The Library Publishing Group (LPG) of the Library Association of Ireland (LAI) supports all types of library publishing initiatives across the sector.
The Library Publishing Coalition and the IFLA Special Interest Group on Library Publishing are affiliates of the LPG. The LPG strategic plan is also aligned to the Library Publishing Action Plan 2019/2020 of the IFLA Special Interest Group on Library Publishing. The group is also a proponent of the Irish Government’s National Principles for Open Access Policy Statement.
The LPG will prioritise the following aims:
Library Publishing Research Agenda
The Library Publishing Coalition (LPC) Research Committee is pleased to announce the release of the Library Publishing Research Agenda. The agenda offers exploratory overviews of six topics of importance to library publishers: Assessment, Labor, Accessibility, Non-traditional Research Outputs, Peer Review, and Partnerships. The document is divided into sections corresponding to each of these topics, which include brief descriptions of the topics, potential research questions, and a list of relevant resources.
How to use the Research Agenda
The research agenda is offered as a starting point for individuals interested in learning about and conducting research related to library publishing, and aligns with the LPC Research Committee’s mission to promote research that can provide an evidence base to inform best practices for library publishers.
We encourage the members of the library publishing community to use this document in a variety of ways, including purposes aimed at both research and practice. The research questions in each section can be used to develop research projects that investigate general trends in library publishing, or as a means of examining current practices and policies within one’s own institution. The relevant resources listed may be used as a starting point for individuals simply interested in learning more about aspects of library publishing, regardless of whether they are interested in conducting research in that area.
This document is by no means comprehensive, and many highly important topics have been left unaddressed, including diversity, equity, and inclusion; resource allocation; and sustainability. Our hope is that the document will be a living one, and that it will continue to develop and evolve to address these and other areas of importance to library publishing programs. Hence, we hope that this document can serve as a foundation to which the community can contribute and that these contributions can be incorporated into future versions of the research agenda.
Where to check it out
The Library Publishing Research Agenda can be accessed in PDF (generously hosted by Purdue University Libraries) and in HTML. As with all LPC publications, the Research Agenda is released under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, and we encourage others to share and adapt it as widely as possible. Questions and comments about this document can be emailed to contact@librarypublishing.org.
The creators of the Library Publishing Research Agenda
The Library Publishing Research Agenda was created by the Library Publishing Coalition Research Committee: Nicky Agate, Jennifer Beamer, Elizabeth Bedford, Jason Boczar, Karen Bjork, Corinne Guimont, Ian Harmon, Matthew Hunter, Annie Johnson, Sarah Wipperman, Vanessa Gabler (Board liaison); Melanie Schlosser (Educopia Institute). Production: Nancy Adams (copyediting) and Hannah Ballard (design). Educopia Institute.
Library Publishing Competencies
With thanks to you, the Library Publishing Coalition community for your input, the LPC Professional Development Committee is thrilled to release the final version of the Library Publishing Competencies. This document provides a broad list of skills and knowledge useful in the development and provision of publishing services in libraries.
The Competencies is organized into three sections: publishing (the work libraries do to publish content), program development and management (the work involved in creating, managing, and sustaining a publishing program), and teaching and consulting (reflecting both the consulting work libraries do with publishing partners and their larger educational mission around publishing on campus).
Why Library Publishing Competencies?
Library publishing is a fast-changing discipline that requires library publishers to engage with an environment of continual learning and research in order to keep up to date on publishing practices. Due to this fast pace, a collection of guidelines and competencies to support and educate library publishers is a valuable asset, especially when roles or programs are newly formed, in early stages, or in transition.
How to Use the Document
We encourage the community to use this document in many ways, both in their library publishing career and for program development. For example, library publishers may reference the Competencies when creating or seeking out professional development. Or, they may use the document to identify skills needed for new or transitioning positions. Though no one position can encompass all of these competencies, this broad list can help programs think about positions in context and identify which skills are essential to the work being performed. Finally, we encourage individual library publishers to use the competencies to identify both their strengths and areas in which they are interested in growing.
Where to Check it out
The Library Publishing Competencies can be accessed in PDF (generously hosted by Purdue University Libraries) and in HTML. As with all LPC publications, the Competencies is released under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, and we encourage others to share and adapt it as widely as possible. Questions and comments about this document can be emailed to contact@librarypublishing.org.
The Creators of the Library Publishing Competencies
The LPC Professional Development Committee created this document as part of their mission to provide professional development for those in the LPC membership and in the larger community of library publishers. Created by: Allison Brown, Emily Cole, Adrian Ho, Amanda Hurford, Melanie Kowalski, Ally Laird, Jessica Lange, Devin Soper, Carrye Syma; Ted Polley and Christine Fruin (Board liaisons); Melanie Schlosser (LPC staff). Production: Nancy Adams (copyediting) and Hannah Ballard (design). Educopia Institute.
Jane Buggle is Deputy Librarian at Dublin Business School (DBS), Manager of DBS Library Press, Managing Editor of DBS Business Review and was formerly a Senior Editor on Studies in Arts and Humanities Journal, on which she edited a Special Issue on Minorities and Indigenous People. In 2019 she co-chaired the IFLA SIG on Library Publishing Dublin. Jane is Subject Expert of the DBS MSc in Information and Library Management on which she teaches the Educopia Library Publishing Curriculum. She is Chair of the Library Association of Ireland’s Library Publishing Group. In 2019 she was awarded a DBS Leadership Award. The MSc in Information and Library Management at DBS was shortlisted for the 2019 GradIreland Awards.
Robert Alfis is the Research Librarian at Dublin Business School. As research librarian he manages the DBS institutional repository eSource, is one of the Managing Editors of DBS Business Review alongside Jane Buggle, and provides research support to DBS faculty. Robert is a part-time lecturer in Information Organisation on the DBS MSc in Information and Library Management where he teaches cataloguing and classification. He is a currently a committee member of LIR – the HEANet Librarians’ group and former secretary of the LAI Career Development Group.
Mary Buckley B.A. DLIS, ALAI is Head Librarian, National College of Ireland (Norma Smurfit Library), and has over 30 years’ experience of working in academic libraries. I am responsible for the strategic management and development of Library and Information services at NCI. I have specific responsibility for students studying online and I am currently working on the development of a College Archive. My main areas of interest are adult learners; digital learning (mindsets) & the delivery of online resources. I am one of the co-authors of ‘NCI Library Referencing Guide’ (2018), 5th ed. and co-authored a chapter “Connecting Librarians in the HECA Library Group Pilot of the Professional Development Framework” in Enhancing teaching and learning in Irish academic libraries : stories of professional artistry. L2L. by Cleary, A., Cohen, P., Dr. and Delaney, M., Dr. (2019) Available at: libraries : stories of professional artistry. L2L. by Cleary, A., Cohen, P., Dr. and Delaney, M., Dr. (2019) Available at: http://l2l.ie/publications-2/ accessed 20th February 2020.
Niamh Brennan is Programme Manager Research Informatics in Trinity College Dublin where she works on research reporting, evaluation and impact. She is responsible for the development of Trinity’s CRIS (Research Support System) and its institutional repository, TARA (Trinity’s Access to Research Archive). Niamh is a member of several national and international groups working on open access to research outputs and enabling their improved reporting, retrieval and evaluation. These include NORF, Ireland’s National Open Research Forum (which represents all Irish funding councils and research agencies and institutions) and DART-Europe (Digital Access to Research Theses Europe). She manages Ireland’s National Open Access Desk in TCD as Irish partner in OpenAIRE Advance (Horizon2020). She is a member of the management councils of two key Irish journals in economics and social sciences, is project manager of TCD’s SOAPbox (Student Open Access Publishing Project) and has partnered in a number of research projects in digital humanities, international development and social sciences.
Michelle Dalton is Scholarly Communications Librarian in University College Dublin Library, with responsibility for advising on publication strategy, scholarly publishing models, and open access publishing. She has published across a range of academic journals including Journal of Information Literacy, Journal of Academic Librarianship, and Library & Information Research, and also serves as a peer reviewer for many journals.
As Assistant Librarian for Teaching, Learning and Research at the Marino Institute of Education. I have a demonstrated history of working in the higher education industry. As a strong research professional with a PhD in Cultural and Social History and a Postgraduate Degree focused in Library and Information Science, I am skilled in Education, Library and Research. My professional interests include: Open Access, Research Support and Learning, Library Publishing, Digitisation, Civil Rights, Cultural and Social History and Race Relations.
Sinéad Hanrahan is the Digital Scholarship Services Librarian at Cork Institute of Technology where she manages the institutional repository, SWORD, and engages in outreach in the promotion of Open Science. Previously to this Sinéad worked as a library assistant at the University of Limerick and Limerick City & County Council Libraries, as well as holding roles in cultural event management. She is a committee member of the Library Publishing Group and the Communications Officer of the Western Regional Section of the Library Association of Ireland
Eva graduated from the Hochschule für Bibliothekswesen in Stuttgart in 1995 and initially worked as a Children’s Librarian. Since 2001, she has been managing the library of the Curriculum Development Unit, a professional development centre for teachers and tutors. She has been a member of the LAI Academic & Special Libraries Committee since 2005 and served three terms as Chairperson. Eva is the current convenor of LAI’s CPD Education Committee and the external examiner on DBS’ Master of Information and Library Management. She is a Fellow of CILIP and serves as one of their mentors. Furthermore, she regularly reviews manuscripts for two academic LIS journals as well as papers for educational conferences. She has published and presented her research on continuing professional development of librarians. For IFLA WLIC 2020 she was appointed volunteer coordinator.
Margaret is Librarian and Repository Manager at the School of Celtic Studies, DIAS.
The School is dedicated to the study of Irish and the other Celtic languages, both written and spoken, throughout their history, as well as related areas of cultural, social and legal history. The School publishes books and other online resources, and issues the annual journal Celtica.
As librarian Margaret supports all research staff towards their research and publication work. As a member of the LAI Library Publishing Group she hopes to further enhance this support and to build on and develop networks within the library publishing community in Ireland.
Margaret was a committee member of the Academic & Special Libraries Section of the LAI from 2007-2013, holding the role of Secretary from 2009-2011. She is also currently a committee member of the LAI Rare Books Group.
David has worked in the Irish higher education system for 18 years and is currently Head of Systems and Electronic Resources at Waterford Institute of Technology. He has a background in I.T. before joining the library and set up one of the earliest Irish open access repositories at WIT, in 2007. One of his jobs in the library is research support, and he is implementing an open research policy at WIT. Through his work in LIR – the HEANet Librarians’ group and The Carpentries movement, David is working to nurturing the essential data and computational skills that Irish library community will need to support open research.
Fiona Morley is Head of Digital Programmes and Information Systems in Maynooth University Library, with responsibility for library systems, digital library, research repositories and RDM policy as well as open access initiatives. MU Library has directly supported a number of open journal publishing initiatives in the past year under the Maynooth Academic Publishing namespace. Previously Fiona was Head of the Open Data Unit in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER). In that role she developed the first national Open Data Strategy 2017-2022. Fiona has represented Ireland on a range of related working and expert groups at the OECD and EU.
Prior to moving to DPER, Fiona was Senior Librarian/Assistant Director in the Legal Aid Board, managing the Research and Information Unit (RIU) which comprises two separate libraries and a specialist research function. Fiona has also held librarianship posts in the HSE as well as other library roles in the public and academic library sector. She is a graduate of NUIG, UCD, DBS and the Open University.
Marie O’Neill is Head of Enhancement at CCT College. Previously, Marie was Head of Library at Dublin Business School (DBS) where she was Managing Editor of the 2017 and 2018 issues of DBS Business Review which is indexed on the DOAJ. In 2019, Marie co-chaired the IFLA SIG on Library Publishing Dublin. Marie initiated the setting up of the MSc in Information and Library Management at DBS, advocating for the inclusion of library publishing in its curriculum. Marie is a Council member of the Library Association of Ireland and the LAI’s Library Publishing Group. CCT College has purchased Digital Commons.