Open Access: The new frontier of scholarly research and education

Open Access: The new frontier of scholarly research and education

Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013 | 12:30-1:30 p.m.
Whitewater Room, Idaho Commons

Annie Gaines, University Library
Karen Launchbaugh, College of Natural Resources

 

Abstract
The skyrocketing cost of scholarly journals is one of the most difficult and pressing problems faced by academic librarians today. At the same time, researchers have the obligation and desire to publish their findings in reputable scholarly journals but often face long lag-times for publication and hefty page charges.

Modern technologies offer a potential solution. One approach being pursued by many scholars and librarians is that of open access publishing. Open access publishing, the practice of making scholarly research freely available to the public without barriers, is a publishing practice recently adopted by the Rangeland Center when it decided to create its own journal, the Journal of Rangeland Applications.

Representatives from both the Library and the Rangeland Center will describe the process of creating the journal on the Open Journal Systems platform while maintaining a rigorous peer-review process, and discuss the importance of making scholarly research and educational materials freely available to the public. This project reflects a powerful collaboration between librarians and researchers to overcome modern publishing challenges and make information widely available to those who need it.

Biographies
Karen Launchbaugh is a professor of rangeland ecology and management in the College of Natural Resources. She earned a B.S. in Rangeland Management at North Dakota State University, an M.S. in Rangeland Science at Texas A&M University, and her Ph.D. in Rangeland Science, Utah State University.

Annie Gaines has been the Scholarly Communications Librarian at the University of Idaho Library since June of this year. She earned a B.A. in Art from the University of Oregon and a Master's in Library and Information Science from Drexel University. Her research interests include open access, remix culture, and intellectual freedom.