In this series of webinars, we look at why libraries are launching their own publishing initiatives, how they're doing it, and what they’re learning along the way. The webinars also suggest strategies for starting your own library-led publishing program, share tips from the commercial publishing world for building and improving academic journals, and introduce the peer-review and publishing tools built into the Digital Commons IR platform.
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Building an Outstanding Student Research Journal in the IR
Excellence in teaching and learning is at the core of the mission statement at Illinois Wesleyan University, and the repository supports this mission in creative and innovative ways. Among the many collections of student research in Digital Commons @ IWU is the outstanding student journal, the Undergraduate Economic Review, now in its seventh year of production. In this webinar, Stephanie and Michael will talk about the intensive student work and faculty advising that goes into publishing the journal, the benefits participation has brought to students and faculty, and the repository’s role in supporting and cultivating the highest level of quality in student scholarship.
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Serving Students and Faculty with Open-Access Textbooks
Many professors are developing their own textbooks for use in their courses, and institutional repositories make the perfect publishing venue for these valuable resources. In this webinar, Sarah Beaubien and Charles Lowe of Grand Valley State University share their success in bringing students targeted, high-quality texts at minimal or no cost. Charles, Associate Professor in the Department of Writing and editor of two OA texts, discusses the process of creating an OA textbook and using it in his teaching; and Sarah, Scholarly Communications Outreach Coordinator at GVSU, discusses the services the IR offers for these and other original OA texbooks by GVSU faculty.
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Open Access Journal Publishing at USF: How We Do It, Why We Do It
The University of South Florida Libraries provides open access journal publishing and support services through their repository, ScholarCommons@USF. In this webinar, Todd Chavez, Director of Academic Resources, explains how his team has successfully launched or migrated eight open access journals, including some with a publishing history of more than 40 years. These efforts have enabled the journals to develop sustainable open access models, and have established USF Libraries as a leader in several strategic subject fields.
This webinar covers both start up and ongoing support for a library-led publishing program and is appropriate for both new and long-time publishing libraries. -
Journal Make-Over: Practical Steps to Better Journals
This webinar presents the strategies that commercial publishers use to improve the profile and impact of a journal. A few simple steps can make a significant difference for many journals. Irene emphasizes four essential steps toward better journals: recruiting more submissions, conveying credibility through the journal's homepage and design, speeding editorial workflows, and building your readership. Drawing on the nearly 500 journals on the bepress Digital Commons platform, the webinar also suggests specific benchmarks for success. The presentation is designed for library staff as well as faculty and student editors.
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Library-Led Publishing: Books and Faculty Monographs
At the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Paul Royster started publishing full-length faculty monographs in the repository in 2008, and has since grown the project into a full-fledged digital imprint that includes everything from open-access textbooks to field guides, art books, and historical works. In this webinar, Paul shares strategies for launching library publishing services for books and monographs, including tips on developing policies, working with authors, and providing print-on-demand.