On the need for social change in the #openaccess and scholarly communication system

I have written a little bit in the past about how the culture of information sharing and dissemination is different from one discipline or field of research to the next.

Barbara Fister recently wrote in Inside Higher Ed about how we need more than just technological change to create greater access [Open Access] to scholarship, we need to create a culture where scholars are encouraged to share their research using Open Access methods. This is true for those in the sciences, the social sciences and in the humanities. She noted:

Much harder is changing the cultural practices that surround publishing, the ones that assign value to certain prestigious journals and university presses, and then assign value to scholars by proxy, relying on publishers to curate our faculties (a task university presses didn’t sign on for, I should add).

Of course, researchers and faculty are concerned with the perceived prestige of the sources they publish in.  Harvard is trying to convince the faculty that they should move the prestige to Open Access. But, that tactic may not work at all institutions and fields.  Some fields like chemistry have strong ties to industry, and there is some reluctance for many chemists to share their knowledge widely (for financial reasons, patent reasons, etc.).  [See page 20 of this PDF report.]  Some in the humanities may have concerns with others sharing (tweeting, blogging, etc.) their work that the author thinks is inappropriate.  However, most scientists would be happy to know that their work is being discussed in non-traditional scholarly channels.

The policies of tenure and promotion committees vary from institution to institution, and from department to department.  If we are going to truly promote greater access to research and the literature (and data and everything else), we (OA advocates) need to provide greater incentives for the researchers with different tenure and promotion policies.  This starts with the premise that Open Access is the default mode of scholarship (PDF), and that if they want to hide their research in a closed toll-access journal (or a journal that does not allow for green OA versions, or in a low-circulation book), then they will need to jump through hoops to submit articles/chapters to such journals and books.

This opinion piece in Aljazeera also noted the culture of some academics to hide their research from the rest of the world, because some researchers want to only share their research with a small set of other researchers through toll-access journals or books--to only those with the correct keys to that set of knowledge. Sarah Kendzior wrote:

Academic publishing is structured on exclusivity. Originally, this exclusivity had to do with competition within journals. Acceptance rates at top journals are low, in some disciplines under 5 per cent, and publishing in prestigious venues was once an indication of one’s value as a scholar.

Today, it all but ensures that your writing will go unread. "The more difficult it is to get an article into a journal, the higher the perceived value of having done so," notes Katheen Fitzpatrick, the Director of Scholarly Communication at the Modern Language Association. "But this sense of prestige too easily shades over into a sense that the more exclusively a publication is distributed, the higher its value."

When we convince tenure and promotion committees of the value of sharing research through Open Access channels, and that OA has more benefit to the institution (and the department and the individual) than hiding the research in supposedly prestigious toll-access sources, then the value of OA will go up as more and more t&p committees and funders demand it.

Scholars--Don't give away your work for free: Synthesizing many scholarly communication issues tonight

It seems like scholars and researchers are finally starting to get the point that they shouldn't be giving away their work for free to commercial publishers who then sell back that content to libraries, at often-times huge profits.  Libraries do not exist to make sure that commercial publishers can rake in huge amounts of cash for their stakeholders.

This even holds true for non-profit societies such as the American Chemical Society who act as if they are a commercial outfit.  See this Chronicle article (temporary full text access) and Jenica's posts about them on her blog and in CHMNINF.  Other bullies have also been recently outed.  [Edited to add: The ACS is scared of the new information environment (including social networking sites such as blogs and Twitter (and discussion lists?) where they can't control all of the terms and the language of librarians.  They respond with fear, uncertainty and doubt to attack librarians who dare question their position.]

In other Open Access news, the SCOAP3 deal seems to be moving along. 

I just finished reading Peter Suber's book on Open Access.  Thankfully, John wrote a great overview of the book similar to what I was going to say.  In the next day or seven, I will try to compare and contrast Suber's OA book with Walt Crawford's OA book.  As John notes, they are complementary, and do not compete for the same audience.  Both are very worthwhile reads.

[Another edit: I forgot to mention all of the stuff going on around the American Historical Association.  Fun reading.  Especially the post from Barbara.]

Good night. 

Some statements from scientists and researchers noting that Open Access isn't needed by the general public

Statements such as the following really chap my hide and get my goat.  Some scientists and researches seem to think that the general public is too stupid to be able to use scientific articles and information.  GAAAHHHH!

• Lord Robert Winston noted that “Open Access isn’t going to solve the world’s problems at all. I don’t believe it really contributes greatly to public engagement.” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yELZ3kbFj1w about 48 minutes in) and “Clarity, relevance and perhaps interaction are more important than open access. Society has paid for our science, so we have a duty to communicate, but electronic media may not be the best ways to engage the public.” (http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=419254) 
• From this Scholarly Kitchen post -- “Despite accessibility, the information remains inaccessible in any functional sense — they [the general public] can’t apply it, understand it competently, or put it into context. The information is accessible, but the person has no access to its real value.” 
• Chemistry World article -- “The vast majority of people who need regular access to journals - primarily researchers - belong to institutions or companies with subscriptions to the journals they want to read. How much would the general public actually gain from access to complex, technically written and jargon-heavy articles?”
• Sandy Thatcher noted in an email to me and others on a discussion list [scholcomm@ala.org on January 8, 2012] that -- Laypeople/General public would not be able to benefit “from the more abstract theoretical discussions that occur in journal articles that they are very likely not going to understand anyway.”  

Declining importance of journal Impact Factors, and move the impact to Open Access

I left this comment on an internal Elsevier forum called Innovation Explorers.

 
"It was interesting to see the several comments about impact and Thomson's Impact Factors (IF). I should note that the impact factor of the journal title containing articles is becoming less and less important. Administrators should try to determine the impact of individual articles, not the impact of the journal title container. (A great article for someone can appear in a small publication with low IF, while mediocre tangential articles can appear in high IF journals.) It has been shown that over the last 20 years, it is becoming less important for authors to get published in high IF journals to get their research noticed. See http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/pamphlet/2012/06/14/more-reason-to-outlaw-impact-factors-from-personnel-discussions/ and "The weakening relationship between the Impact Factor and papers' citations in the digital age." Many are in favor of moving the prestige (and impact) to OA publications because anyone can read the articles, not just subscribers. See http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2012/05/10/moving-the-prestige-to-open-access-publishing/."

My Prelim 2012 SLA Chicago Conference Schedule

----- Saturday, July 14, 2012 -----
Frontier Airlines 531 - 11:50am flight
	10:00 AM-12:00 PM
	Depart Denver, Colorado Frontier Airlines 531 Economy | Airbus A319 11:50 AM Denver International Airport (DEN) Arrive Chicago, Illinois 3:06 PM Midway Airport (MDW)
Fly out to Chicago for SLA
	12:00 PM-2:45 PM
PAM Early-Bird Dinner
	6:00 PM-9:00 PM (755 South Clark Street, Blackie's of Chicago)
	Please meet at the restaurant for this member-paid event.
----- Sunday, July 15, 2012 -----
Sci-Tech Newcomers Lunch
	11:30 AM-1:00 PM (get location)
	Lunch for those who are new to the division or first-time conference attendees.  Meet each other and the Sci-Tech Division leadership.
DST Board Meeting
	1:00 PM-3:00 PM (Hilton Chicago, Joliet Room, Chicago, IL)
	Annual board meeting of the Science & Technology Division.  Open to all division members and any others interested.  MODERATING:Cheryl Hansen, Engineering Systems Inc.
Taste of Chicago Welcome Reception
	3:00 PM-5:00 PM (Convention Center, INFO-EXPO, Chicago, IL)
	All conference attendees are invited to celebrate the start of the SLA 2012 Annual  Conference & INFO-EXPO. Come join us in the INFO-EXPO to network with  fellow attendees,enter to win one of many terrific prizes, and enjoy food and drink  before the General Session.
Sunday General Session and Awards Presentation
	5:15 PM-7:15 PM (Convention Center, Arie Crown Theater, Chicago, IL)
	Join us as we honor our 2012 Award Recipients and outstanding conference  partners before featured speaker, Guy Kawasaki, takes the stage of the  impressive Arie Crown Theater. Guy Kawasaki is the co-founder of Alltop.com,  an “online magazine rack” of popular topics on the Web, and a founding partner  at Garage Technology Ventures. He is also a columnist for the Open  Forum of America...
----- Monday, July 16, 2012 -----
Sci-Tech Business Meeting and Breakfast
	7:30 AM-9:30 AM (Convention Center, Room S402A, Chicago, IL)
	PRICE: $20.00 Member/ $5.00 Student Member/ $25.00 Non-Member Annual  business and breakfast meeting of the Sci-Tech Division.  Come have some  breakfast, network with your colleagues old and new, and find out what the  division is doing. MODERATING:Cheryl Hansen, Engineering Systems Inc.
Collections in Transition: E-Books and Collection Development
	10:00 AM-11:30 AM (Convention Center, Room E351, Chicago, IL)
	As collections move from the print to the electronic world, libraries must  change their collection development practices and policies to reflect new  opportunities and challenges.  In this session you will learn how libraries  are transforming their collection development practices and policies to  address the proliferation of electronic books, including acquisitions based on patron demand. In a...
PAM-wide Roundtable
	10:00 AM-11:30 AM (Convention Center, Room S403A, Chicago, IL)
	Discussion of issues related to Physics-Astronomy-Mathematics information  and libraries.  MODERATING:Zahra Kamarei, University of Rochester
PAM Business Meeting and Lunch
	12:00 PM-1:30 PM (Convention Center, Room S401A, Chicago, IL)
	Sponsored by the American Physical Society (APS).
Use of Social Media by Non-Profits
	12:00 PM-1:30 PM (Convention Center, Room E451A, Chicago, IL)
	Social media offers a powerful yet low-cost way for nonprofits to demonstrate,  through pictures, words, and video, how they are making a difference and why  they need support.  Whether you're considering social media for your organization  or you've been using it successfully for years, this session is for you.  Participants  will learn best practices for creating an engaging social media p...
INFO-EXPO Magnificent Mile Networking Refreshments
	2:00 PM-4:00 PM (Convention Center, INFO-EXPO, Chicago, IL)
	TBD
Computer Science Roundtable
	4:00 PM-5:30 PM (Convention Center, Room S403B, Chicago, IL)
	Join us in this roundtable discussion on issues in computer science librarianship.
SPOTLIGHT SESSION: Reinventing Library Skills
	4:00 PM-5:30 PM (Convention Center, Room E450B, Chicago, IL)
	Case studies and practical advice for transporting library skill sets to new  areas of the information profession or to entirely new careers, with a focus  on reinventing skills to stay competitive in a tight economy; branching out,  and developing in areas that are still relevant to SLA.  MODERATING: Mary Talley, Talley Partners SPEAKING:Richard Hulser,  Natural History Museum of Los Angeles...
PAM Book Group Discussion
	5:30 PM-7:00 PM (Convention Center, Room S404A, Chicago, IL)
	This event will be held in the PAM Division's Hospitality Suite at McCormick Place.  Please contact Elizabeth Brown at 607.237.2917 with any questions. MODERATING:Elizabeth Brown, Binghamton University
American West Reception - 6-8pm
	6:00 PM-6:00 PM (TBA, Chicago, IL)
	A hosted reception for members of SLA’s "western" chapters, their colleagues and friends.  Please meet at the Newberry Library and contact Philip Gust (cell: 650.367.-7652; e-mail: pgust@stanford.edu)  with any questions you may have.
SLA Chicago APS Dinner
	6:00 PM-8:00 PM (Gioco’s Restaurant, 1312 South Wabash Ave.)
	By invitation only Gioco’s Restaurant Monday, July 16th, 2012 at 6:45 pm 1312 South Wabash Avenue Chicago, IL 60605 (312) 939-3870
PAM Open House
	7:00 PM-10:00 PM (Hilton Chicago, Williford Room A, Chicago, IL)
	Sponsored by the AIP Publishing.
Knovel - Join us for the best cocktail party of SLA 2012!
	8:00 PM-10:00 PM (The Gage, 24 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60603)
Chocolate Reception
	8:00 PM-9:30 PM (Newberry Library, 60 West Walton Street Chicago, IL 60610)
	Continue a wonderful day of sessions and activities by connecting with colleagues while enjoying offerings of delectable chocolate. MODERATING:Richard Hulser; Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
----- Tuesday, July 17, 2012 -----
PAM Vendor Update and Networking Breakfast
	8:00 AM-9:30 AM (Convention Center, Room S401A, Chicago, IL)
	Publishers and vendors, especially in physics, astronomy, and mathematics, will present on agility in changing times. MODERATING:Julie Arendt, Southern Illinois University; Kim Hukill, American Institute of Physics Niels Bohr Library and Archives SPEAKING:John Haynes, AIP; David Marshall, SIAM; Eric Pepper, SPIE; Olaf Ernst, IOP Publishing
Go to PAM suite.
	10:00 AM-12:00 PM (PAM Division Suite (S404A, Convention Center))
INFO-EXPO Lincoln Park Networking Lunch
	12:00 PM-2:00 PM (Convention Center, INFO-EXPO, Chicago, IL)
Academic Division Roundtable
	2:00 PM-3:30 PM (Convention Center, Room E271B, Chicago, IL)
	A networking session designed for small-group discussions on the most important and relevant issues facing academic librarians today. Bring your problems, solutions and ideas and be prepared for lively discussion!
How and Why Things Fail - Forensic Engineers and Information Specialists
	2:00 PM-3:30 PM (Convention Center, Room E253C, Chicago, IL)
	Real Forensic Engineering not made for TV.  Librarians, information researchers, and libraries of all types and forms are essential to the field of forensic engineering. Come hear Michael Stevenson of ESI talk about what forensic engineering really is and how the gathering of information is key to the field. MODERATING:Cheryl Hansen, Engineering Systems Inc. SPEAKING:Michael Stevenson, ESI
PAM Physics Roundtable
	2:00 PM-3:30 PM (Convention Center, Room S402B, Chicago, IL)
	Small discussion topics include: physics library instruction, non-traditional services, institutional repositories, historical exhibits, faculty interaction and outreach, and space planning and redesign.  MODERATING:Michael Chesnes, LAC Group / NASA Goddard; Kathleen A. Lehman, University of Arkansas
Open Access to Federal Science Technology Information
	4:00 PM-5:30 PM (Convention Center, Room E253C, Chicago, IL)
	The session will address Open access through the Federal Science Repository Service (FSRS) and the collaboration between NTIS and the scientific and engineering communities. Learn the what, why and how of this collaboration and find out how it is working and what it can do for you. SPEAKING:Wayne Strickland, National Technical Information Serv
SLA Contributed Papers - Tuesday Session
	4:00 PM-5:30 PM (Convention Center, Room E253A, Chicago, IL)
	Adding Value - Honing Our Craft:• “Copyright in Special Libraries: Overview and Suggestion of Best Practices” (Susan Craft)• “How the Agility of Librarians Led to the Development of TRAIL” (Daureen Nesdill)• “Models of Agility: Lessons from Embedded Librarians” (David Shumaker)• “People-focused Marketing: Showing Value, Gaining Loyalty,...
All-Sciences Poster Session and Reception
	6:00 PM-8:00 PM (Hilton Chicago, Williford Room BC, Chicago, IL)
	This event highlights multiple themes representing innovation, creativity, and change, with support from multiple  divisions. Join your colleagues for food, drink, and networking, and learn new ideas to take back to your library.
Joint Poster Session
	7:00 PM-9:00 PM (Hilton Chicago, Waldorf Room, Chicago, IL)
	The theme for this year’s poster session is “Jumping over the Candlestick: Individual and Institutional Efforts to Be Nimble and Quick in an Interconnected World.”  Posters will present case studies, research and innovative ideas about how information professionals and/or their institutions are staying agile in today’s open world economy.  This session is a relaxe...
----- Wednesday, July 18, 2012 -----
Science and Engineering 101
	8:00 AM-9:30 AM (Convention Center, Room E264, Chicago, IL)
	This year in 101 our experts will introduce the best tools to help you discover, obtain, and work with resources in nuclear engineering and physics. SPEAKING:Mary Frances Lembo, PNNL Tech Library Pacific Northwest Technical Laboratory; James Manasco, University of Louisville PRESENTATION HANDOUTS: http://www.sla.org/pdfs/sla2012/SciEngineering101MaryFLembo.pdf
UX for Non-UXers  8:00am - 9:30am @ Convention Center, Room E253C   Gretchen McNeely, Tilla Edmunds (Thomson Reuters) , Debra Kolah (Convener of the SLA UX Caucus) and Mike Corbett, will share stories about their UX experiences, and introduce you gently to: relevant terms in UX, information architecture (IA) and service design; elements of design thinking that play into UX discussions; areas where content strategy, IA and UX intersect; the challenges addressed by effective experience design;... Open Data in Chicago
	10:00 AM-11:30 AM (Convention Center, Room E253C, Chicago, IL)
	Chicago has recently launched major government transparency efforts.  Learn more about open data initiatives in the Windy City, particularly the work of the Metro Chicago Information Center.SPEAKING:Virginia Carlson, Urban Rubrics
PAM Mathematics Roundtable
	10:00 AM-11:30 AM (Convention Center, Room E267, Chicago, IL)
	A discussion of issues related to mathematics information and libraries. MODERATING: Jane Holmquist, Princeton University; Andrew Shimp , Yale University
Gov on the Go: Mobile Apps
	12:00 PM-1:30 PM (Convention Center, Room E253C, Chicago, IL)
	Government information is now being made available on the go via smart phone applications.  This session will explore creating mobile applications using government information as well as one government library's experience evaluating mobile applications for use in an agency setting.SPEAKING:Heidi Peters, DARPA Support Contractor; Katrina Stierholz, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
SLA Webmasters Meetup (Operation Vitality)
	12:00 PM-1:30 PM (Convention Center, Room E252, Chicago, IL)
	Calling all SLA Unit Webmasters and members of the Webmaster Section (IT Division)! Join Daniel Lee and Quan Logan for this interactive meetup to discuss "Operation Vitality" SLA's effort to adopt Wordpress as the CMS of choice for unit websites. We'll share tips and strategies for optimizing Wordpress, discuss what the future holds and have a general Q & A session. Bring your lunch and your lapto...
SLA Annual Business and Membership Meeting
	2:00 PM-3:00 PM (Convention Center, Room E450, Chicago, IL)
	Come hear SLA CEO Janice R. Lachance deliver the annual state-of-the association presentation. In addition, SLA President Brent Mai and Treasurer Dan Trefethen will report on the successes and planned initiatives of the association.
Future Now: A Panel Discussion
	3:00 PM-4:00 PM (Convention Center, Room E450, Chicago, IL)
	SLA 2012 is turning the conference closing session on its head!Join us for a new and exciting panel presentation by leading information pros who will discuss and debate topics that were popular during the conference and will continue to be important throughout 2012. This highly engaging event will build on the momentum created by conference sessions and attendee interactions and will include conte...
Get ready to go to O'Hare to get to bus for 6 or 7pm.
	3:30 PM-6:00 PM
Closing Reception
	4:30 PM-6:30 PM (TBA, Chicago, IL)
	PRICE: $20.00 Member/ $5.00 Student Member/ $20.00 Non-Member The Kentucky Chapter invites all conference attendees to join us in putting the icing on the cake of another successful conference.  We hope you will take this chance to bid adieu to your friends and colleagues before you travel back to your place of origin. We also hope to ease your parting tears by including a drink ticket and a...
Get to janesville at either 8:30 or 9:30.
	6:00 PM-9:30 PM
----- Saturday, July 21, 2012 -----
Van galder bus from janesville to Midway
	9:30 AM-1:00 PM
	http://www.coachusa.com/vangalder/ss.details.asp?action=Lookup&c1=Janesville&s1=WI&c2=Chicago+Midway+Airport&s2=IL&resultId=132612&order=&dayFilter=&scheduleChoice=&sitePageName=%2Fvangalder%2Findex.asp&cbid=504997805425
Frontier Airlines 536 - 3:50pm Midway
	2:00 PM-5:30 PM
	Return Sat, Jul 21 2hr 29min Total time Depart Chicago, Illinois Frontier Airlines 536 3:50 PM Midway Airport (MDW) Arrive Denver, Colorado 5:19 PM Denver International Airport (DEN)

Someone moved my eggs and cheese in a basket to Japan

Yes, that is an interesting title.  I hope the following with explain it a little bit.

I've had a bit of a job change in the last month.  I am now officially the Collections & Electronic Resources Analysis Librarian at the University of Denver.  Thus, I am no longer the Science & Engineering Librarian.  [Someone moved my cheese.]

Way back in 1994, I had the realization that I could be a darn good science librarian because of my love of science, because I like helping people find scientific information, and because I like learning about the scientific publishing business.  However, because of some staffing changes in the library, I was asked to focus my energies in this different position.  [You shouldn't put all of your eggs in one basket.]

1) I read a blog post concerning the impact scientists have via twitter, and Ted Hart wrote that "the beauty of saying you're big in Japan is that no one can ever really verify the statement (or at least that was more true in 1999)."

That rang true for me.  I spent (and still spend) a lot of time and energy working with SLA and the various scientific divisions (PAM Division Chair in 2007 and Sci-Tech Division Chair in 2011) from 1995 to the present so I could be a good science and engineering librarian.  Maybe SLA is like my Japan.  I may be influential within SLA, but that didn't seem to matter in this case.

For the next two thought pieces, Jenica Rogers was the base inspiration.

2) Wayne Bivens-Tatum wrote this post, Services, Stuff, and Size for the Academic Librarian Blog at Princeton.  This was a response to Jenica Rogers who wrote Killing Fear Part 1.

He noted that "by the time people have finished their PhDs and gotten jobs at colleges and universities that require research and publication for tenure, they hardly need librarians to teach them how to do research, which is why they rarely ask for research help, and almost never within their fields of expertise. They don’t need “information literacy,” they need stuff."

Other evidence to support this idea of stuff is the Ithaka Faculty Survey from 2009. Here is a synopsis from IHE.  "The declining visibility and importance of traditional roles for the library and librarian may lead to the faculty primarily perceiving the library as a budget line, rather than an active intellectual partner."

And ACRLog wrote: "Almost three-quarters of humanities faculty indicated teaching support is a very important role of the library, while a notably lower share of social scientists and scientists saw teaching support as very important."

In short, many science and engineering faculty see the academic library as a wallet.  We are there to purchase stuff for them and their students.   It seems like the DU science and engineering faculty think of the library mainly as the purchasing agent as well; they don't really think of the library as a teaching partner.

3) The Library Loon wrote When Heroes Fall which is a response to Jenica's Killing Fear Part 4. The Loon noted:

If we can’t defend Troy, we’ll found Rome. Perhaps the topless tow’rs of Ilium are indeed past their useful life as configured, but they are too hard for even Hector the hero to rebuild from within. Very well. Let us see what sort of tent-city we can erect between the walls and the sea.

Much of this article talks about fighting battles within libraries, and the person asks what kind of risk one should take when those battles are fought.  What is the worst that can happen if one looses?  The thing I like about the quote above is the idea that if we don't succeed to transform the institution from within, we can try to create a new ecosystem that exists outside of the library's or the institution's walls.  Hence, this is the reason I am becoming more and more involved in OA journal publishing initiatives.

If you follow me on twitter, you know that I link to and think a lot about Open Access resources.  That is the ecosystem I would like to support that exists outside of the library walls.  I would love it if more scholars and scientists supported the Open Access movement.  Thankfully, the Academic Spring Revolution took place, and this has gotten more scientists and librarians to talk about methods to open up their research and the supporting data.