We recently welcomed LIBER Quarterly as an OASPA member in the Scholar Publisher category. LIBER Quarterly joins almost 200 total OASPA members and over 60 others in this category.
We asked Trudy Turner, Managing Editor, a few questions so we could learn more about LIBER Quarterly and its connection to open scholarship and decision to become an OASPA member.
Tell us a bit about your publication and the service it provides
LIBER, the Association of European Research Libraries, is devoted to the principles of open science. One of the many ways LIBER commits to this principle is through its long standing open access journal, LIBER Quarterly, which is intended to form a bridge between the LIS academics and the practitioners in our university and research libraries. LQ is a platform for thought leadership, innovation and best practice in LIS research and practice. We publish engaging and compelling material that taps into the zeitgeist and sets pace for change, giving voice to library and information science (LIS) researchers and practitioners in Europe and beyond, including new professionals as well as established thought leaders.
Why did you decide to join OASPA and what do you hope to get out of your OASPA membership?
It is important for scholarly publishers – especially small or single title publishers – to engage with the big picture. Publishing, especially OA publishing, is a fast changing business and it has never been more important to ensure that publishing organisations carefully consider matters of ethical practice. Being part of OASPA helps us to develop our journal according to emerging professional standards.
What are the short and medium-term priorities for your publication in relation to open scholarship?
We have our peer review mechanisms under constant review, taking a keen interest in discussions about open peer review as well as trying to address issues of reviewer scarcity. We seek ways of boosting the very small and entirely voluntary editorial team so that we can serve and support our authors and our reviewers in the best way possible. To optimise the benefits of open access, we are working on raising the profile of our journal content to reach more readers in a range of contexts, bringing our research, practice and op-ed content to those who can most benefit from it as well as raising the profile of the LIS profession more generally.
What do you think are the main challenges for the communication of scholarship generally in the near future?
We are keen for the development of integrated, efficient, affordable global platforms that enable effective capture and reporting of open access activity, support TDM (text and data mining), connect with relevant scholarly communication systems/software and reduce costs of open access publishing.
How do you think OASPA can help mitigate those challenges?
OASPA offers a community of passionate, knowledgeable and committed people who are willing to engage and support each other. This is critical – particularly for smaller organisations and for those who have very little funding. While we are seeing an increasing prevalence of open access, there is still a great deal of OA scepticism and OASPA is a cohesive community that can easily link with partners to influence policy and join up OA practice across the globe.
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