This article takes a broad view of the evolution of collecting behaviors in a network environment and suggests some future directions based on various simple models. The authors look at the changing dynamics of print collections, at the greater engagement with research and learning behaviors, and at trends in scholarly communication. The goal is to provide context within which libraries can discuss changing patterns of investment across collection categories. The authors argue that the network is reconfiguring not only individual academic libraries but also the whole library system, as reduced transaction costs facilitate the unbundling of functions and their consolidation in network platforms and with other external service providers.

Collection Directions: The Evolution of Library Collections and Collecting.

The paper considers how the changing nature of research in digital environments is reshaping the nature of library collections and services in academic and research libraries. It describes two central directions, each a response to the centrality of the user in a network environment. First, the library has an increasing role in managing the research and other outputs of the university (the inside-out collection). Second, the library is facilitating access to a broader range of local, external and collaborative resources organized around user needs (the facilitated collection).

Library collections in the life of the user: two directions

Researchers are experiencing intense pressures to publish and increase research outputs. Recently many research funders have introduced policies and mandates related to open access, which have contributed to the increasing popularity of open access journals. Dubbed gold open access, open access journals offer researchers another publishing option. However, some publishers with questionable practices and journals of dubious quality have emerged exploiting the ‘author pays’ open access model and researchers' need to publish. Hence an ability to publish research outputs through the most appropriate outlet for a particular field is crucial for researchers in order to maximise the impact of their research. Notwithstanding the proliferation of open access journals, the literature indicates that some researchers may not have a full understanding of the operations, implications and issues around open access and other publishing issues. This understanding is known as scholarly publishing literacy. With knowledge o...

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00048623.2014.882873

Riding the Wave of Open Access: Providing Library Research Support for Scholarly Publishing Literacy

Digital scholarship and the problem of research data offer libraries the chance to shed their “support service” label and become research collaborators. A web-based survey explored how UK research libraries are organizing and presenting their services to support the e-research agenda. The findings show that new websites, groups, positions, and other structures are enabling libraries to have more prominent roles in research.

Designing libraries for research collaboration in the network world

Managing change in university libraries has been a critical issue for libraries during recent decades. Revolutionary advancement in information and communication technologies (ICT) has been a disruptive force for all libraries. Technology has significantl

The complexities of change, leadership and technology in Australian university libraries

New York University Libraries and our partners in Information Technology Services offer effective enterprise-wide technology solutions for many academic practices, but we are still working to solve the “faculty Web site problem”—providing services for digital scholarship and publishing in a way that is both scalable and sustainable. This article describes our study of NYU scholars’ needs and digital scholarship support at other research institutions, and then introduces a service model we developed for supporting such services (which may include digitization, hosting of research data, digital publishing, the development of software for scholarly practices, and more). We then discuss the challenges to research libraries of implementing our service model in a scalable, sustainable way, by addressing project and tool selection, staffing, and organizational change.

/pdf/supporting-digital-scholarship-in-research-libraries-1pacd7y08v.pdf

Supporting Digital Scholarship in Research Libraries: Scalability and Sustainability

/pdf/learning-to-say-maybe-building-nyu-s-press-library-yfj5ncfadk.pdf

Monica McCormick

Papers

Supporting Digital Scholarship in Research Libraries: Scalability and Sustainability

Learning to Say Maybe: Building NYU's Press/Library Collaboration