NASIG 2021

The University of Minnesota (UMN) Libraries launched a library publishing program in order to provide an on-campus publishing service for UMN faculty members, and to help shift the larger publishing landscape. Library publishing is also one venue for libraries to financially support open access initiatives. In order to achieve a larger impact, the UMN Libraries Publishing expanded its service offerings to become the publisher of journals owned by scholarly societies. Taking on society publications presents unique opportunities and challenges for libraries. At UMN Libraries, this meant revising our business plan, adjusting our memorandum of agreement, creating new approaches to editorial training, and adjusting staff time spent on backfile and metadata remediation. Above all, accepting society journals means increasing the possibility of publishing existing journals, some of which were previously self-published by societies and some of which were published by other third-party publishers. Bringing on existing is further complicated by the need to, at least on some issues, shift expectations on what services library publishers can provide, these services might be considerably light if the journal was previously published through subscription access and had a revenue stream.

This presentation will break down elements of each opportunity and challenge and will argue for a more collective approach to libraries publishing.