Transforming the Publishing Academy: How Moving Online and Focusing on Diversity and Inclusion Made Scholarly Publishing Support More Accessible to Graduate Students

Academic libraries frequently offer general research support services such as literature searching and citation management workshops for graduate students, however specific scholarly communications topics such as writing for an academic publication are less frequently addressed (Gannon-Leary & Bent, 2010; Perini & Calcagno, 2013). Support for scholarly publishing, data management and other scholarly communication topics are increasingly needed, and are the type of challenges with which librarians can assist. The University of Louisville Libraries in collaboration with the Graduate School offer a biennial, interdisciplinary, five-week publishing academy for graduate students. The Publishing Academy is designed to introduce students to the scholarly publishing landscape and offer practical tips for writing and publishing in peer-reviewed journals. The first week of the academy is an introduction to the academy with the librarians leading the effort along with a tenured faculty panel discussion about academic publishing; the second week is focused on selecting a journal for one’s publication and covers topics such as copyright and open access as well as journal metrics; the third week covers writing for a publication; the fourth week is an early career (pre-tenure) and non-tenure track faculty panel discussion, and the last week is a wrap-up and a discussion about current issues in scholarly publishing. In Spring 2021, the Publishing Academy moved to an online format due to COVID, and was enhanced with diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) content. In addition to the general overview of the publishing academy and the content and format of each session, the presenters will discuss the opportunities and challenges associated with moving an in-person program to a fully virtual format, and purposefully integrating DEI into the academy. We will share student feedback, lessons learned from the experiences, and changes we will make to the future academies. By the end of the presentation, the attendees will be able to list potential topics to cover, identify campus partnerships, reflect on how to integrate DEI into programming, and outline the potential steps for the development or enhancement of a similar program on their campus. Gannon-Leary, P., & Bent, M. (2010). Writing for publication and the role of the library: “Do have a cow, man!” (“Don\u27t have a cow, man”-Bart Simpson). New Review of Academic Librarianship, 16(1), 26-44. https://doi.org/10.1080/13614530903478870 Perini, M., & Calcagno, T. (2013, July). Research and Preparation for Academic Professionalism: The Role of the Academic Librarian. The Journal of the World Universities Forum, 6 (2), 13-25. https://doi.org/10.18848/1835-2030/CGP/v06i02/5682

Transforming the Publishing Academy: How Moving Online and Focusing on Diversity and Inclusion Made Scholarly Publishing Support More Accessible to Graduate Students

Academic libraries frequently offer general research support services such as literature searching and citation management workshops for graduate students, however specific scholarly communications topics such as writing for an academic publication are less frequently addressed (Gannon-Leary & Bent, 2010; Perini & Calcagno, 2013). Support for scholarly publishing, data management and other scholarly communication topics are increasingly needed, and are the type of challenges with which librarians can assist. The University of Louisville Libraries in collaboration with the Graduate School offer a biennial, interdisciplinary, five-week publishing academy for graduate students. The Publishing Academy is designed to introduce students to the scholarly publishing landscape and offer practical tips for writing and publishing in peer-reviewed journals. The first week of the academy is an introduction to the academy with the librarians leading the effort along with a tenured faculty panel discussion about academic publishing; the second week is focused on selecting a journal for one’s publication and covers topics such as copyright and open access as well as journal metrics; the third week covers writing for a publication; the fourth week is an early career (pre-tenure) and non-tenure track faculty panel discussion, and the last week is a wrap-up and a discussion about current issues in scholarly publishing. In Spring 2021, the Publishing Academy moved to an online format due to COVID, and was enhanced with diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) content. In addition to the general overview of the publishing academy and the content and format of each session, the presenters will discuss the opportunities and challenges associated with moving an in-person program to a fully virtual format, and purposefully integrating DEI into the academy. We will share student feedback, lessons learned from the experiences, and changes we will make to the future academies. By the end of the presentation, the attendees will be able to list potential topics to cover, identify campus partnerships, reflect on how to integrate DEI into programming, and outline the potential steps for the development or enhancement of a similar program on their campus

Diversifying the Publishing Academy: Increasing Access to Scholarly Publishing Education for Graduate Students

Introduction: This article highlights the importance of providing accessible scholarly publishing education and support to graduate students by presenting a case study of how the University of Louisville’s Publishing Academy was modified to be fully online and intentionally focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Literature Review: The literature review examines existing scholarship related to publishing support for graduate students, focusing on literature discussing the importance of publishing for doctoral students and describing successful publishing and writing support programs. Overview of Publishing Academy: University of Louisville’s Publishing Academy is a biennial scholarly publishing program for graduate students founded in 2016. Planning and execution of the spring 2021 iteration of the Academy occurred during the global COVID-19 pandemic and during a time of national civil unrest due to racial inequity and injustice. The context of the times necessitated changes to the Publishing Academy, including moving the Academy to a fully virtual format and intentionally focusing on DEI in developing Academy sessions and faculty panels. Next Steps: Next steps for the Publishing Academy are considered based on participant feedback and organizers’ observations

Open Educational Resources in Kentucky

Open educational resources (OER) play an increasingly important role in the education landscape, with increased awareness and use year over year (Coffey). Often, academic libraries play a supporting role for instructors as they locate, adopt, and create OER for their courses. In this article, we will provide an introduction to OER, outline some current trends in open education, and describe a few of the OER initiatives currently underway in Kentucky’s college and university libraries

Tell Us What You Really Think: Implementing a Mixed-methods Approach to Library User Assessment

This article presents an analysis of student feedback received via formal biennial survey and informal post-it notes assessment, and advocates for the use of informal assessment methods to supplement formal methodologies. A biennial satisfaction survey and an informal post-it notes assessment were employed to collect data from library users and yielded comprehensive, timely, and actionable feedback from the students, faculty, and staff. Feedback received from the two assessment methods allowed the University Library of Columbus (ULC) to gain a greater understanding of user needs and preferences which was used to improve library spaces, resources, and services to increase user satisfaction. While each method has advantages and disadvantages, combining varied assessment methods helped the ULC to gain a more holistic understanding of its users and provided a rich set of actionable data. Furthermore, student feedback is a valuable tool for library advocacy and outreach to both the university community at large and administrators

Preparing for a More Equitable Future: An Examination Of EDI-Focused Courses In LIS Curricula

In recent years many professions, including the field of librarianship, have seen a much-needed increase in their focus on issues related to equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). For example, in January 2022, ACRL’s Board of Directors added a strategic goal area dedicated to EDI. Because Library and Information Science (LIS) education lays a foundation for and greatly impacts librarians’ professional identity and practice, it is important to understand how they approach EDI issues in their courses. The current exploratory study aims to survey how LIS programs incorporate EDI into their curricula by examining the language used in online course descriptions. Course descriptions are often the first contact prospective and new students have with a school’s curriculum and also serve to broadcast what a program values and what its curricular priorities are. This study examines the EDI foci across ALA-accredited library science programs by analyzing their online, publicly available course descriptions’ use of EDI terminology. Emergent themes uncovered are discussed