gaillard Center, Francis Marion Hotel, Embassy Suites Historic Downtown, and Courtyard Marriott Historic District — Charleston, SC, November 5-9, 2018 Charleston Conference Reports compiled by: Ramune K. Kubilius (Galter Health Sciences Library & Learning Center, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine) <r-kubilius@northwestern.edu> Column Editor’s Note: Thanks to all of the Charleston Conference attendees who agreed to write short reports highlighting sessions they attended at the 2018 Charleston Conference. Attempts were made to provide a broad coverage of sessions, but there are always more sessions than there are reporters. Some presenters posted their slides and handouts in the online conference schedule. Please visit the conference site, http://www.charlestonlibraryconference.com/, and link to selected videos, interviews, as well as to blog reports written by Charleston Conference blogger, Donald Hawkins. The 2018 Charleston Conference Proceedings will be published in 2019, in partnership with Purdue University Press: http://www.thepress. purdue.edu/series/charleston. In this issue of ATG you will find the third installment of 2018 conference reports. The first two installments can be found in ATG v.31#1, February 2019 and v.31#2, April 2019. We will continue to publish all of the reports received in upcoming print issues throughout the year. — RKK
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2018 MORNING PLENARY SESSIONS Keynote Plenary: Navigating Access to Knowledge: Copyright, Fake News, Fair Use, and Libraries — Presented by Ruth Okediji (Harvard Law School) and Ann Okerson (Center for Research Libraries, moderator) — https://sched.co/G65z Reported by Ramune K. Kubilius (Northwestern University, Galter Health Sciences Library & Learning Center) <r-kubilius@northwestern.edu> Introduced by Okerson, the accomplished Okediji transitioned from her 2017 conference role as a “Long Arm of the Law” speaker. Her keynote was woven not only with threads that were evidence of her legal expertise, but also with memories illustrating her admiration for continued on page 65
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And They Were There from page 64 libraries and their roles (as a civic infrastructure, leveler of society, and a trusted institution to this day, even by millennials). She highlighted how the original design of the copyright law has evolved. Libraries are not just stakeholders but also anchors (and the role must remain robust). During Q&A, she perhaps surprised some audience members when she expressed her discomfort with the role of librarians as copyright officers — she feels that libraries should reclaim their distinctive role and not serve as enforcers. The Charleston Conference blog report about this session by Donald Hawkins can be found at: https://www.against-the-grain. com/2018/11/the-thursday-keynote-navigating-access-to-informationand-libraries-in-the-digital-age-copyright-fake-news-and-ai/.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2018 NEAPOLITAN SESSIONS Blockchain: The big picture for publishing — Presented by Joris van Rossum (Digital Science) and Anthony Watkinson (CIBER Research, moderator) — https://sched.co/G8SJ Reported by Nicole Eva (University of Lethbridge) <nicole.eva@uleth.ca> Van Rossum, Digital Science, did a good job of making a previously incomprehensible (for this reporter) topic understandable. He started off listing the current problems with scholarly communication (reproducibility; limitation of metrics; problems with peer review; and commercialization) and how blockchain can potentially help solve them. He suggested blockchain could be used to give credit for peer review by providing “tokens” which could then be redeemed for APCs, and as an efficient way to manage digital rights (as opposed to micropayments) for downloads. He also suggested that blockchain could protect your IP, in that you can prove you uploaded something but it also protects your privacy — in this way, it could provide you a token in recognition that you’ve shared your data, but protect your IP as well as allow others to “pay” for your data. The way blockchain facilitates data storage — distributed, decentralized, and transparent — allows you to share information (for example, in a peer review) while remaining anonymous, in addition to being more efficient (tracking who’s been asked to review, an auditable trail which allows you to track a review’s history). Some drawbacks: bitcoin uses a lot of energy, it’s not yet capable of holding a lot of data, and it is slow, all things that will hopefully be solved in time.
A Spring of Collaboration: A NISO Update of Strategy, Trends, & Industry Collaboration on Discovery & Interchange — Presented by Robert Hollandsworth (Clemson University), Gaëlle Béquet (ISSN International Centre), Jason Price (SCELC (Statewide California Electronic Library Consortium)), Christine Stohn (Ex Libris), and Julie Zhu (IEEE) — https://sched.co/G8SI Reported by Ramune K. Kubilius (Northwestern University, Galter Health Sciences Library & Learning Center) <r-kubilius@northwestern.edu> The session, introduced in its abstract as a “robust introduction to the work of NISO IDI, the Information Discovery and Interchange topic committee” indeed was both robust and an introduction, not only to the work of the committee, but to NISO itself, beginning with an organizational chart view of NISO. The focus of this session was on several topic committees: discovery systems, transfer of data, user experience, and web services. Highlights were provided on the ODI
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(Open Discovery Initiative) working group, KBART (Knowledge Bases and Related Tools). There was an opportunity to learn more about the NISO Transfer Standing Committee, and so much more. Each working group and committee has stated goals and initiatives, and involves many players-librarians, publishers, service providers. Recommended practices, conformance statements, fair linking, transparency, meaningful usage, additional metadata, recommended practices — all include both NISO members and collaborators. More details can be found in the NISO Strategic Directions report: https://www.niso.org/publications/ niso-strategic-directions-2018.
Sustainable Open Access Approaches: Benefits for Researchers, Librarians, and Publishers — Presented by Caroline Campbell (IGI Global), Diane Fulkerson (University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee), Julia Gelfand (University of California, Irvine), Mehdi Khosrow-Pour (IGI Global), and Kevin Sayar (ProQuest) — https://sched.co/G8SK Reported by Ramune K. Kubilius (Northwestern University, Galter Health Sciences Library) <r-kubilius@northwestern.edu> Campbell moderated the session. Fulkerson mentioned the evolution and movement towards sustainable OA, from the Budapest, Bethesda, and Berlin declarations. Where are we now? Green, Gold, Gratis, Libre, Diamond, with APCs, and predatory players. Remove barriers to price and copyright, and the only limit would be attribution. Faculty need support and identification of OA journals with high impact. She pointed out the Feb. 2018 article in Peer J by Heather Piwowar et al. called “The state of OA: a large-scale analysis of the prevalence and impact of Open Access articles” (https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.4375). Gelfand talked about equalizers to access, and how OA influences libraries, from ILL (free copies will prevail), to collaboration on scaling of metadata, the IR role (especially when an OA mandate is in place), and the possibilities offered for libraries as publishers. The role of ILS and discovery layers may fade, she contended. OA is here to grow and expand. Sayar discussed the dynamic market: the robust workflow of scholarly communication has no shortage of activities. His contention: OA is not intended to impact scholarly communication. Rather, it’s about cost and value (impacting usage and distributing cost), a shift to authors. Libraries are adjusting cost structures associated with APCs and other fees. Much remains to be learned in order to make it all sustainable. Khosrow-Pour described an IGI Global pilot project (he called it “alternative” project) with IGI’s OA fund that is available to subscribing institutions’ authors. He admitted a con to this approach: a potential lack of diversity. The Charleston Conference blog report about this session by Donald Hawkins can be found at: https://www.against-the-grain. com/2018/11/sustainable-open-access-approaches-benefits-for-researchers-librarians-and-publishers/.
Throwing Back the Curtain: A Candid Conversation about Negotiating — Presented by Adam Chesler (AIP Publishing, moderator), Ashley Fast Bailey (GOBI Library Solutions from EBSCO), Jeremy Garskof (Gettysburg College), Melissa Oakes (ProQuest), and Doug Way (University of Wisconsin-Madison) — https://sched.co/G8SL Reported by Martha Smith (Winthrop University) <smithms@winthrop.edu> Many of us find ourselves in the position of negotiating contract terms, yet most of us have never received any kind of training. The presenters — 2 librarians and 2 vendors — shared several things for parties to consider when entering a negotiation. For example, the vendor continued on page 68
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ATG Food + Beverage Roundup — Washington, DC Column Editors: Nicole Ameduri (Licensing Manager, Springer Nature) <Nicole.ameduri@springernature.com> and Melanie Masserant (Account Development Manager, Springer Nature) <Melanie.masserant@springernature.com> www.springernature.com Introduction by Leah Hinds, Executive Director, Charleston Library Conference: ATG is excited to present a brand new column, “ATG Food + Beverage Roundup,” by Nicole Ameduri and Melanie Masserant of Springer Nature. The idea came about from a conversation between Nicole, Melanie, Tom Gilson, myself, and a few others at the Springer Nature booth during ALA Midwinter 2019 in Seattle. Tom and I were joking that each time we stopped by a booth to chat with our Charleston Conference sponsors and ATG supporters, the topic of food and cocktails always came up when Charleston is the topic. We’d ask, “What’s your favorite restaurant in Charleston?” and everyone had a different answer. Food and drinks can make or break a good conference experience! Although Charleston has no shortage of wonderful restaurants, having suggestions for which ones to try out as well as what the signature dishes or signature cocktails are for each location is invaluable information to get the most bang for your buck in Charleston. The conversation turned to the myriad locations for various conferences and meetings in the information industry throughout the year, and Nicole mentioned that she keeps a running list of the best restaurants, and Melanie keeps tabs on bars she frequents when she travels. Tom and I said that it would make a great column for ATG, that our readers would appreciate the information and suggestions, and it took off from there. We’re happy that Nicole and Melanie agreed to contribute their food + beverage knowledge for the greater good of the ATG and Charleston audiences, and we look forward to trying some of their suggestions at ALA Annual in Washington! — LH Nicole Ameduri, Springer Nature Licensing Manager loves eating her way through conferences. Through some random twist of fate or luck, she ended up with a number of chefs, restaurant managers, famous sommeliers and food writers in her close circle of friends. They have steered her in the right direction for every destination on her calendar. Melanie Masserant, Springer Nature Account Development Manager fancies unique cocktails while gallivanting to conferences across Canada and the U.S. She collects interesting cocktail vinegars and syrups to concoct her own creations. Her favorite is a Bloody Mary mixed bourbon, cider vinegar and pickle juice. We’re excited to share fabulous DC restaurants and bars with you!
Restaurants
#1. Minibar: This two Michelin-starred restaurant is the most popular of all-star chef José Andrés’ original restaurants. Offering a
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tasting menu presented around an open kitchen, Minibar is more of a food lab than traditional dining room. It’s a study in avant-garde cooking, where each bite is designed to thrill the senses by pushing the limits of what we have come to expect — and what is possible — from food. The creations combine art and science, as well as tradition and technique. This imaginative and progressive tasting menu is done in shifts for groups of six. Reservations are required. Address: 855 E St NW, Washington, DC 20004, minibarbyjoseandres.com/. #2. Le Diplomate: Stephen Starr’s French restaurant is popular among DC’s social set — countless U.S. and world leaders dine here. Its Paris bistro vibe pays homage to french café culture by providing a comfortable and versatile gathering place. The extensive menu features Gallic classics — onion soup gratinée, steak frites and escargots — along with daily plates like bouillabaisse and cassoulet. Address: 1601 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20009, lediplomatedc.com/. #3. Oficina: Fresh on the scene last October, chef Nicholas Stefanelli’s Oficina is a create-yourown foodie adventure that spans three floors. The first floor is a café, bar and market/ butcher shop; the second is a trattoria and bar; and the third features a terrace and fire pits. Oficina serves classic Italian fare along with adventurous dishes. The Burrata is imported from Puglia, and the octopus is one among their popular dishes. Great for large groups. Reservations are recommended. Address: 1120 Maine Ave SW, Washington, DC 20024, officinadc.com/. #4. Little Serow: Little Serow (rhymes with sparrow) is James Beard award winner Johnny Monis’s Northern Thai restaurant in Dupont Circle. This casual sister to Monis’s fine dining restaurant Komi serves Issaan cuisine. Its affordable $54 tasting menu includes seven courses. Dinner is spicy and almost always includes pork, seafood and nuts. A Singha beer or sweet rice milk will offset the food’s considerable spice. The offerings are always changing, but a few favorites include khao soi with egg noodles, laap gai chiang mai with chicken or whiskey pork ribs. You can peer into the kitchen and see all the action right from your table! Address: 1511 17th St NW, Washington, DC 20036, littleserow.com/. #5. DBGB: My favorite NYC restauranteur Daniel Boulod headlines this sleek City Center DC brasserie. It offers textbook perfect renditions of French classics with casual American
fare. House-made sausage plates are wonderful, especially the Thai pork with basil fried rice or Moroccan lamb marguez. Other favorites include shishito peppers with soy and cured egg yok, tuna crudo and steak tartare. Save room for dessert — their baked Alaska with mandarin sorbet, dark chocolate and vanilla ice creams and a vanilla vodka igniter is the best in town. Address: 931 H St NW, Washington, DC 20001, https://www.dbgb.com/.
Bars #1. Tiki TNT Bar: Party like a pirate! This giant Tiki bar and riverside rum distillery features three bar areas across three stories. Their Captain Morgan spiced rum and cola slurpee served in a beheaded Coke can is a house favorite — and a throwback to owner Todd Thrasher’s first ever illicit drink. Tiki TNT’s classic “cheeky but still Tiki” cocktails include mai tais, zombies and pina coladas, to the not so classic Tiki cocktail “This Will Make Your Belly Feel Better, I Promise” which mixes Cruzan Black Strap rum, Branca Menta, mint simple syrup and mint bitters. Thrasher — a three-time James Beard Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional semi-finalist — also serves his own brand of Thrasher’s Rum that is distilled on premise by his Potomac Distilling Company. Address: 1130 Maine Ave SW, Washington, DC 20024, tikitnt.com/. #2: Green Zone: This Middle Eastern craft cocktail bar has finally found a permanent space in the multi-cultural Morgan Adams neighborhood, after touring DC as a pop-up. Leaving the World Bank to concoct cocktails, Iraqi owner Chris Francke has created over 100 recipes that appear on the often changing menu. The lineup includes a classic like the Janisary Corps — made with local Green Hat gin, pistachios and lemon. They also serve a small variety of wines, beers and non-alcoholic drinks. After loosening up from libations explore the upper level to shimmy and shake to Middle Eastern and Latin tracks. Address: 2226 18th St NW, Washington, DC 20009. #3: Sidecar Bar & Lounge: Be the epitome of librarian studiousness while sipping classic cocktails in a historical atmosphere. The new bar area at Georgetown’s 1789 Restaurant features a long mahogany bar, wooden columns and leather seating. Notable drinks include the Irish old fashioned — with Jameson Black Barrel whiskey — and the namesake sidecar with spiced pear liqueur, brandy, triple sec and lemon. Address: 1226 36th St NW, Washington, DC 20007.
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Let’s Get Technical — Migration Items in Alma by Kristen Fredericksen (Information Processing Librarian, The Catholic University of America) <frederik@cua.edu> Column Editors: Stacey Marien (Acquisitions Librarian, American University Library) <smarien@american.edu> and Alayne Mundt (Resource Description Librarian, American University Library) <mundt@american.edu> Column Editor Note: In this issue’s column, we profile how one library tackled a post-migration cleanup project. Kristen Fredericksen, Information Processing Librarian at Catholic University, describes the process that went into cleaning up items that did not migrate with the proper process type to Alma. — SM & AM
The Situation
After The Catholic University of America migrated to Alma from Voyager on July 26, 2018, there were 23,537 physical items with process type Technical – Migration. These were items whose Voyager item status did not have an equivalent in Alma, so they were marked with a generic process status. It seems like a high number, but it represents only 2.1% of the approximately 1,121,552 physical item records migrated from Voyager. Despite the relatively small number of affected items, there was substantial impact on both staff and patrons. The items became unavailable to end users, even if they might have been on the shelf. Staff could not identify the true status of these items, since Technical – Migration is a catchall term that encompasses almost all Voyager statuses except Charged and Not Charged. In the Ex Libris Voyager ILS, an item status can be either functional or informative. There are 25 item statuses, some of which are applied automatically by the system, while others are applied manually by staff. One item can have multiple item statuses. The following statuses used by Catholic University became Technical – Migration: • At Bindery • Charged • Claims Returned • Damaged • Hold Request • In Process • Lost--Library Applied • Lost--System Applied • Not Charged • Renewed • Withdrawn Ex Libris Alma has a different approach to item status. Every item has a base status, which indicates whether an item is in place or not in place. Items may also have a process type, which signifies that the item is undergoing some type of activity: • Acquisition • Claimed Returned • Hold Shelf • Loan • Lost • Managed by Department • Missing • Not in Process • Resource Sharing Request • Technical – Migration • Transit In most cases, there is no direct correlation between Voyager item statuses and Alma process types. Charged and Renewed items should migrate as Loan; Missing should migrate as Missing. For all items whose Voyager item status does not map to an Alma process type, Alma assigns the process type Technical – Migration and puts the Voyager item status in item internal note 3. I needed a plan to remove this process type and, if necessary, assign a new status or process type. I decided to handle the items according to their original status(es)
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in Voyager, so I ran an analysis in Alma Analytics to generate all items with process type Technical – Migration and the text of internal note 3. Unfortunately, I discovered that the Voyager item status did not migrate to the note field for 2,510 items. I reported this to Ex Libris after a test load of our data, but Ex Libris stated that this was expected behavior for items with lost statuses. However, I realized after final migration that some items with lost statuses did have the right information in the item note field while the information did not migrate for other items without lost statuses. In addition, the contents of the item note were not reader friendly, so they had to be parsed in Microsoft Excel. This was the format of a typical note: ON_RESERVE: N | RESERVE_CHARGES: 0 | RECALLS_ PLACED: 0 | HOLDS_PLACED: 0 | HISTORICAL_BOOKINGS: 0 | SHORT_LOAN_CHARGES: 0 | 20130424: Missing; Given the lack of data for some items and the non-ideal formatting of the data that did migrate, I decided to rely on the data in our old ILS. I still had access to Voyager reporting, so I exported the list of barcodes from Alma and ran an Access query on their original status(es) in Voyager. There were 19 items without barcodes, so I used their Voyager item ID instead. I used the data from that query to divide the items into groups according to statuses. I then created itemized sets in Alma for each group. These were the final categories:
About 3,000 items had more than one item status in Voyager, but I felt that it was only worthwhile to subdivide the items with status Lost-System Applied. This status is applied to items that have been overdue for a period defined by the library. Therefore, it makes sense that an item would have two statuses: Lost--System Applied and Overdue. It does not make sense for an item to have statuses Lost-System Applied and Not Charged, since an item had to be checked out to a patron to become Lost--System Applied. These incongruous statuses were likely the result of improper procedures at some point during Catholic University’s 20-year history with Voyager. continued on page 68
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Let’s Get Technical from page 67 The Process
The procedure for removing the Technical – Migration process type in Alma is not intuitive, but it is simple: 1. Create a set of physical items (either itemized or logical). 2. Run the Change physical items job on that set. a. Check the box next to the Change Type dropdown menu and select Permanent. b. Check the box next to the Missing status dropdown menu and leave it blank. As I worked my way through the categories, a few overarching strategies became clear. • Items that were in use at the time of migration ° The Head of Preservation confirmed that 316 of the items with Voyager status At Bindery were in fact at the bindery, so she created work orders for them. 231 of the items had been returned from the bindery, so I removed the process type by running the Change physical items job as described above. 4 items are still being evaluated. ° The items with Voyager statuses Charged, Hold Request, and Renewed were at some stage of the circulation process at the time of migration. Most of them were probably still checked out to patrons. Access Services staff verified that the circulation status of the items was properly reflected in Alma, so I removed the Technical – Migration process type. • Items that were definitely missing ° Statuses Lost--Library Applied and Missing were applied in Voyager by Catholic University staff after searching for the items multiple times, so I was certain that they were not on the shelf. I changed their status with the Change physical items job, except I selected Missing in the dropdown menu instead of leaving it blank.
And They Were There from page 65 should know who in the library makes the purchasing decisions, and when and how those decisions are made. In a world of zero change in spending, or reduced budgets, the vendor should be able to describe how a product or service is different from others the library already has, and how the expenditure would reflect the library’s values. Vendors can’t assume that all academic research libraries are the same, and should avoid treating smaller schools as an afterthought. For their part, libraries need to understand that the vendors have profit margins to meet or have a mission to fulfill, that they have costs that need to be covered, and that the representatives have goals that they need to meet. Also, there is a learning curve for new reps, and librarians should be prepared to provide them with the information they need to best serve the institution, and be understanding if they don’t have immediate answers to questions. Negotiations will always go smoother if both parties come to the table with a good understanding of each other. This requires relationship-building. The better the parties know each other, the better they will be able to work together to find solutions.
That’s all the reports we have room for in this issue. Watch for more reports from the 2018 Charleston Conference in upcoming issues of Against the Grain. Presentation material (PowerPoint slides, handouts) and taped session links from many of the 2018 sessions are available online. Visit the Conference Website at www. charlestonlibraryconference.com. — KS
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• Items that needed to be searched ° Lost--System Applied is applied automatically by the system in Voyager, so I couldn’t be sure if these items were truly missing, especially since they all had at least one additional status: ∆ Claims Returned items had not officially been changed to Missing, so they could be on the shelf. ∆ In Transit Discharged items were most likely on the shelf but had not been received properly at their final destination. ∆ Damaged items could have been discarded because they were no longer usable, or they could still be in circulation. ∆ Not Charged items should have migrated to Alma without a problem, so they also needed to be checked. ° Access Services staff searched for 3,023 items in these categories. ∆ They located 123 items, so I removed their Technical – Migration process type. ∆ They did not locate 2,896 items, so I changed their status to Missing. ∆ I determined that 4 of the items were not real inventory, so I deleted them. ∆ I also used the Change physical items job to set some items’ physical condition to Damaged. • Items left over from institutional projects ° The items with Voyager status In Process had been cataloged and labeled with the plan of sending them to our shared collections facility. However, other work in the Preservation Department took precedence, and it will be a while before we can send them. They were already suppressed from discovery, so I left them unchanged. ° The items with Voyager statuses Lost--System Applied and Charged were located at our shared collections facility, so I removed the Technical – Migration process type. The lost status was probably due to improper processing and the charged status reflected the practice of checking items out to the shared collections facility. ° The items with Voyager status Withdrawn will need more substantial work than a Change physical items job. I need to determine whether we have withdrawn all copies of a title. In some cases, I will be able to delete items and records, but I will retain some information about the titles in case Catholic University wants to claim access through HathiTrust in the future. In other cases, I will only be able to suppress some holdings and item records.
The Results and Lessons Learned
Catholic University is nearing the end of the project to handle the 23,537 items that were assigned the Technical – Migration process type after migration from Voyager. Although the process might seem daunting, it is manageable if you analyze the list in terms of functional categories. The bulk of the work lies in checking the stacks for items that might not be missing. Even though Catholic University had completed a full inventory a few years before migration, we still had a lot of cleanup and this project was an excellent opportunity to do that work. There are some steps that can be taken prior to migration to reduce the work of removing the Technical – Migration process type, although it is not possible to avoid the situation altogether. Unfortunately, Voyager does not allow you to remove system-applied statuses, but you can simplify your work by reducing the number of staff-applied statuses. For instance, change Lost--Library Applied to Missing, since that is the Alma equivalent. Second, be sure to save a list of these items before you lose access to Voyager in case you need information that doesn’t migrate. Finally, have a plan in place for how you want to deal with the remaining statuses so that you can fix them before they cause trouble for staff and patrons.
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ATG Special Report — Serendipity of the Hats by Curtis Michelson (Founder and Principal, Minds Alert, LLC) <curtis@minds-alert.com> Introduction
In the following article “Serendipity of the Hats,” Curtis Michelson discusses a poster presentation at the 2018 Charleston Conference poster session* that really “jumped out” at him. The poster was entitled “Scrumming the Library Materials Budget” and Curtis was intrigued by a specific word in the title. The word “scrumming” is more associated with software and app development than libraries, so naturally, he wondered what was going on. Curious to get the full story, Curtis decided to interview poster presenters Raimonda Margjoni and Michelle McClure, librarians in the Acquisitions and Collections Services Department at George A. Smathers Libraries at the University of Florida. In “Serendipity of the Hats,” Curtis shares what he learned about how Raimonda and Michelle along with their colleagues in the A&S Unit Raimonda Margjoni and Michelle McClure used the Scrum framework from the “Agile” project management system in front of their poster session. to make sense of the intricate process of developing the annual materials budget allocation. It’s a fascinating story of how a team of innovative librarians recognized app building. So, how did two curious library how skills developed for another discipline could be applied to successfully managing library professionals from the University of Florida workflows. — Tom Gilson, Associate Editor, ATG and Director of the Charleston Conference get exposed to this Agile language and how did Poster Session they apply agile project management and agile product development approaches to library budgeting? t Charleston 2018, there were some hears every day, unless you’ve worked with “It was complete serendipity finding agile really great poster sessions. But one software development teams and you are native for the library” said Raimonda Margjoni poster in particular jumped out at me. to their specialized mumbo-jumbo with words and Michelle McClure from University of It was titled “Scrumming the Library Materi- like “sprints,” “scrums,” “standups” and other Florida’s George A. Smather’s libraries. als Budget.” “Scrumming” is not a verb one terms common to their “agile” approach to continued on page 70
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ATG Special Report from page 69 “Serendipity — how so?” I asked. Thus, began my interview with the duo. The serendipitous moment came when Raimonda first saw an email sent to library staff early last year for “learning agile” and it was being offered, of course, at the library. They signed up. The course they took was offered for free at the Marston Science Library in two sessions over two days by one of the school’s professors Dr. Benjamin Lok and an instructional designer Margeaux Johnson — part 1: Agile in general and part 2: Scrum. For Lok, it was sort of a “give back.” He is a tenured UofF professor, with a PhD in computer science from UNC, and the creator of patented VR technology that helped launch one of Gainesville’s entrepreneurial success stories — Shadow Health (https://www.shadowhealth.com/). Today, Lok balances his time researching and teaching and helping research future markets for the business of his company. But providing free courses on agile and scrum to his alma mater feels right. In fact, he actively develops agile curriculum. One of the most popular courses is “VR for Social Good” in which the emphasis is on developing empathy, for teams to self-organize and work in small increments showing their work every two weeks. Everyone stays on their toes because each team must demo at the end and receive 360 degree evaluations from their peers. As a sometimes teacher of agile methodologies myself to software teams, I was curious to hear the librarians’ impressions. The classes were less theory and more practice. They engaged in a variety of exercises and games to illustrate classic mandates of agile team collaboration — limit work-in-process to get focus, re-orient conversations around value (outcome, instead of output), be transparent, make your work visible to everyone, do just enough research instead of all upfront, check-in with your team every day. These classic agile principles were codified for the software community into a manifesto (https:// agilemanifesto.org/) back in 2001. It has been translated into 63 languages and boasts millions of signatories. For more about agile and scrum, see: http://bit.ly/history-scrum.
As Raimonda and Michelle described to me what they learned in the course and how they decided to apply it to their library budget context, I was struck both by their enthusiasm and their humility. “I don’t claim to know everything,” says Raimonda, “but the whole framework for collaboration just made sense.” When I ask Michelle in particular what seemed most apropros to library budgeting, she said “the ability to adapt and to take work in increments and share it with the team.” How did they actually apply scrum techniques to their budgeting team processes? They work in the Accounting & Serials (A&S) Unit of the Acquisitions and Collections Services (ACS) Department, specifically supporting the library’s materials budgets; essentially, the process of developing annual materials budget allocations. That process begins each year at George A. Smathers in the November-December timeframe with inputs from the prior fiscal year’s final budget and culminates as expenditure commitments increase in a finalized fiscal year budget. Since the majority of the materials budget is allocated and spent on continuing e-resources (87%), they must insure all prior commitments on e-resources are paid and essentially all rows and columns add up before they can begin the next fiscal year. I asked what might be an example of how they improved their process with the inspiration from scrum and agile. “In the past, we would have rushed to clear up all the invoices with unspent funds but the process was random and ad-hoc,” said Raimonda. By putting a discipline together and visualizing their work on large boards around the office and communicating with re-occurring weekly touch-base meetings amongst themselves and with the E-Resources Unit, work in flight was much easier to allocate and answers easier to chase down. The revised process naturally forced a new pattern of communication, with every few days seeing some impromptu status updates from vendors. With the just-in-time information, they continually re-adjust their plan. Continually adapting to changing circumstances is the very definition of agility. Bravo! When I asked Raimonda and Michelle for a recent example of how this played out in practice, they described a commitment the
What is Scrum?
Scrum is one of several project management and collaboration methods that software teams invented over the past few decades to improve their ability to go from idea to finished good. Scrum in particular was one of the solutions to the perennial problem of bridging the communications gap between business people and technical teams. Today scrum is one of many methods under the general rubric of “agile.” Created by Jeff Sutherland and his team, inspired by research at Bell Labs and MIT, the scrum process they created has (for better or worse) become synonymous with agile. For a simple layman’s description of scrum, watch this quick 5-minute video (http://bit.ly/structure-scrum) to hear Jeff Sutherland explain why and how they designed it.
About the Charleston Conference Poster Session The 2018 edition of the Charleston Conference Poster Session more than lived up to the high standards set by past sessions. Presenters took advantage of the opportunity to describe new programs, demonstrate practical problem-solving, discuss innovative methodologies, and report the results of recent research. Showcasing a total of 36 posters, the 2018 poster session dealt with topics of interest ranging from data analysis to the role of subject liaisons and from international copyright to discovery and access. The hour-long session drew 250300 attendees who took advantage of the opportunity to visit with poster presenters, discuss their work and ask questions while enjoying refreshments and a cash bar. Added to that, in an adjacent room, virtual posters — PDF poster images — of many of the posters were displayed on large flat screen monitors at six viewing stations. Attendees were able to examine these virtual posters in detail and send themselves copies of favorite posters and contact the presenters directly via email. After the conference all the virtual posters are accessible by clicking the “Past Conferences” drop down menu on the Charleston Conference homepage (https://charlestonlibraryconference.com/). It is easy to see why the poster session has proven to be one of the most popular events held during the Charleston Conference. So, if your library has developed an innovative program, a new service, or a unique problem-solving solution, consider submitting a poster proposal for the 2019 Charleston Conference poster session. Who knows, you may find yourself chatting with Curtis as he plans to praise your efforts in a future article.
University had with a society publisher who had (unbeknownst to the library) switched from self-publishing to working with a major publisher. Adding to the confusion was the fact that the library already subscribed to a journal package from that publisher but this material was not included. In this scenario in the past, the subscription to this material would not have been auto-renewed, just dropped and online access lost. And it would have resulted in the publisher not getting paid and disgruntled emails passing back and forth between professors and the library. There was a budgetary impact too. With transfer to the major publisher, the cost of the subscription increased by 85%. It took the whole team a continued on page 71
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ATG Special Report from page 70 lot of communication to chase it all down, but if you look at their beautiful workflow graphic (see page 69), the advantage to working in more like a scrum workflow was the intensified collaboration with their stakeholders and the timely budget updates shared across their team. “Our success depends on the timely responses of 3rd parties, it’s the nature of renewals” said Michelle. I told them that an old saw in the agile community is scrum doesn’t solve your problem, it shines a bright light on your problems. “Exactly” they said. Raimonda and Michelle are not alone. Many are experimenting with agile in their part of the business now. But I must candidly admit, in my travels around libraries and higher-ed, these two appear to be pioneers, certainly some of the early adopters. Various industries, including higher education, are testing out agile principles for all kinds of knowledge work. Agile procurement. Agile Budgeting. Agile Marketing. There is a global “Agile Beyond IT” conversation and of course an associated hashtag #AgileBeyondIT (try it on Twitter). To see one of the most developed sites on the web explaining in beautiful detail the full flowering of agile beyond IT, check out the Business Agility Institute (https://businessagility.institute/). Friends, the moral of this story is, if you see a flyer on your campus about agile, grab it. Or more to the point, and in the spirit of agility, reach out to your colleagues and ask them the curious question, “are there some ways we can use agile or scrum in our library to solve a ‘wicked problem’ or two?” In other words, how can you use these tools for solving problems that are complex in nature and don’t admit of linear solutions that can be defined upfront and simply executed? Heck, if you want to explore that kind of question with colleagues at the Charleston Conference this year, come check out the pre-conference session called “Hacking The Library” where you’ll meet peers asking similar questions and we will provide, among other things, some agile techniques to take back to your library and start experimenting with or hacking your rapidly evolving future.
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*While Curtis was understandably impressed by the efforts of Ms. Margjoni and Ms. McClure and their poster “Scrumming the Library Materials Budget,” he also notes that it was only one among “some really great poster sessions posters.” Curtis is spot on.
Obituary
Nicolette Warisse Sosulski — On May 15, 2019 Nicolette, loving daughter, sister and mother of two children, Peter and Nicholas, passed away from a year-long battle with lung cancer. She was born March 20, 1963, in Louisville, Kentucky to Nicholas and Douglas Warisse. She grew up in St. Martha’s Parish and graduated from Sacred Heart Academy. She earned her bachelor of arts in English from Georgetown University, Washington, DC, and her Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington. She found her passion in librarianship. ALA in their memorial resolution said: “She was a motivated information professional: relentless about investigating a research question, had a gift for connecting people to information, had a real knack for identifying areas of need and developing plans. Nicolette was all that a 21st century librarian should be.” May she rest in peace.
Against the Grain / June 2019
*Only valid for institutions that have not held a subscription to BBIH in the last five years.
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Don’s Conference Notes by Donald T. Hawkins (Freelance Conference Blogger and Editor) <dthawkins@verizon.net>
The 14th Electronic Resources & Libraries Conference Column Editor’s Note: Because of space limitations, this is an abridged version of my report on this conference. You can read the full article which includes descriptions of additional sessions at https://www. against-the-grain.com/2019/06/v31-3-dons-conference-notes/. — DTH The 14th Electronic Resources & Libraries (ER&L) Conference drew 1,000 onsite and 663 virtual attendees from 47 states, 4 continents, and over 500 libraries to the very well-appointed AT&T Executive Education Center in Austin, TX on March 3-6, 2019. The conference featured over 80 traditional sessions, “lunch & learn” events, a well-attended exhibit hall with 100 exhibitors, and three plenary keynote addresses.
Opening Keynote: The Heckler’s Veto: The Real Threats to Free Speech and Deep Thought
Seva Vaidhyanathan, Robertson Professor of Media Studies at the University of Virginia, returned to ER&L and presented the opening keynote address. (Last year, he closed the conference with a presentation on “Facebook and how it undermines democracy, promotes hate speech, and scrambles our personal and commercial lives because of its design.” Since then, he has published a book, Anti-Social Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy (Oxford University Press, Seva Vaidhyanathan 2018)). In his opening keynote this year, Vaidhyanathan said that we currently have many battles on free speech. We have built an environment, legal system, and societal norms valuing the ability of individuals to speak. We need to remember how bad the environment was in the 1960s and how quickly we were able to improve it. Today, we are unable to have serious conversations about anything important. The problem is that everybody is speaking and nobody is listening. Our best ideas come from listening. We have focused so much on speech that we have forgotten that we should listen as well. We all have the right and technology to speak, but the ability to be listened to is not equally distributed. The world used to be quiet and dark; now we have nothing but light and noise, which has caused a new set of problems. The reason for speech is deliberation; it’s a means to an end. Instead, we are living in a cacophony that is caused by Facebook, Twitter, and similar systems. Can we talk about how to go forward and make a point without being shouted down? We need to reinvest in institutions that let us think, such as libraries, museums, community centers, town halls, and parks, and make ourselves comfortable in them so that we can talk about solutions to our problems. Instead we have retreated into our screens, phones, etc. where we don’t have to talk to other people who need us.
Confronting the Confusion: Streamlining Access to Library e-Resources
Johan Tilstra, CEO and Founder of Lean Library, said that the new reality is that the library is not the default gateway to information any more. Many resources are available electronically; here are some of the issues that have arisen as a result: • What if you are off campus? What does “on campus” and “off campus” mean? Why does this matter? Some users do not know that they can access resources when they are away from the library. • Many users do not know what the library has licensed. How do they find out?
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• How do you figure out what domain a copy is on? What is a proxy and what does it do? • Shall I just pay? • Even though Google Scholar lists the item, how do we know whether the library has it? A lot of user confusion could be eliminated if we could simply build a browser extension and bring library services directly into users’ workflows. Tilstra built Lean Library, a startup, and got in touch with Irina Trapido, Electronic Resources Librarian, Stanford University. Stanford’s e-resources account for over 50% of its collection budget that is accessed off campus. On campus users are authenticated by IP address; off campus users by EZproxy, which users did not like. The solution was to use Lean Library which automatically converts the user’s access to EZproxy and looks for alternative ways to access EZProxy if it is not immediately available. Usage is growing; the library now has over 6,000 users and does not hear from them often which is a good sign.
Dollar Dollar Bills: Vendor Negotiation Strategies
With the growth in electronic information, negotiating with vendors is becoming a significant part of librarians’ jobs as well as a significant part of library budgets. But negotiation is not a topic that is taught in library schools. Athens Moreno, Sarah Strzalka, and Kathleen Weiss, librarians working at three libraries in the suburban Chicago area, presented the following strategies for successful negotiations. 1. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no. Salespeople can be bossy and pushy — it’s their job! Ask about special pricing or an introductory offer. The worst that can happen is that they say no. 2. The initial stated price is not the real price. What the vendor brings to the table is only the start of a negotiation, not the end. You can ask how they set the price. 3. Use the cost-per-use argument. If a product not getting used, question why the library is paying for it; if the statistics are where you want them to be, use that to your advantage. Ask the vendor to work with you to develop a performance improvement plan to increase usage. 4. Know the market and get comparable quotes. It is good to have a point of comparison, and it is not a problem if they know you are working with other vendors. Know the company’s background. 5. Ask for a multi-year deal, especially if you like the product. Many vendors will allow you to opt into annual billing if your budget will not let you pay it all up front. 6. Take it or leave it. Naming your price sets the stage. Be sure to do research ahead of time and don’t over offer. There is nothing wrong with saying you have a certain amount of budget to spend and asking if it will get the job done. 7. Track outages and downtime during the use period. Keep a log, the vendor’s response, and resulting negative effects. Refer back to it when you are negotiating. Point to real problems that outages caused. 8. Know your worth. Brag about yourself. You are a brand ambassador and you can spread the word at conferences, etc. Remind the vendor that libraries are non-profit organizations. 9. Ask about flexibility in renewal terms, and ask for a specific date for a response. Communication skills: • Be direct and avoid vague language. • State your expectations and price point. • YOU set the time of the negotiation session and the date and type (phone, email, etc.) of the desired response. continued on page 73
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Don’s Conference Notes from page 72 • Use a template and prepare your script in advance. In the past, many vendors required non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), but public institutions usually are required to make their information public. It is also useful to ask the vendor to delete the requirement for an NDA (they often agree) or involve your legal department.
Reframing Discovery: Implementing a Cascading Instructional Model
Three librarians from Indiana University (IU) discussed why we need an educational model for discovery services. Weren’t they developed to be intuitive and user friendly? This quotation from Library Analytics and Metrics (Facet, 2015) by Ben Showers1 is appropriate: “The analysis of the data isn’t just about improving the experience of the users of existing services, but also about providing a basis for new services and interventions. These new services can be more intimately tailored to the needs of users or groups of users, thus increasing the value of the services and the library overall.” We teach discovery all the time but we may not know the details of the systems, and many new librarians may not be aware of when to use them in contrast to subject databases. An “EDS Refresher Course” was therefore created. Discovery services are best for: • Casting a wide net for items available now, • Periodical citation searches, • Interdisciplinary topics, • Broadening search strategies, and • Finding equivalent subjects. Subject databases are best for: • Identifying thesaurus terms, • Finding specific source types (images, videos, etc.), • Sources unavailable in discovery systems, and • Items physically available at other campuses. The refresher course and interactions with faculty members position EDS as a new way to solve problems. Further details are available on the IU library’s website.2
We Are All In This Together: A Library-Publisher-Wikipedia Symbiosis
Jake Orlowitz, Head of the Wikipedia (WP) Library at the Wikimedia Foundation and the author of an astonishing 40,000+ edits, began this discussion of how libraries, publishers, and vendors could work with WP with a review of its features. WP is now a top website with half a billion readers and 200,000 monthly contributions. The WP Library is its digital reference program and exists to lead readers to sources and to make WP more reliable. The benefits of WP to libraries include dissemination of diverse knowledge, amplification of library resources, increased digital literacy and discourse, and engaging community programs. It is a good opportunity to use altmetrics and is therefore one of the top referrers online. Jan Murphy, Director of Product Management at Gale Cengage, noted that publishers are in business to sell information to people. Discovery often starts with Google or library databases. It is important to know where information users go after that, and many times that is WP, so Gale and WP have formed a partnership to make some of Gale’s databases available on WP. Susan Barnum, Public Services Librarian at the El Paso, TX, Public Library, urged librarians to become involved with WP. She said that they help make information visible to the public, and get it into Google searches and also provide references to users, which makes the information more accessible. References are not optional because they can expose hidden information not indexed by Google because it is behind paywalls. As librarians, we are surrounded by sources and have expertise in accessing this kind of information, so it is our responsibility to add it to WP.
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Take a Sad Song and Make It Better: Evidence-Based Acquisitions for eBooks
This session was a report on a year-long Evidence-Based Acquisition (EBA) project jointly undertaken by Taylor & Francis (T&F) and the Western University Libraries. T&F’s content in the arts and humanities was relevant to Western, so they committed to purchase over $19,000 worth of eBooks. T&F’s preference was to provide access to its full collection but after negotiation, they agreed to a pilot project with a selection of 11,285 titles. The following are the best practices learned from using EBA to acquire content: • It is critical to communicate early and often with vendors. • In choosing an EBA program, check license terms and approval provisions. Does your library buy a significant number of items from a single vendor? • Does the vendor allow the library to choose its collection and add to it as the initial program proceeds? Small collections tend to have much lower usage. • Look for perpetual DRM-free access. • Request usage statistics from the vendor early to be sure the program is working. Know what constitutes good usage. • What is the turnaround time to get MARC records? Can you load them into your catalog to aid discovery? • What is the duration of your funding? Do all librarians in the network have to participate? • If you are considering multiple plans from different vendors, be aware that the initial startup can be very labor-intensive. • What do you need to measure at the end of the EBA program to arrive at an assessment of it? • Make sure that your selection of titles is based on the subject interests of your users.
No Mind Reading Necessary: Conducting Evidence-Based Electronic Resource Marketing and Outreach Using Market Research Assessment
Kate Hill, Electronic Resources Librarian, University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), described how she built market research into a plan to market e-resources. It is important to use qualitative and quantitative techniques to define your target audience. Do not focus your questions on the library; instead, determine how users are finding information in their lives. Here are 3 ways to do market research. 1. Surveys are common. They can be distributed to many people, and the recipients can take their time answering them. The issue is always getting responses. 2. Focus groups are a good way to ask open-ended questions and follow up on a survey. They are good to find out the “why” people are doing things. 3. Usability studies are a form of market research and permit determining how a group of people react to a program. At UNCG, some products were not getting the use desired, so a market research survey was distributed to find out where users went when they needed to do a project and what their communication preferences were. The survey received 74 responses from faculty and 750 from students. Some of the results were: • Faculty members are one of the main ways that students find out about resources. • Many faculty members have not asked librarians to create a course guide. Students did not go to course guides and never viewed a streaming film through the library. They found resources from the internet, faculty suggestions, and what was shared in class. • A “library resources” option was added to the website as a resource for students. A blog entitled “Librarian recommended e-resources at UNCG” was added to the library landing page and linked to resources on their social media page. Emails continued on page 74
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Don’s Conference Notes from page 73 were sent to faculty liaison people who were asked to mention these developments. Here is the announcement of a webinar series that was created.
Trials and Tribulations: Effective Management of Electronic Resource Trials
Free trials are a widely used marketing technique. Four librarians, three from the University of North Texas (UNT) and one from East Stroudsburg University, reported that there is no lack of offers from vendors to conduct trials; UNT receives 5-10 offers a month, which is too many for them to deal with, and East Stroudsburg received 200 trial offers last year. Trials are good for getting something free, but a lot of work is needed to set them up, and at the end of the trial, there is also a lot of work telling people it is no longer available. So a research study looked at how vendors and librarians should manage trials, how expectations can be communicated, and ways for librarians to negotiate trial conditions from vendors. The main reasons why librarians might decide to run a trial include: • To test relevance, quality, and usability of the product, • Obtain early access before a purchase, • Compare similar products, and • Measure user interest in the product. They might decide not to run a trial because • They have already decided the product is unsuitable or not affordable, • They want to download content, but the vendor has excluded downloading capabilities from the trial, and • A purchase of the product is already underway. Only one library reported never declining to conduct a trial. Most libraries that decline a trial simply tell the vendor why, or they simply decline the offer. Some vendors suggest a trial because the library has shown a previous interest in their products, or they approach users directly. In a few cases, “rogue trials” (those launched by the faculty or users without involving the library) have occurred, or vendors have misrepresented user interest to motivate the library to consent to a trial. Best practices for librarians include: • Ensure content is relevant and ask for pricing before agreeing to the trial, • Do not use trials as a way to gain access for one-time use or for downloading all the content; these practices are unethical, • Inform vendors about trial procedures, • Don’t be afraid to decline the trial, and • Document experiences and results.
Here are some principles that were developed for managing trials at UNT: • Trials are not always necessary, • A maximum of four concurrent trials will be run, twice a year, • Develop a list of reasons to run a trial, • Consider alternatives to trials: purchase the product, get information by other means, decline the trial, • Involve the technology team and ask them to review trials, • Track trials in LibGuides, and • Promote the trial widely. Advice from librarians to librarians: • Consider asking for a demo instead of a trial, • Be polite, but firm, with vendors, • Set reasonable limitations and manage your time and effort, • Appoint a “gatekeeper” librarian to stay organized, • Trial only if you have an intent to purchase, and • Don’t trial for the wrong reasons, such as downloading all of the content. Advice from librarians to vendors: • Get to know the institution you are marketing to, • It would be helpful if vendors are very knowledgeable about their products (surprisingly, some are not!), • Understand that declining a trial is not personal, • Make contact in preferred ways to avoid being too aggressive, • Understand that many libraries have flat or shrinking budgets; don’t show them resources they cannot afford, • Don’t surprise librarians with a trial; work with them from the outset, • Don’t go directly to the faculty without involving the librarians, and • Consider other ways to determine user needs besides a trial. Librarians who are involved with trials are encouraged to take a survey developed at UNT.3
Family Feud: Publishers vs. Vendors: Who Knows Librarians Better?
This was ER&L’s version of Family Feud, based on a game show of the same name.4 The contestants were a panel of three vendor representatives and three librarians. Here are the questions and answers. • Name a popular item given away at conferences. Pins, bags, post-it notes/notepads, candy, flash drives. • Name an important factor in making a purchase decision. Cost/price, content (does it meet a need), license terms, service/support, budget • Name an important characteristic that a publisher or vendor needs to have to make a great working relationship with librarians. Honest/reliable, friendly, prompt/responsive, flexible, humor, communicate/listen, patient/not pushy, MLS/ library experience • Name the best month to schedule a visit with librarians: March, July, April, February, June • Name the worst month to schedule a visit: September, December, August, July, June • Name an important factor for a successful relationship between a publisher or vendor and librarian: Honest/trustworthy, follow up/responsiveness, communicate/ listen, respect/courtesy, empathy/understanding • Name something your customer rep does to annoy you: Slow/unresponsive, pushy/contacts too often, won’t take no for an answer, does not know product/customer, phones when email is preferred, cold calls
Streaming Video Database Features: What Do Faculty and Students Really Want?
Molly Beisler, Head, Discovery Services, and Knowledge Access and Discovery Librarian, University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), recontinued on page 75
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Don’s Conference Notes from page 74 searched how students and faculty members used streaming video in their academic studies and how the features of streaming video databases influence their decisions to use video. The transition from physical to digital and from purchasing to licensing is expensive. Even though students use online videos for learning, they do not use those provided by the library, and faculty members use YouTube because it is easier than the library. Anything beyond basic searching frustrates users. Faculty are frustrated by technology difficulties in the classroom. Features the faculty want are complete and accurate metadata, textual descriptions, thumbnail images, transcripts of the videos, and the ability to download them. They do not want to be required to watch the video in their initial evaluation, and they especially do not want to be embarrassed in front of their classes; if a video crashes, they will never return to it. If advanced features take too much time, they will not be used. Reliability is more important to faculty members than quality of the content. Students like Netflix and want interfaces like it. They are willing to create accounts to access videos; faculty are not so willing. Students want the capability of sorting by relevance, date, or popularity, and the capability of sharing videos on their mobile devices. Too much metadata can overwhelm them. Students only use videos if they are assigned or in class, and do not consider them as research sources. Lessons learned for vendors: • The faculty are the audience you need to reach, and you only have one chance to do it. • Faculty want good content that works reliably and is easy to identify. • Bells and whistles are not important. • A single sign-on capability to a database is valuable. Lessons learned for libraries are similar: • Faculty are the primary audience for videos and are often looking for specific items. • Try to understand faculty needs before investing. • Do you really need large collections of videos or multiple platforms? • Think hard about usability. If you are evaluating a trial, actually use the video and see how easy or difficult it is. General things that frustrate users: Systems that have choices that are not obvious (where do things go when you save them?). Everybody hates Autoplay.
May You Live in Interesting Times: Answering the Door When Collection Development Opportunities Knock
And opportunities are always knocking! (But they may cause significant anxiety among library staff and users.) Stephanie Hess, Electronic Resources Librarian, and James Galbraith, Head of Collection Development, Art/Art History, Binghamton University, faced a negative situation because of the following changes. • In 2018, the library administration was informed that a large campus budget cut was imminent, with most of its effect expected to affect the collections budget. • Several new hires and reorganizations had occurred in the library, and several new professional schools and programs were underfunded. • Migration to a new statewide library system from Aleph5 to Alma,6 which is already underway. The library immediately began planning for the budget shortfall, with the following changes in thinking: • E-resource purchasing has surpassed print. Electronic is now preferred for monographs and serials. • Cancelling big deals is a possibility. • It is necessary to rethink allocations and collection development policies. • Input from the faculty was solicited and was crucial. Anything
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costing more than $75/use was a prime candidate for cutting. Subject librarians were empowered as much as possible to have meetings with the faculty and make cancellation decisions. After the cuts were finalized, librarians contacted vendors and received significant understanding and offers of help. All the vendors were willing to work with them and create mutually beneficial deals. About $20,000 to $30,000 was saved through these efforts. The results of this effort were: • Goodwill was achieved with vendors and the campus administration. (The Dean of Libraries received a very complementary message from the Provost after the process was completed.) • Subject librarians became more familiar with the collections. • The faculty was more aware of how budget cuts affect the libraries.
Short on Staff and Time: An OpenAthens Implementation
OpenAthens provides a single sign-on software platform for e-resources. According to its website,7 “OpenAthens is the gateway between the online world of subscription-based content and those who want to access it via their organization. It is the dashboard that makes librarians’ lives less complex. It is the portal that extends the audience of publishers.” Anders Lyon and Sherise Kimura, librarians at the University of San Francisco (USF), described their choice of OpenAthens and how they implemented it in their library. The library has a long-standing relationship with EBSCO, which was the only vendor that would contact other vendors to set up OpenAthens access. Major steps in the implementation included configuring the connections, compiling a list of e-resources, coordinating with the IT staff, and testing access protocols. EBSCO was not able to contact all of USF’s vendors, so some of the links had to be configured manually. A communication plan was developed to announce the OpenAthens platform to students, faculty, and staff through USF’s marketing system. A user guide was written8 and is maintained through LibGuides.
Closing Keynote: “Past, Present, Future of Trailblazing With Data For Social Change”
Jerica Copeny, Civic Data Scientist at the Vanderburgh Public Library in Evansville, IN, is one of the first data scientists to work in a library. She reviewed how we define social change with data, the role of metadata, and the role of the public library, and emphasized the importance of the people behind the numbers and how to interact with communities. There are 3 things to consider in creating social change with data. 1. We must mentally reframe our minds around data and unpack our assumptions to get as broad a perspective on Jerica Copeny the data as possible. 2. Re-examine inclusiveness. Data sets are humanly constructed, so we can have the same biases in a data set as we have as humans around race, gender, etc. 3. We often hear that metadata is “data about data,” but our focus here is that metadata is descriptive information about a particular data set, object, or resource. The Past — These 3 pioneers who have done work in the past can give us indications of how to use metadata for social change. • Ida B. Wells is known as one of the pioneers of data journalism. In 1894, she shaped how lynching was viewed by compiling data on previous lynchings and publishing the first collection of statistics on it9 with a call to action for readers — an indication that citizens have the power to be conduits for change by using data. • W.E.B. DuBois is known as one of the founders of American sociology. He collected statistics and created data visualcontinued on page 76
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Don’s Conference Notes from page 75 izations about narratives of African-Americans in the early 1900s. • Jane Addams and her colleagues created a safe place in Chicago for families to have access to opportunities in education or finances that they might not readily get. In 1895, she created data visualizations of maps of financial incomes of individuals which showed the pressures they were under. The context of the data is important. These researchers did not take the data simply at face value but looked deeper into it and were able to support people who did not have a voice. By using statistics and visualizations they were able to view something that might be unseen. The Present — Two types of organizations are redefining how data is examined: • Nonprofits: DataKind10 takes a hackathon approach using groups of data scientists to get a perspective on a problem and determine how they can develop a more collaborative effort to make sense of data. Data for Black Lives11 takes a conceptual approach and hosts a conference of community organizers and educators. Data & Society12 is a research institution focusing on the social and cultural effects of data in our society. • Academic institutions focus on issues like education, housing, health, or public safety, and how data science from a civic perspective can occur. Typically, they assemble a group of fellows to work with a partner on a problem that has a societal application. Its first partner was the New York City Tenant Support Unit (TSU)13 which was created in 2015 in response to the affordable housing crisis and developed policies to help tenants and make sure they know their legal rights in a rent stabilized home. The common ability of these organizations is an ability to chart the unknown and work with tools that are not readily used. One might wonder about the role of the public library in data science. Here are some lessons that Copeny has learned. • Librarians are trained to find information in various ways. We need to learn to have a better understanding of what we are trying to tackle. It is OK to not know. • Make the invisible visible. Learn how to have a fuller perspective. • Look for patterns. Always ask what is similar, different, or missing in working with data. • Question with empathy. Ask people how they define data and their purpose in working with it. Recognize your responsibility to put a community partner at ease. Ask neutral or safe questions like those in a reference interview. • Documenting is very important. • Regard your work as another opportunity to connect with the surrounding area. The Civic Data Science Model developed by Copeny14 is a collection of resources identifying how to work with data science in your community. • Support changes and see how data can be connected to the community.
Rumors from page 61 Line: Editorial Cartoonists and the First Amendment “focuses on the first amendment partly because American editorial cartoonists are the only ones in the world whose work is protected by an amendment to the federal constitution,” says museum founder Lucy
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Create your own “Metadata” for social change and build your own discipline tool kit. Start with the areas where you have subject knowledge as well as an understanding of what you get from the discipline and then develop the metadata tags. The Future — Don’t get stuck on the numbers in a data set but get a deeper understanding of what the positions and the individuals represented in it can do in their organizations and determine what our future is with “metadata” for social change. Bring your own discipline to the process. We are dealing with complicated issues, so it takes all of our perspectives and a multidisciplinary view of how to tackle what we want to define as impact. How you ask questions matters as well as how you can facilitate an instructional session with a group in a room. The data is important but the people behind the numbers are more important and determine what we can bring from our perspectives and disciplines. There is a distrust of numbers, and what helps is to bring out the human part of them: how the data was collected and how you are going to use it.
Next year marks the 15th occurrence of the ER&L conference. It will be held March 8-11, 2020, in Austin, TX. Donald T. Hawkins is an information industry freelance writer based in Pennsylvania. In addition to blogging and writing about conferences for Against the Grain, he blogs the Computers in Libraries and Internet Librarian conferences for Information Today, Inc. (ITI) and maintains the Conference Calendar on the ITI Website (http://www.infotoday.com/calendar.asp). He is the Editor of Personal Archiving: Preserving Our Digital Heritage, (Information Today, 2013) and Co-Editor of Public Knowledge: Access and Benefits (Information Today, 2016). He holds a Ph.D. degree from the University of California, Berkeley and has worked in the online information industry for over 45 years.
Endnotes 1. https://www.amazon.com/Library-Analytics-Metrics-Decisions-Services/dp/1856049655 2. https://iu.app.box.com/v/reframingdiscovery 3. https://bit.ly/2MbxGbG 4. https://www.familyfeud.com/ 5. https://www.exlibrisgroup.com/products/aleph-integrated-library-system/ 6. https://www.exlibrisgroup.com/products/alma-library-services-platform/ 7. https://openathens.org/ 8. https://guides.usfca.edu/openathens 9. https://archive.org/stream/theredrecord14977gut/14977.txt 10. https://www.datakind.org/ 11. http://d4bl.org/ 12. https://datasociety.net/ 13. https://www1.nyc.gov/nyc-resources/tenant-support-unit.page 14. https://www.evpl.org/posts/civic-data-science
Caswell who co-curated the exhibit with Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Ann Telnaes. “Twenty years ago, the country had about 150 full-time editorial cartoonists,” says Telnaes. “Today it’s down to about 40.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/exhibit-highlights-cartoonists-focus-on-first-amendment/2019/05/27/c80dbd4a-808e-11e9-b585-e36b16a531aa_story. html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.d70289d91145
And speaking of newspapers and editorial cartoons, have you seen Nancy Herther’s three articles posted on the ATG NewsChannel “Journalism Faces New Challenges.” Much more for your summer reading enjoyment! https://www.against-the-grain.com/
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ATG PROFILES ENCOURAGED Nicole Ameduri Licensing Manager Springer Nature 1 NY Plaza, NYC Phone: (646) 330-1720 <Nicole.ameduri@springernature.com> https://pages.teamintraining.org/nyc/ebc032319/ NAmeduri Born and lived: Born in Massachusetts. Also lived in Maine, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio and Alaska. I moved to NYC permanently in 2006 and have been proud to live in the best city in the world ever since. Early life: My early life was filled with classical music. My mother was a music teacher. I played clarinet, oboe, flute and piano and also sang. Professional career and activities: I was a professional opera singer for 12 years before joining the publishing industry in 2012 via JSTOR. I’m now heavily involved with NASIG as the Fundraising Coordinator, member of the Vendor & Publisher Engagement Task Force and member of the Program Planning Committee. I am also on the ER&L Wellness Committee. Family: I have a sexy Turkish husband: Bahadir, a 19 year old cat: Dorabella and a 3 legged rescue cat: Chaz. In my spare time: Most of my free time is spent with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Favorite books: Lilac Girls, The Nightingale, Sarah’s Key, We Were The Lucky Ones, All the Light We Cannot See. Philosophy: Love God, Love people.
Most memorable career achievement: I was the 2017 Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Woman of the Year and to date have raised over $137,000 for the society. This spring I trekked to Mt. Everest Base Camp with the society. Goal I hope to achieve five years from now: I would like to be a “46’er,” i.e., to have summited all 46 peaks in the Adirondack Mountains.
Vanessa Boddington Director of Market Development, EMEA & APAC VitalSource Chapter House, Pitfield, Kiln Farm Milton Keynes MK11 3LW UK Phone: +447392873752 <Vanessa.boddington@vitalsource.com> get.vitalsource.com Born and lived: Durban, South Africa. Relocated to UK in 2007.
In my spare time: I run – road, cross country, obstacle course races and practice hot yoga. I read, watch films and catch up on sleep, and plot my next trip away. Favorite books: The Secret Garden, Dune, A Fine Balance, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, Lord of the Rings. Pet peeves: People who drag their wheelie bags way behind them at crowded stations. Philosophy: Live and let live.
How/where do I see the industry in five years: I think the Higher Education sector in the UK will continue to see a blend of print and digital content but with more digital content being used in courses. This
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will range from eTextbooks (hopefully with a larger percentage enhanced with interactive features like video and audio summaries) to personalised learning platforms and simulations. Business models will be more varied with greater representation of consumer “use versus own” models like subscriptions. Flora Bourne eTextbook Coordinator University of Manchester Library University of Manchester Joule Library, Sackville Street Building Manchester M1 3BU UK Phone: +161 275 3854 <flora.bourne@manchester.ac.uk> Library website: www.library.manchester.ac.uk eTextbook Programme website: www.library.manchester.ac.uk/using-thelibrary/staff/etextbook-programme/ Born and lived: Manchester.
Professional career and activities: Previously worked in public and private sector information roles before joining the University of Mancheser Library where I’ve been a member of the Customer Services and Academic Engagement teams before joining the Reading List team in my current role ten months ago. How/where do I see the industry in five years: Very difficult to predict in an industry that is changing at such a fast pace. Students will always need access to core material for their studies but how that will be delivered is not necessarily set in stone. New cheap tech alternatives are springing up all the time and there will be more and more competition from Open Educational Resources (OERs). How Libraries buy etextbooks in the future might be very different in five years’ time! Dominic Broadhurst Academic Engagement Manager University of Manchester Library The Main Library, Oxford Road Manchester M13 9PP UK Phone: +44 161 276 1886 <dominic.broadhurst@manchester.ac.uk> www.manchester.ac.uk/library Professional career and activities: I have worked in a number of organisations and roles throughout my career. In my current role my main professional interests and areas of expertise are as follows: Enhancing value and impact of digital collections; Use and impact of digital textbooks; CRM application and exploitation in academic libraries; Leadership of teams and management of change; Audience focused exploitation of Digital Libraries; Negotations with publishers and suppliers; Relationship management for academic libraries; National and international developments in the Scholarly Communications industry. Most memorable career achievement: Most recent is developing an instutional e-textbook strategy and project which has developed into a fully established service at the University of Manchester. I have aslo presented at conferences in UK and overseas on this topic plus continue to act as advisor to libraries and publishers across the globe. I also commentate regularly on this and a range of industry issues on Twitter @ uomlib_dominic. continued on page 78
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ATG Profiles Encouraged from page 77 Goal I hope to achieve five years from now: To embed our digital collections fully and seamlessly across the curriculum and research agendas. How/where do I see the industry in five years: Massive transformational change is on the way (and already here in some cases). Big benefits for our students and researchers are out there for us to exploit and the challenge for our industry is to both meet and exceed their expectations. We also need a much diverse workforce and leadership that represent our industry, both with publishers and libraries. Everyone in our sector needs to take responsibility and accountability on so many levels to make this happen.
Katherine Daniel Business Analyst SumZero https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielkatherine/ Born and lived: Singapore, Denver, Budapest, NYC. In my spare time: You’ll find me running or exploring, kicking back with a novel, or watching cat videos. Favorite books: I really couldn’t pick, but I love fantasy and young adult fiction as a way to wind down and engage my imagination. Most memorable career achievement: Working with UNFPA to raise millions of dollars in support of women and young people’s reproductive health rights, and of course, publishing the Library Acquisition Patterns report.
Todd A. Carpenter
Michelle McClure Elneil
Executive Director National Information Standards Organization (NISO) 3600 Clipper Mill Rd., Suite 302 Baltimore, MD 21211 Phone: (301) 654-2512 Twitter: @TAC_NISO <tcarpenter@niso.org> www.niso.org
Accounting and Serials Coordinator University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries P.O.Box 117007 Gainesville, FL 32611 Phone: (352) 273-2671 <michelleelneil@uflib.ufl.edu>
Born and lived: Rochester, NY.
Professional career and activities: I was appointed Executive Director of NISO in 2006, where I presently endeavor to organize the community to develop community consensus on technology initiatives. I also participate on a variety of boards and leadership activities including the Baltimore County Public Library Foundation, the ISO Techincal Subcommittee on Information & Documentation (TC 46/SC 9), the Free Ebook Foundation, and the ALA Policy Corps. Prior to joining NISO I worked in management positions at BioOne, The Johns Hopkins University Press, the Energy Intelligence Group, and the Haworth Press. Family: A son and daughter, 11 and 9 respectivey. How did they grow up so fast? In my spare time: Spare time? What is this thing you speak of? During the in-between moments of life, I love to cook (and eat!) gourmet meals while sharing them with friends and family. I also collect and take abstract photographs. And I run, almost every day. Favorite books: Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch; The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series; All the books by Michael Lewis (Big Short, New New Thing, Flash Boys, Fifth Risk). Pet peeves: People who think they have all the answers.
Goal I hope to achieve five years from now: I am hoping that five years from now, the merger between NFAIS and NISO will be viewed as a success and will have made a positive impact on our community. How/where do I see the industry in five years: I see the community becoming more collaborative and more interconnected. The reason for this is that library users and readers generally are seeking to navigate the network of content online seamlessly and effortlessly. That demand will require content creators, software companies, discovery and delivery services to be much more integrated. There likely won’t be a single stop-and-shop place for all content everywhere, so there will need to be interoperable ways to move from one service to another. This will require collaboration, common systems, and (I have to say it) standards.
Michelle is an Accounting and Serials Coordinator at the University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries, where she manages the Health Science Center Library materials budget. Prior to joining UF in 2011, Michelle worked in the Financial Services industry in New York. She holds degrees from the University of Florida, Florida State University, and Rutgers University. Born and lived: I was born in Medellin, Colombia and raised in northern Florida. I have also lived in New York and Minnesota, and have had the privilege to travel to countries in Europe and Asia. If I were to travel again long-distance it would be to Israel, Lebanon, Morocco, and Moscow. Early life: As a young small-town girl, I moved across the country to New Jersey to study Economics at Rutgers University, alma mater of Nobel Prize Winner in Economics Milton Friedman. I received a rigorous education that challenged me, and helped me to grow exponentially. To this day, I still fondly recall specific assignments, instructors, and even textbooks. Professional career and activities: As most Econ. majors within 100 miles of New York City, I endeavored to get a job on Wall Street. I was fortunate, and many thanks to Professor Duguay’s instruction on the Black Sholes Model, I landed a financial analyst position in Manhattan. Over the next ten years, I worked for some large and amazing financial firms gaining experience in areas such as accounting, analysis, capital markets, contracts, credit, risk management, and trading. After getting married and my son was born, it was time for me to move back home to north Florida. Following two graduate degrees, I currently work for an academic institution that is comprised of dedicated people that work hard to make positive changes in the world. Family: My family is located all over the United States. I have been blessed with one child, Farris, who is the light of my life. And together, we also have one cat, Smokey, who is the light of Farris’s life. In my spare time: Being a mom.
Favorite books: The Bible; anything Economics and Finance; many titles from the Modern Library’s 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century; and others from authors like Dostoevsky, García Márquez, Najjar, Neruda, Pasternak, and Plato. Pet peeves: Inconsideration.
Philosophy: “The good man is the friend of all living things.” — Mahatma Gandhi continued on page 79
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ATG Profiles Encouraged from page 78 “Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere” — Chinese Proverb Most memorable career achievement: I feel thankful for every hurdle and challenge that I have overcome and has led me to where I am now. I am doing work that I truly enjoy and that offers challenges, and opportunities for innovation and professional growth. I am also very fortunate to be working with great people who are like a second family. I strive each day to keep learning and improving. Goal I hope to achieve five years from now: Obtain additional accounting & budgeting credentials. Successfully prepare my son with his school studies, and to travel more with him. How/where do I see the industry in five years: Continuous innovation and evolution. Jason Harper Collections and Content Strategy Manager Charles Seale-Hayne Library, University of Plymouth Drake Circus, Plymouth, Devon PL4 8AA UK <jason.harper@plymouth.ac.uk> https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-harper04084a164/ Born and lived: I am a very proud Dorset man, born and bred from an old Dorset family in the heart of Hardy country, but I have lived and worked across the South East, London, Midlands, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire throughout my professional career before finding my way back to the West Country in Devon. In my spare time: I am passionate about natural history, wildlife and the natural environment, and a very keen fly fisherman and fly tyer. Favorite books: The Jack Aubrey series by Patrick O’Brien, Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy, Wilfred Thesinger’s Life of my Choice, Eastern Approaches by Fitzroy Maclean, Don Charlwood’s No Moon Tonight, and Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac. Philosophy: Opinions are like elbows, most people have at least one.
How/where do I see the industry in five years: I think that Library Systems and Research Systems technology really need to develop in order to mirror the sort of intuitive functionality and interconnectivity that users have come to expect from apps and services they commonly use in their personal life. I would also hope to see an exponential growth in the availability of open access research and educational resources, and support for the intelligent discovery of this content. Data will be increasingly important for pattern analysis and decision-making, and the Higher Education industry needs to catch up with the kind of processing power, augmented machine intelligence and insight into behaviours currently being deployed by internet marketing companies. Becky Hartnup Independent Consultant Becky Hartnup Consulting Ltd 32 Niagara Avenue, London W5 4UD Phone: 07977929484 <becky.hartnup@gmail.com> Born and lived: London
Professional career and activities: My publishing career spanned children’s educational comics, lifestyle magazines at the BBC before settling in academic and Higher Education Publishing. I managed the launch of institutional site licences at Nature Publishing Group, giving
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scientists around the world desktop access to essential content. I also contributed to industry projects such as Crossref and Counter. At Palgrave Macmillan I shaped online products for higher education, working across reference, monographs and study skills products. Since 2009 I have worked as an independent consultant providing strategic and creative support to universities, publishers and technology suppliers. My current research passion is the relationship of learning and play. I studied Government and History at London School of Economics and more recently, an MBA at Imperial College, where I was nominated to the Deans List for Academic Excellence and was awarded the Personal Learning Journey Award for exceptional engagement with module and significant contribution to student experience. Family: I have a supportive husband and two teenage sons who ensure I don’t fall behind on new tech. In my spare time: I am an acting member of The Questors Theatre Company and a member of Whats this Q improvisation group. I am writing a paper on the use of escape rooms in learning. Favorite books: Too many to list!
Pet peeves: I worry about big things not little things.
Philosophy: I have two, which create a nice tension: To find a solution you need to really understand the problem. If you don’t get started, you won’t get finished. Goal I hope to achieve five years from now: I hope that my work as a consultant continues to throw up exciting opportunities to carry out research into the changing learning environment and to apply the findings in the real world. I’d also like to expand the work I am doing in the immersive learning space. How/where do I see the industry in five years: Over the next five years we can expect the disruption of education to continue. Speaking to Higher Education leaders it is clear that they are highly aware of the need to respond to the challenges of regulatory change, political uncertainty and student expectations. Digital learning, implemented thoughtfully, offers the opportunity to improve student experience in a scaleable way. Institutions with strong brands and the ability to use technology to deliver effective, student-centred distance learning will be able to extend their geographic reach. This is not to say that all learning will become distance learning. There is a unique value to fact to face learning, but as online courses become mainstream institutions will become more experienced at blending the two elements. The ease of access of e-textbooks supports this trajectory as it overcomes practical problems and fits with student lifestyles, and the transition from print to digital will certainly continue. However, there needs to be more creativity in business models and format for e-textbooks to meet their potential. Deanna Marcum Senior Advisor Ithaka S+R 6 East 32nd Street, 10th Floor New York, NY 10016 Phone: (917) 213-2400 <deanna.marcum@ithaka.org> sr.ithaka.orog Born and lived: Born in Salem, Indiana. Lived in Bloomington, IN, Urbana, IL, Lexington, KY, Nashville, TN and in Washington, DC since 1977. Early life: I grew up on a farm near Salem.
Professional career and activities: I am fortunate to have been an academic librarian, worked at ARL, Council on Library Resources, head the Council on Library and Information Resources, serve as the Associate Librarian for Library Services at the Library of Congress, and lead continued on page 80
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ATG Profiles Encouraged from page 79 the Ithaka S+R organization as it Managing Director. Now I am semi-retired and serving as a Senior Advisor at Ithaka S+R. Family: Married to Thomas Marcum. We have a married daughter and son-in-law who live in Baltimore. In my spare time: I am a gardener. Last year, I completed the Master Gardener training program in Montgomery County, Maryland. Favorite books: Anything by William Faulkner.
Most memorable career achievement: I have had a wonderful career, filled with many highs. I am grateful. Goal I hope to achieve five years from now: I hope to be fully retireid. How/where do I see the industry in five years: Libraries will become dramatically different providers of services. There will be more collaboration. There will be better integration with the missions of their institutions. Raimonda Margjoni Accounting & Serials Manager University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries P.O.Box 117007 Gainesville, FL 32611 Phone: (352) 273-2698 <raimarg@uflib.ufl.edu>
Born and lived: I was born in Tirana, Albania, have lived for about a year in Italy and have been living in the United States since 1996. Early life: I have a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering degree from University of Tirana in Albania. Right after graduation, I worked as an Electrical Engineer in Albania for about eight years before moving to Florida, USA. Professional career and activities: My work in libraries began as “just a job” at first. But it certainly marked the switch to a new career as I discovered that side of me that loved the library environment and the sense of accomplishment it offered. I enrolled in graduate studies at the University of South Florida and completed my MLIS in 2008. While at the University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries, I’ve held many positions. Currently, I am the Accounting & Serials Manager of the Acquisitions & Collections Services Department. In addition to planning and coordinating the Libraries’ materials budget, I have an extensive experience in acquisitions, collection development support, continuing resources management, and reference services. I have a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering degree from University of Tirana in Albania and an MLIS from University of South Florida. Family: I’m happily married and have one daughter, Iva, my pride and joy, who lives in Sarasota with her lovely dog, Nova. In my spare time: I like to practice self-care through an active and healthy lifestyle at every chance I get. I also love traveling, whether it is to the beach, to a city nearby, or visiting Iva and Nova. Every so often, we travel oversees to visit family in Albania, Italy and UK. Relaxing at home and taking it easy is an absolute treat! Favorite books: Too many to list. I love anything inspirational and empowering! Pet peeves: Interrupting (mid-sentence).
Philosophy: “Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” — Mother Teresa Most memorable career achievement: Learning and growth never stop for me. My entire working career has been an achievement in
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itself. Having had professional careers in two very different fields, one by choice and the other one by accident has been a real professional accomplishment! Combining the knowledge and expertise gained from both with my “passion for numbers and analysis,” as a previous manager put it, culminated into my current role in Accounting that I love and find both rewarding and challenging. “Tomorrow has yet to come,” Mother Teresa says. Goal I hope to achieve five years from now: Professional – Increase application of Agile and share results with peers and colleagues. Personal – Maintain a healthy lifestyle and spend more time with family and friends. Melanie Masserant Account Development Manager Northwest & Northern Midwest Springer Nature New York, NY <Melanie.masserant@springernature.com> www.springernature.com Born and lived: Born & raised in southeastern Michigan. I’ve been living in Brooklyn, NY for 17 years. Early life: Ballet & tap dancing, age 5-20.
Professional career and activities: Brief stint as a reference librarian at CUNY before joining Springer Nature in 2014. Family: Husband James, step-daughter Maddie. In my spare time: Home organizing & Pilates.
Favorite books: Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, My Brilliant Friend & Hollywood Babylon. Pet peeves: People who up-talk and pepper their vocabulary with the word “like.” Annette Moore University of Sussex The Library, University of Sussex Brighton BN1 9QL UK Phone: 01273 877046 <a.moore@sussex.ac.uk> Born and lived: I was born in Pinner in Middlesex where I spent my early years and later moved to Guildford. For many years now I have lived along the South coast of England, in Brighton and currently in Angmering. Early life: I spent my early years living in Guildford in a house opposite Stoke Park that I have very fond memories of. We had a large garden and my father would always be in the garden, growing vegetables or cutting the lawn – tasks that he would involve me and my sister with. I think this is where I developed my love of gardening. Professional career and activities: I have worked in libraries for most of my professional career and during that time have studied for an Open University degree in Information Technology and an MA in Information Management. Family: I am lucky to have a large family, including four lovely grandchildren. In my spare time: I enjoy going for long walks with my two dogs.
Favorite books: My family and other animals, Gerald Durrell; The Remains of the day, Kazuo Ishiguro; Great Expectations, Charles Dickens. Pet peeves: Loud mobile phone conversations in public places.
Philosophy: Borrowed from Socrates: “Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.” Most memorable career achievement: One of my early posts in the Library world involved transitioning the Interlibrary Loans purely continued on page 81
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ATG Profiles Encouraged from page 80 manual workflow into an automated online requesting service. It was my first real venture into user centred design and re-evaluating workflows. I learned so much from that experience that has continued to be useful to me in other projects. Goal I hope to achieve five years from now: I would like to work towards and achieve a much closer alignment and communication beween the academic library and the University as a whole. Our library systems are increasingly integrated with other systems on campus, but optimizing this can only be achieved by better communication, collaboration and alignment with other parts of the university. How/where do I see the industry in five years: I see the academic library of the future increasingly being a part of the university learning “ecosystem”; working collaboratively across different sections of the University, making the most of developing technologies and innovation to deliver content and connect users with that content within the user’s personal digital environment. Additionally, harnessing and anaylsing digital data to better align services with users’ changing requirements. A sense of space and belonging will still be important to our users, whether this is a physical or a digital space. The exciting agenda will be whether and to what extent can libraries replicate the benefits of face-to-face interactions with users in an increasingly digital space. Kevin Ohe Academic Publishing Director, Bloomsbury Digital Resources Bloomsbury Publishing, Inc. 1385 Broadway, 5th Floor New York, NY 10018 Phone: (212) 419-5300 www.bloomsbury.com • www.bloomsbury.com/ dr/digital-resources/ • www.fairchildbooks.com Professional career and activities: I’ve worked my entire career in editorial departments in reference and academic publishing — print and digital. Most memorable career achievements: I’ve played parts in creating Greenwood’s digital portfolio (including Dartmouth-winner Pop Culture Universe); ABC-CLIO’s second generation of Solutions products, integrating Greenwood’s products; and the establishment of Bloomsbury’s Bloomsbury Digital Resources division.
academic led publishing; and other research projects which support Jisc’s objectives in these areas. Background — Previously I worked in the university sector for 23 years, most recently at the University of Huddersfield where I managed the library resources budget, open access services and the University of Huddersfield Press. I am a Chartered Librarian (MCLIP) and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). I was awarded my professional doctorate in 2017 for research on New University Press publishing. I am also co-author of TERMS (Techniques in E-Resources Management) alongside Jill Emery (Portland State University) and Peter McCracken (Cornell University). Suzanne Tatham University of Sussex The Library, Falmer Brighton BN1 9QL UK Phone: 01273 877632 <s.tatham@sussex.ac.uk> Born and lived: Born in Bristol, now happily residing in Brighton. Early life: Fun – lots of time playing outdoors with twin sister.
Professional career and activities: Ten years at the University of Brighton followed by years at the University of Sussex. Family: Three grown up children but two still doing the boomerang thing. In my spare time: Nothing out of the ordinary – sing in a choir, trips to local Arthouse cinema, yoga, painfully slow progress in French classes, exploring European capital cities.
Favorite books: A recent favourite is Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Buried Giant. Pet peeves: Impoliteness.
Philosophy: Always consider the possibility that you might be mistaken. Most memorable career achievement: Strategic partnership visit to the University of Ghana. Goal I hope to achieve five years from now: Will have learnt to dive. How/where do I see the industry in five years: If UK politics carries on the way it’s going, I think libraries will find they have even more restricted budgets. We will have to find ways to work smarter and to make all our resources earn their keep. Plan S has the potential to be a game-changer for universities, as does Brexit, although five years is likely to be too soon to realise the impact.
Graham Stone
Bob Vrooman
Senior Research Manager Jisc 6th Floor, Churchgate House, 56 Oxford Street Manchester M1 6EU UK <graham.stone@jisc.ac.uk> https://www.jisc.ac.uk/jisc-collections
Publisher, New Business Development Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. 140 Huguenot Street New Rochelle, NY 10801 Phone: (805) 585-8680 <bvrooman@liebertpub.com> www.liebertpub.com
Professional career and activities: Role — I manage a cross team research unit to ensure the highest quality of service provision to libraries in the UK higher education sector with regards to Jisc Collections activities and open access services. This includes designing and conducting a range of planned and ad-hoc quantitative and qualitative research; implementing policies, processes and systems to enable the effective evaluation, monitoring and communication of research activity to enable informed decision making for Jisc and it’s members; assisting in the monitoring of the transition to open access as part of funder policy and cOAlition S guidelines; related metadata issues; new forms of open access publishing, such as library-led presses and
Against the Grain / June 2019
Born and lived: Kansas City, MO.
Early life: Kansas City, Virginia, DC, NY, CA
Professional career and activities: I have spent virtually my entire career in scientific publishing, in sales, editorial, and management roles. This includes working at two associations – American Psychological Association, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, and three commercial publishers – Springer, SAGE, and now Mary Ann Liebert. In each of these positions, I enjoyed growing revenue, number of titles published, and the overall content and impact of our publications. I have also enjoyed continued on page 82
<http://www.against-the-grain.com>
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ATG Profiles Encouraged from page 81 working with mission-driven societies, leading scientists and thought leaders and passionate colleagues. Family: I have a wife, Jennifer, two sons, Kyle, and Brandon, and one daughter, Molly. In my spare time: We live on a mini ranch and own three horses. My daughter is an avid equestrian, so I spend a lot of my personal time as her groom and taking care of our farm. How/where do I see the industry in five years: The scholarly publishing landscape is under considerable change and uncertainty, which can be unsettling, but can also be exciting, with all sorts of possibilities. I do not think there will be one predominant model that dominates the industry. There are too many diverse stakeholders with different needs. I expect open access to continue to grow, perhaps more dramatically, but I also expect subscription and print publications to still be an important model for many journals. We are going to see more published content, earlier and broader dissemination of science, and new, creative models for peer review and publication. Publishers will continue to be challenged with the changing market and shifting revenue models, so we will need to stay on our toes, be nimble, and embrace the challenges! Olivia Walsby Reading List Services Manager University of Manchester Library University of Manchester Joule Library, Sackville Street Building Manchester M1 3BU UK Phone: 0161 2753743 <olivia.walsby@manchester.ac.uk> www.manchester.ac.uk/library/etextbook-programme https://www.linkedin.com/in/olivia-walsby-27623869 Born and lived: United Kingdom.
Professional career and activities: I have worked in academic libraries for 20 years, with a career focus on resource provision, the student experience and digital technologies within HE. Roles have included electronic resources, digitisation and reading list services support, Faculty
Team Librarian and Academic Engagement Librarian for Biological, Medical and Human Sciences. Currently responsible for managing the University of Manchester Library’s Reading List Service, including management of our eTextbook Programme. How/where do I see the industry in five years: From a UK perspective there are a number of potential issues emerging which will have a far reaching impact within the Higher Education sector (such as Brexit & the Auger Review) creating high levels of uncertainty, particularly financially for HE Libraries. However, whilst challenging, such an environment will also encourage lateral and creative thinking and the opportunity to present ever innovative ideas for what will need to be a more agile approach to service delivery. I believe focus will need to be on providing value for money, demonstrating impact, digital efficiencies and essentially how we can do more with less! Saskia Watts Marketing Specialist VitalSource Phone: 07710726688 <saskia.watts@vitalsource.com> Born and lived: Born in Frome. Lived in Frome, Oxford and Milton Keynes. Professional career and activities: Saskia Watts is a Marketing Specialist for VitalSource EMEA and APAC, focusing on helping both institutions and publishers deliver effective, affordable, and accessible learning materials to students. Prior to joining VitalSource, Saskia worked at Lightning Source, aiding in the marketing Ingram’s print on demand offerings. She also attended Oxford Brookes University, where she studied Publishing Media. In my spare time: Attempting to learn Spanish, whilst also finding the time to go to the theatre (I’ve managed to see Hamilton three times so far)! Favorite books: The Princess Bride, Grief is the Thing with Feathers, The Hate U Give. Most memorable career achievement: Getting a job at VitalSource.
COMPANY PROFILES ENCOURAGED Bloomsbury Publishing, Inc 50 Bedford Square London; 1385 Broadway, New York, NY; offices in Oxford, UK; Sydney, AU, and New Delhi, India Phone: (212) 419-5300 www.bloomsbury.com Officers: Nigel Newton, Founder and Chief Executive
Key products and services: Launched in 2017 by Bloomsbury Publishing, Bloomsbury Digital Resources focuses on providing essential and cutting edge scholarly content in the Humanities and Social Sciences. Whether it be primary documents, critical texts, historical archives, or the latest in video and audio resources, we are committed to enhancing the research experience with innovative, engaging, and dynamic digital resources of the highest quality.
82 Against the Grain / June 2019
Bloomsbury – Digital Products: • Berg Fashion Library • Bloomsbury Applied Visual Arts • Bloomsbury Architecture Library • Bloomsbury Collections • Bloomsbury Cultural History • Bloomsbury Design Library • Bloomsbury Education and Childhood Studies • Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Philosophers • Bloomsbury Fashion Central • Bloomsbury Food Library • Bloomsbury Popular Music • Churchill Archive • Drama Online • Screen Studies continued on page 83
<http://www.against-the-grain.com>
Number of employees: 125
ATG Profiles Encouraged from page 82 Core markets/clientele: Bloomsbury Digital Resources provides creative online learning environments that support scholarly research and inspire students throughout the world. We seek to engage our users with academically rigorous, editorially crafted content that encourages people to think and explore. We believe in working in partnership with librarians, researchers and instructors to offer flexible solutions and unparalleled customer support, and we strive to create a culture of excellence and entrepreneurial thinking that is solutions-focused and rewards innovation. Number of employees: Approximately 700.
Number of books published annually (print, electronic, open access, etc.): Approximately 2,500.
Total number of books on your backlist (print, electronic, etc.): 25,000+
History and brief description of your company/publishing program: Bloomsbury is a leading independent publisher of fiction, non-fiction, children’s, specialist, academic and professional titles. The company’s mission is to publish works of excellence and originality. We are one of the few publishers with a portfolio that includes both general and academic publishing. Bloomsbury’s ambitious growth story has seen the company become a significant global publisher with offices in the UK, US, Australia and India. Ithaka S+R https://sr.ithaka.org/ Affiliated companies: PORTICO.
JSTOR, ARTstor,
Officers: Catherine Bond Hill, Managing Director; Roger C. Schonfeld, Director, Libraries, Scholarly Communication, and Museums Program; Martin Kurzweil, Director, Educational Transformation Program. Key products and services: Providing evidence-driven insights to support higher education, scholarly communications, and cultural institutions. Core markets/clientele: Foundations, consortia, and individual institutions. Number of employees: 20-30
Number of books published annually (print, electronic, open access, etc.): 1-2
Number of journals published annually (print, electronic, open access, etc.): 90+ Total number of books on your backlist (print, electronic, etc.): 20 Total number of journals currently published: 90
History and brief description of your company/publishing program: Founded by Mary Ann Liebert in 1980, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. is a leading independent publisher of scientific, technical, and medical content, known worldwide for its prescience and establishment of authoritative peer-reviewed journals, books, and trade publications in cutting-edge fields such as biotechnology, biomedical research, medicine and surgery, public health research and policy, technology and engineering, law, environmental research and policy, and other specialized disciplines. Driven by her visionary passion and ceaseless curiosity, Mary Ann Liebert identifies and nurtures critical topics and cutting-edge fields by creating first-to-market, specialized publications that play a vital role in advancing research and facilitating collaboration in academia, industry, and government. The company is deeply committed to ensuring the highest quality content and is able to invest for the long-term, supporting publications in emerging markets through to maturity. The company’s flagship publication, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was launched in 1980, the very first publication of its kind for the field of biotechnology. Today, GEN is the most widely read and highly regarded publication in the field, delivering cutting-edge news and analysis of the technologies, applications, and trends that are driving the future of biotechnology. The company has published many “firsts” in the market, including AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, Human Gene Therapy, LGBT Health, and, most recently, The CRISPR Journal. Is there anything else that you think would be of interest to our readers? More than just a publisher, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. collaborates effectively with corporations, educational institutions, nonprofit foundations, and other enterprises in a broad array of extended capabilities that include custom publications, conferences, webinars, association management, videos, and newsletters. These resources play a pivotal role for corporations, associations, and institutions to advance their own goals.
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers
VitalSource
140 Huguenot Street, 3rd Floor New Rochelle, NY 10801 Phone: (914) 740-2100 Fax: (914) 740-2101 www.liebertpub.com
Chapter House Pitfield, Kiln Farm Milton Keynes MK11 3LW UK get.vitalsource.com
Affiliated companies: Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, Clincial OMICs, Institute of Professional Education, Rosalind Franklin Society. Officers: Mary Ann Liebert (CEO), Marianne Russell (COO), Vicki Cohn (Chief Editorial Officer), John Mancini (CFO), Joe Cruz (CIO). Key products and services: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. is a leading independent publisher known worldwide for its prescience and establishment of authoritative peer-reviewed journals, books, and trade publications in cutting-edge fields such as biotechnology and regenerative medicine, biomedical research, medicine and surgery, public health research and policy, technology and engineering, law, environmental research and policy, and other specialized disciplines. The company publishes over 90 peer-reviewed journals, leading trade magazines, and specialized newsletters, in addition to society membership management and conferences. Core markets/clientele: Academic, Corporate, Government.
Against the Grain / June 2019
Key products and services: VitalSource Technologies LLC, part of Ingram Content Group, is improving the learning experience by making it easier to create and deliver effective and affordable content. The preferred choice among educational institutions and companies for digital learning materials, VitalSource helps over 1,000 educational content providers create and deliver seamless interactive learning experiences through its exclusive Bookshelf platform to millions of learners at 7,000 institutions. Bookshelf users opened more than 20 million digital textbooks last year and read more than 3.3 billion pages. Follow VitalSource on Twitter at @ VitalSourceUK. Bookshelf (eReader), Analytics, VitalSource Studio (content authoring platform), Acrobatiq (personalised learning platform). Core markets/clientele: Operates globally with core markets in USA/Canada, UKIR, Europe, Middle East, Asia, Australia. Number of employees: 450 continued on page 84
<http://www.against-the-grain.com>
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LIBRARY PROFILES ENCOURAGED Charles Seale-Hayne Library
University of Manchester Library
University of Plymouth Drake Circus, Plymouth Devon PL4 8AA UK https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/student-life/ your-studies/library
250 Oxford Road Manchester M13 9PP UK Phone: +44 (0)161 275 3716 https://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/
Background/history: The Charles Seale-Hayne Library supports teaching, learning and research; providing services to students, academic and professional staff, and members of the public who can use it for reference purposes. Our focus is on enabling the transformation of information into knowledge, and we do that through providing access to information resources, developing and delivering services, managing learning spaces, and facilitating the development of information and digital literacy.
Background/history: The University of Manchester Library is at the heart of Britain’s largest university, welcoming over three million students, researchers and visitors per year. Our core role: • Making an indispensable contribution to the University’s work and reputation. • Being close to scholarship and to scholars as part of Manchester’s research life.
Types of materials you buy (eBooks, textbooks, DVDs, video streaming services, databases, other): All materials from print and ejournal subscriptions, indexing databases and fulltext ecollections, print and eBooks, eTextbooks, digital extracts, research monographs, official publications and technical standards, rare and special collections material.
• Listening to students to ensure choice and quality in all our libraries and online.
What technologies does your library use to serve mobile users? ALMA URL resolver, with authentication and access via Single Sign On and Hosted Ezproxy. Discovery platform uses responsive design, and Campus M mobile app delivers selected Library services to student body.
• Partnering with challenging and aspirational institutions.
Does your library have an ILS or are you part of a collaborative ILS? Yes. Do you have a discovery system? Yes.
Does your library have a collection development or similar department? Yes.
If so, what is your budget and what types of materials are you purchasing? Print or electronic or both? We purchase all types and formats of content, with a “digital first” collection development policy.
What proportion of your materials are leased and not owned? We do not currently lease materials other than database subscriptions. What do you think your library will be like in five years? Leaner, more evidence based in content selection, and more reliant on open access and open educational content, with Library space catering even more towards mixed and group use supported by greater access to technology. What excites or frightens you about the next five years? I am excited about the growth of the digital arts and humanities and what that means for new research, open access and repositories. I am excited about the possibilities of linked data and AI for improving discovery, and about the potential to place content in the digital spaces that students now inhabit, rather than forcing them to come to the Library system, or digital learning environment. I am frightened by the financial and demographic challenges facing the UK Higher Education sector, and what that means in terms of resourcing and funding for Library and IT services.
• Collaborating through the University’s Digital Strategy and Digital Future. • Ensuring The John Rylands Library is the most remarkable university special collections library in the world. • Providing an efficient, fulfilling and creative workplace for our people. • Acting locally, nationally and internationally. Number of staff and responsibilities: 300 plus.
Types of materials you buy (eBooks, textbooks, DVDs, video streaming services, databases, other): All.
Do you have a discovery system? Ex Libris Primo.
Does your library have a collection development or similar department? Content, Collections and Discovery which has the following departments: • Acquisitions Development and Subscriptions • Discovery and Metadata • Collection Care • Collection Development and Management • Content on demand • Reading List Services If so, what is your budget and what types of materials are you purchasing? Print or electronic or both? Both but with e-first policy. University of Sussex Library University of Sussex Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QL UK Phone: 01273 678163 www.sussex.ac.uk/library Background/history: The University of Sussex was established in 1958. It is a research-intensive university, part of the previous 1994 Group, with over 17,000 students. The Library was opened in 1964 and is now a member of RLUK. Number of staff and responsibilities: 90 continued on page 85
84 Against the Grain / June 2019
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ATG Profiles Encouraged from page 84 Types of materials you buy (eBooks, textbooks, DVDs, video streaming services, databases, other): We purchase/make available/subscribe to print books, eBooks, specialist databases, A&I databases, DVDs, video streaming services, digital archives, e-textbooks, journals and newspapers. What technologies does your library use to serve mobile users? Primo, LibGuides, Aspire reading lists. Does your library have an ILS or are you part of a collaborative ILS? Our Library Management System is Alma. Do you have a discovery system? Primo.
Does your library have a collection development or similar department? Yes.
If so, what is your budget and what types of materials are you purchasing? Print or electronic or both? We purchase both print and online content.
What do you think your library will be like in five years? Likely to be more partnerships, both national and international. Likely to be moving even further towards access rather than ownership models. What excites or frightens you about the next five years? Big data.
Against the Grain / June 2019
Back Talk from page 86 Imagine, I posited, that it’s 25 years from now. Technology has advanced. You are a citizen of Fiesole doing a classics dissertation in the University of Florence on old Catiline himself. You’ve gathered and screened all the information you can find that seems relevant, fed it to your computer, and now you sit looking at your screen where a shimmering button appears: one simple button with the word “dissertation” on it. You click on the button, hop over to check Retinalscanbook (the next generation of social media), and come back in five minutes to find on your screen the 350 page PDF (we’re still using that format after 25 years, so why not after another 25?) of what is undeniably a dissertation on Catiline, entirely produced and written by the artificial intelligence system in your computer. (For reference, we had all just been reading of the AI-written bibliographical survey of lithium battery technology that was in all the papers that week.) First question: should the University of Florence accept that dissertation in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of doctor of philosophy? And award the degree to you, the person who assembled and screened all the sources and clicked on the button? If not, why not? OK, second question: when the dissertation appeared on your screen, there was another button that offered to extract from the dissertation two independently publishable scholarly articles, because (after all) it’s good for your career to publish early and often. I took a show of hands here around the room from people with some involvement in journal publishing. Would your journal, I asked them, accept those articles? About 40% said yes, a couple of people said no, and another healthy handful expressed firm uncertainty. You see, the degree is supposed to be about a person, so it can be a real question whether a person deserves a degree for what a machine did. But an article is supposed to be about the content of the article. Why should you, oh journal editor of the future, care how it came into existence, as long as it is a serious contribution, properly footnoted, and not plagiarized? I’ll be back in twenty-five years to see what ATG readers think.
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Back Talk — I Love Fiesole in the Springtime Column Editor: Jim O’Donnell (University Librarian, Arizona State University) <jod@asu.edu>
D
id you ever have to translate Cicero’s speech attacking Catiline when you were in high school? Then you have one reason to go Fiesole, perched on a ridge just outside Florence, because that’s where Roman soldiers hunted Catiline down and did him and his fellow rebels to death. I’m a Latin professor, so that’s reason enough for me. But there are lots of other reasons to head that way (the food, wine, paintings, wine, food — and the gelato!), but especially for Charleston Conference goers and their friends. Fiesole is the home of Casalini Libri, under the leadership of Michele and Barbara Casalini, in the steps of their father Mario, who founded the firm 60 years ago. Since 1999, Casalini has sponsored the Fiesole Retreats, now led by the redoubtable Becky Lenzini. Every year, in some town or other (Fiesole itself about once in four years), Becky and colleagues bring together a rich assortment of librarians, policymakers, publishers, and others interested in the food chain of library collection development for three days of substantive presentations and rich discussion with just enough excellent food and drink to keep participants replete but still able to sustain the conversation! This was a Fiesole year, with sessions held at the European University Institute, a short ride into tranquility from the madness of tourist-whelmed Florence. A Back Talk column can’t do justice to the whole event and happily the presentations from it are all on the web (http://www. casalini.it/retreat/ retreat_2019.asp). But a few things that really struck me are worth mentioning. Easily the most impressive single presentation was
that of Jean-Claude Burgelman, head of open science in the research/innovation office of the European Union. Burgelman is an accomplished scholar in the area of information technology policy and has long experience in the intricacies of these issues. His presentation (http://www.casalini.it/retreat/ web_content/2019/presentations/burgelman. pdf — thirteen slides and well worth a reflective reading) was the most interesting, sane, and (to use one of his words) holistic look at what it takes to make science truly open that I have ever heard. “Open Access” is shorthand for a complicated piece of the whole task, and Burgelman made clear both the broad range of issues and the urgency of researchers and their supporters taking advantage of this moment to gain control over essential elements of the research enterprise. In the same spirit as Burgelman, Piero Attanasio of the Italian Publishers Association, emphasized the business that will be unfinished when the “Open Access” war is over. A variety of publishers and vendors with different experiences reported their experiences, and Ann Okerson convened a panel with a sobering set of stories. Jasmine Lange, chief publishing officer of Brill, described a successful publishing firm with success (on a limited scale) of open access monograph publishing (the “BPC” — an acronym new to me for Book Processing Charge — runs to €8500 for front list titles), but much weaker OA success in the range of journals they publish in the humanities and social sciences (HSS for short, to contrast with STM). Simon Ross of Manchester Universi-
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86 Against the Grain / June 2019
ty discussed their HSS open book project, barely breaking even, while Natasha Mellins-Cohen, journals publisher for the Microbiology Society (UK), had the most concerning report to make. Scholarly and scientific societies have an important role to play in impeccably peer-reviewed journal publishing, but they also depend openly on their publishing revenues to sustain activities of their societies — in the Microbiology Society’s case everything from day care at conferences to grants for young researchers — and they do not see, especially under the gun as they will be of Plan S as it rolls out, how to make an immediate and painless transition to full and immediate open access without crippling the business model for their society. It would be hard to say whether the publishing or the other activities are more central to the society’s raison d’être. Clearly we have made much progress toward an open world, but significant challenges remain. These discussions are what everyone coming to Fiesole expected, and I was taken with bookends to the three days that raised my sights. Mike Keller of Stanford opened a pre-conference day devoted to the technological future, with sessions on artificial intelligence and on linked data. For AI, Roger Jøsevold of the National Library of Norway and Ruggero Gramatica of Yewno raised the curtain on near-term possibilities in collection management and in discovery in ways that seemed more grounded and realistic than the more breathless journalistic imaginings of the future. Then, at the end of the second day, the estimable David Worlock, at once a failed pig farmer, a longtime senior wizard at Outsell, and now consiglieri to enterprises like Knowledge Unlatched, was asked to lead a discussion of the conference so far, and he ignited an impassioned conversation. He faulted all the conference participants for thinking too small, too near-term. This is a world, he said, in which new technology appears abruptly and disrupts existing structures dramatically. What technology rock is getting ready to thud into our pond? Shouldn’t we be thinking proactively in that direction as well? Of those present, it was perhaps Stephen Rhind-Tutt, founder of Alexander Street Press, who had the perspective of experience to describe the buffeting effects of the market on innovation. It was the kind of conversation that cannot be replicated on paper, and that makes the demands and costs of travel to participate in one of these gatherings worthwhile. Then it fell to me to do closing remarks at the end of the session. I tried to take David’s cautions to heart, and so I left the gathering with a thought experiment that I’ll pose here, hoping to use my Back Talk to get some backtalk! continued on page 85
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