Strategic Directions for Scholarly Communication

Scholarly communication is the process that defines what scholars do: perform research, publish their results following procedures of peer review, and gain access to others' research so they can begin the cycle anew. RUL's role in scholarly communication has traditionally been to facilitate the first and third stages of this process by acquiring and providing access to information resources. However, rising costs and stagnant budgets make it increasingly difficult for academic libraries to support their mission in the traditional way. Like other libraries, RUL must also advocate and even lead fundamental change by increasing the options for affordable and open access to scholarly content. Advocacy and leadership should not only be a propagandistic activity, but involve library collections, services, and even publishing in the interest of the Rutgers community. Strategic directions are therefore provided for both advocacy and for practical action. The second follows from the first and is in many areas intimately related, but is more difficult and ultimately more productive.

Scholarly Communication Outreach and Advocacy

• Shape directions and provide leadership of the scholarly communication at Rutgers. RUL is in the best position to do this because of its key role in the existing scholarly communication system of the university, its university-wide liaison network, and its expertise in resources and technology.

• Increase awareness and understanding of the digital development issues and technology of the RUL and RU community (includes open access, electronic publishing, digital repository). Our knowledge base on these issues is scant and uneven. In order to effectively communicate the scholarly communication issues with our constituents we need to raise the awareness of all RUL faculty and staff to a higher level. Only then we can articulate these issues to others and advocate them in a persuasive manner.

• Maintain and increase the visibility of a Web page for scholarly communication at
  http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/scholarly_comm/scholarly_comm.shtml .

• Sponsor speakers and facilitate campuswide discussions on scholarly communication issues.

• Disseminate information about serials and monographic pricing.

Practical Action in Support of the Transformation of Scholarly Communication

• Facilitate the creation and dissemination of new scholarship through the development and maintenance of publishing platforms, for instance by the sponsorship of new e-journals. Develop criteria for the journals and other content RUL will publish and a sustainable cost model for e- journals.

• Prefer open access in our publishing and library access decisions. Editors should be discouraged from erecting barriers to access, and freely available scholarly resources such as e-journals should be made no less accessible than those that cost money.

• Prefer open source in our software decisions for staff and technical processes. Linux and Mozilla should be standard on staff and public access computers, and platforms like Open Journal Systems should be preferred to their turnkey alternatives.

• Create a systemwide RUL institute as the focal point for research and development that serves the goal of transforming scholarly communication by devising and implementing new methods of publishing, archiving, and facilitating access and use for RUL-based information systems.

• Curate and preserve the digital products of Rutgers scholars and offices as well as collaborators elsewhere in New Jersey in an institutional and multi-institututional repository. Develop policies for our repository.

• Link the discussions and decisions about serials subscriptions to the pricing data within scholarly disciplines and the less expensive or open access alternatives to expensive titles.

• Establish formal and informal institutional collaborations that support the transformation of scholarly communication. Three examples would be Rutgers' other principal publisher, Rutgers University Press; our work with the University of Virginia as the key institution developing Fedora; and the Matrix Center http://matrix.msu.edu/ at Michigan State University as a kindred land grant research university that is using Fedora to support publishing efforts that complement our own: H- Net, H-NewJersey, and NJDH; Historical Voices and MIC; outstanding strengths in African Studies at both universities. Rutgers should continue to exercise the leadership exemplified by its hosting the Fedora Users Conference http://www.scc.rutgers.edu/fedora_conf_2005/ in May 2005.