The Potential of Library Publishing Services to Transform Scholarly Communication in Ireland

Abstract

Libraries need to move beyond traditional roles of purchasing and distributing scholarly literature, librarians need to strategically position themselves and take ownership of improving access. As a direct result of Covid-19, there is a new level of urgency to transform the scholarly communication process and there are enormous opportunities for an expanded and inclusive library publishing service which addresses access to knowledge and literature.  This rich discussion will stimulate the drive to make library publishing a mainstream service within Irish libraries.   The purpose of this study is to provide a vision for how academic libraries can assume a more central role in a future where open access (OA) publishing has become the predominant model for disseminating scholarly research. This work will analyse existing trends related to Open Access policies and publishing with an emphasis on the development of repositories managed by libraries to publish and disseminate articles. These trends, coupled with emerging economic realities, will create an environment where libraries’ will assume a major role in the Open Access publishing environment. This paper will provide an insight for academic libraries and their institutions to consider a dramatic shift in the deployment of subscription financial resources from a largely closed scholarly communication system to one that provides open, unrestricted access to research. Given the importance of scholarly publishing, a number of Irish Third level libraries have launched library publishing services including the establishment and management of high quality library published peer-reviewed open access journals and Open Educational Resources to support formal and informal scholarly communication. Librarians are also upskilling in the area of library publishing. A number of Irish Librarians have completed the Library Publishing Coalition's Library Publishing Curriculum. There is also the Library Publishing Group as part of the Library Association of Ireland. This work aims to identify and examine the factors of library publishing services that facilitate scholarly communication. The clear message from this discussion is that libraries need to include publishing in their services, advocate for open access and serve their communities and societies.