I’m happy to report that my University has passed a Senate resolution (pdf) requiring all faculty members to deposit peer-reviewed journal articles in the University’s repository - Spectrum. Perhaps a little shameless promotion here, but the University Librarian and the Spectrum repository library committee really championned the cause of Open Access to Faculty in the last 2 years, and in the process, increased the visibility and importance of the library at Concordia. Small step for our library, big step for librarianship.
Archive for the ‘academic libraries’
PLG Statement on Elsevier
The Progressive Librarians Guild has issued a statement regarding Elsevier’s publication of fake journals. Here’s a quote:
The Progressive Librarians Guild decries the distortion and abuse of research and science by corporate greed exemplified by Elsevier and Merck, and calls upon librarians to educate the public and researchers about all instances of collusion of academic and scholarly publishing with profit-making business entities in palming- off corporate propaganda through deceptive publishing practices, which debase scholarship and science, conspire against the public interest, and pollute the well of genuine scholarly information and communication.
On another note, in 2007, a coalition called PRISM (Partnership for Research Integrity in Science and Medicine) started a website whose goal it was to “advocate for policies that ensure the quality, integrity, and economic viability of peer-reviewed journals.” This group was established by the Executive Council of the Professional & Scholarly Publishing Division of the Association of American Publishers (AAP). On the AAP Board of Directors sits an Elsevier representative.
This group has nothing to do with the current Elsevier scandal (the coalition was created to lobby against government mandated Open Access policies), but perhaps Elsevier should go back and read some of the principles (see how often the word integrity is used) and goals of this coalition, which was created to tout the importance of private sector publishing:
PRISM seeks to educate all stakeholders about the importance of maintaining the integrity of published information, and sustaining the incentives for all publishers to invest in the system of independent publishing that continues to sustain the public’s trust in scientific and medical research.
Live-in for Literacy 2009 @ UBC Library
Two undergraduate students are pitching their tents inside the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre @ UBC for the next 10 days as part of a national campaign to raise support, awareness and funds for global literacy, according to UBC Public Affairs. Check out the Live-In for Literacy site (with live webcam!). Other participating libraries include Queen’s University, University of Toronto, Concordia University, McMaster University, Laurentian University and Memorial University.
UofT’s Robarts Library to get $75 million upgrade
Robarts Library has always been a popular conversational piece. Whether you love it or hate it, the news of a $75 million upgrade reported in the Toronto Star will no doubt add interest to what is an already popular topic. The provincial government is providing a $15 million grant up front.
In addition to being known as ‘the dungeon’, looking like a turkey and its brutalist architecture, Robarts is a closed stacks system. When it opened in 1972, Robarts was initially planned to be closed to undergraduate students as well. Student protested successfully with petitions and a sit in to which 500 students showed up.
While there are plans to replace the concrete covering the stacks with windows that will let some light in, there’s no mention of changing the system from the closed stacks system to one with increased browsing access for the public.
Is there still an argument for closed stacks in academic libraries? To be fair, access is being improved through UTLibrary’s embracing of open access. Copyright friendly books are in the process of being digitized through UTL’s partnership with the Open Content Alliance. The public can also browse reference books and current journals. For access to current materials, the public can request item retrieval, but to browse the stacks or borrow current materials the minimum cost is $60 for three months.
-PC-