Ondari-Okemwa, Ezra

Stellenbosch University SUNScholar Repository

The Role of Library Schools in Shaping the Changing Patterns of Scholarly Communication.PresenterE Ondari-OkemwaUniversity of Fort HareStellenbosch University Annual Symposium: 17-18 November 2011Introduction Scholarly communication is about theprocess or processes scholars use toshare results of their research. This process is rapidly changing as a resultof the developments in information andcommunication technologies (ICTs).Introduction Cont’d The current methods of scholarlycommunication are proving to be not onlytoo restrictive, but also economicallyunsustainable. Library schools have a role to play intraining professionals who may contributetowards shaping modern methods ofscholarly communication.Introduction For long, library schools have trained librarians who specialize in: acquiring information materials, organizing information, storing information, and availing such information to users within the confines of the traditional library.Introduction Besides the fact many library schools arenow facing closure all over the world, thetraditional libraries now face stiffcompetition from other nonconventionalinformation providers. Academic and research libraries play animportant role in facilitating effective andefficient scholarly communication.Introduction The critical issues facing libraries are primarily economic and technological (Ekman and Quandt, 1995).  Library schools should provide answers to questions such as:IntroductionWhat may be done about the economicpressures on academic and research librariestoday?What types of innovations, made possible bynew technologies, should libraries exploit toredress the damage caused by the economicsqueeze and also to make scholarlycommunication more effective than it isthrough traditional methods?The Changing Patterns of Scholarly Communication There is no doubt that scholarlycommunication methods are changingrapidly, thanks to developments ininformation and communicationtechnologies (ICTs The development of ICTs has a profoundimpact on scholarly publishing as well as onthe way in which scholars communicate witheach other(Liu, 2008)The Changing Patterns of Scholarly Communication Scholarly publishing is experiencingtremendous pressure for change under theconfluence of the forces and trends such as: the exponential growth of informationproduction, the dramatic increase in subscription fees, the increasing storage cost of printeddocuments, and the increasing power and availability of digitaltechnologyThe Changing Patterns of Scholarly Communication More and more scholars are turning totheir computers rather than to printsources to conduct their research andexchange information (Maron and Smith,2008) Born-digital journals, blogs, wikis, andother forms of online publishing anddiscussion now appear in every discipline.The Changing Patterns While some of these digital resourcesresemble their print predecessors, othersare quite novel, making use of the space,speed, and interactivity that the Internetallows. some digital resources have already gainedwidespread acceptance in their fields on parwith the print publications that, until just adecade ago, held an unchallenged monopolyon disseminating scholarly information.The Changing Patterns This rapid proliferation of Web-basedresources has had an impact on howscholars conduct research and keep abreastof new works by their peers wherever theyare in the globe. In the past, a university professor mightexpect to learn about new work in his/herfield by reading articles published in scholarlyjournals.The Changing Patterns Well-articulated systems of selection,review, publication, and distribution alsoexisted for scholarly monographs. For both types of publication, the campuslibrary played a central role in gatheringthese scholarly outputs for the academiccommunity.The Changing Patterns The university/research library still plays acentral role in distributing both print andonline resources, but the networkeddigital environment has enabled thecreation of many new kinds of works thatare directly accessible to end users.Role of Library Schools –Skills Provision Today’s LIS (Library and Information Science)graduates will enter a work world transformed bythe revolution in scholarly communication (Davis& Moran, 2005). New librarians must confront challenges such asbalancing and providing appropriate access toprint and electronic serials collections andkeeping abreast of not only current journal anddatabase subscriptions, but also the growingnumber of accepted (and cited) open-accessscholarly publications.Role of Library Schools Open access publishing is a fairly recentdevelopment but more and more scholarsare making use of the method tocommunicate their research findings andexchange information. It is essential for new graduates enteringacademic libraries to have a solidgrounding in the scholarly communicationprocess (Davis & Moran, 2005).Role of Library Schools It’s no doubt that scholarly communicationhas been part of the coursework in many LISschools for many years. Students have traditionally taken coursessuch as collection development where theylearned how to acquire and evaluate books,journals, and other vehicles of scholarlycommunication.Role of Library Schools This type of preparation is still essential, but notquite sufficient in an era when the process ofscholarly communication is being transformed. ICT has proved to have tremendous impact onlibrary and information services, resources, staffand users. LIS Professionals are confronting challengingdynamic technological environment demandingthe extensive and effective utilization of ICT inorder to meet the changing complex informationneeds of user community.Role of Library Schools LIS Professionals must develop experttechnological competencies required tomake best use of the opportunities the ICToffers in order to provide a gateway accessto wide range and variety of informationresources and services. Apparently, ICTs seem to be the majoragents and major causes of the changingenvironment in which LIS professionals areexpected to work.Role of Library Schools LIS Professionals are expected be have superiorcommunication skills as they are being calledupon to work closely with ICT users andproviders (including IT staff) and to work incollaboration with others in the profession(Wittwer, 2001). LIS professionals provide a service to various usergroups. It is not unusual to find that some groupsof users lack the necessary IT skills to obtainquality information (Stubbings and McNab, 2001).Role of Library Schools In situations where scholars lack the basicIT skills to obtain quality information, LISprofessionals may be called upon to act asboth educators and intermediaries (Sharp,2001). (IL) In such circumstances, informationprofessionals are required to haveincreased teaching and communicationskills.Role of Lib Schools To better prepare their graduates, LIS schoolsneed to revise their curricula to incorporateinformation relating to the changes in scholarlycommunication. The traditional skills of librarianship, such asreference and cataloging, are still essential, buttoday’s LIS students are expected to master manyadditional skills (including a solid grounding in IT)necessary to work in ever more technologicallysophisticated libraries (Davis and Moran, 2005).Role of Lib Schools How may LIS schools prepare tomorrow’s academic librarians to deal with the emerging changes in scholarly communication? What are they doing and what more can they do?  LIS schools should introduce specialized courses dealing with various aspects of scholarly communication that have been added to the curriculum in many schools.  The traditional existing courses should be modified (not abandoned)to include elements of scholarly communication. Suggested Specialized Modules/Courses For purposes of acquiring knowledge on scholarlycommunication, it is here suggested that Library schoolsoffer the following courses/modules: Electronic Publishing: current issues in electronic publishing, digital libraries, the history of publishing, scholarly communication, research libraries, economics of information, information cycle, uses and users of electronic documents, electronic books, new genres in electronic communicationand open access publishingRole of Lib Schools Scholarly and Professional Communication: The cost and impact of information systems the supply chain of information – from authors through publishers, jobbers, and libraries to users, economies of scale and scope, competing paper and electronic formats of presenting information, and  transforming print products into electronic products. Role of Lib Schools Copyright Law: law of copyright, the impact of the law of copyright onlibraries, the impact of copyright on education andresearch,copyright law in the digital environment, the doctrine of fair use, and intellectual property protection.Role of Lib Schools Information Ethics: intellectual freedom,equitable access to information, information privacy,responsibility and accountability, and intellectual property rights.Role of Lib Schools Other skills:The scholarly infrastructure;The information infrastructure; The value chain of scholarship; andHow different academic disciplines treatdata and information differently (Borgman,2007).Role of Lib Schools Other Skills: How knowledge is created and produced; Locating pieces of information in a variety ofdocuments and interpret the information to users Appreciating a variety of sources of informationresources and know how to use Human information behaviour Qualitative and quantitative research methods Technological literacy Legal aspects of information and statutory obligationswhich arise from holding and disseminatinginformationOld and New Methods of Scholarly Communication E-scholarship and traditional scholarship, in termsof dissemination, are at once remarkably similarand significantly different (similar process,different engagement with data and ideas). Scholars must be made aware of, and work with,both the similarities and differences. Scholars should blend e-scholarship with thebest and sound tradition of scholarly assessmentand dissemination of scholarship. Rarely is anything a complete break with the past(Borgman, 2005).Continuous Training Continuous training of librarians keeps themabreast of developments of new ICTs and otherdevelopments. On-the-job training for qualified LIS graduatesshould not be seen as a waste of resources. Some employers would want to believe thatlibrary school training is more than enough. Library schools should work closely withemployers and sensitize them on the importanceof continuous training of qualified librarians andother information professionals.Continuous Training Library schools should develop tailor-madeprogrammes to provide opportunities forretraining and retooling practising librarians in aconstantly changing environment. It should not be lost to library schools thatongoing technological developments require thatlibrarians should go through continual retraining. Librarians need to continually adapt to new waysof meeting diverse information demands ofscholars. This challenge may be met by constantimprovements in how library professionals accessinformation and collaborate together.Other Issues Collaboration and networking Open Access Information literacy Academic literacyConcluding Remarks The old and new methods of scholarlycommunication should be blended The book and journal will for remainimportant vehicles for scholarlycommunication. Library schools should see themselvesand act as leaders in shaping solutions forthe scholarly communication crisisConcluding Remarks Library schools should provide a venue toexplore solutions such as self-archiving,discipline, institutional archiving andsimilar other innovative processes Library schools are best-placed to buildscholarly communication consortium notonly in LIS but also in other academicdisciplines.

The role of library schools in shaping the changing patterns of scholarly communication

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The role of library schools in shaping the changing patterns of scholarly communication

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