ULS Journal Publishing:
Why We Do It
Lunchtime Talk #1
Office of Scholarly Communication &
Publishing
OSCP Lunchtime Talk Series
 Origins & objectives
 Toolbox Tips
 Future programs
 Training site
 What else?
 Now or later?
Who’s Whom in ULS Publishing
 Oversight of the program
– Tim Deliyannides, Director of the Office of Scholarly
Communication and Publishing
 Journals, Monographs, Author Fees Fund, Publishing
– Vanessa Gabler, Electronic Publications Manager
– Lauren Collister, Electronic Publications Associate
 Repositories, Copyright, Scholarly Communications, Altmetrics
– John Barnett, Scholarly Communications Librarian
– Jennifer Chan, Asst. Scholarly Communications Librarian
Libraries as Publishers – Current Trends
 More than 75% of ARL libraries offer or plan to offer
publishing services.
 Most expect to expand these services in future.
 Dedicated publishing staff are rare.
 Most do not have sustainability plans.
 Most plan to expand cost recovery mechanisms
moving forward.
Source: Library Publishing Services: Strategies for Success Research Report , v. 2.0. http://wp.sparc.arl.org/lps/
Strategic Goal
Innovation in Scholarly Communication
 Support researchers in
– efficient knowledge production
– rapid dissemination of new research
– open access to scholarly information
 Build collaborative partnerships
around the world
 Improve the production and sharing of scholarly
research
 Support innovative publishing services
Journal publishing goals
 Incentivize Open Access
Publishing worldwide
 Extend service beyond the home
institution
 Propel scholarship at the
University of Pittsburgh
 Save ‘at-risk’ journals without
the infrastructure or know-how
to go electronic
Why become a Publisher?
 Provide services that scholars understand, need
and value
 Transform the unsustainable commercial
subscription pricing system
 Take direct action to support Open Access
 Deepen our understanding of scholarly
communications issues
Open Access—Origins
 Crisis in scholarly
communication/publishing
– Flat to declining collections budgets
– More demand for newer, expensive resources
– Greatly increased pricing for serials, electronic
resources
 Rise of Internet and Worldwide Web
– Rapid dissemination of new research
– Better connectivity between scholars
Crisis in scholarly journal pricing
600
biology
500
chemistry
engineering & tech
general science
300
math & comp sci
physics
200
CPI (general inflation)
ARL expenditures, all
serials
1985
1990
100
1995
2000
year
Bill Hooker, April 2009. Data sources: Library Journal Annual Serials Price
Surveys, Association of Research Libraries, US Dept. of Labor
2005
0
2010
% change since 1990
400
How the ULS publishing program is
making an impact at Pitt
Breakdown of ULS-published journals
Student
9
External
19
Pitt
Faculty
6
Student Publications
 Only supported for University
of Pittsburgh
 Provides valuable learning
experience
 Faculty involvement is
required to maintain continuity
 Selection criteria are relaxed
for student publications
– Peer review process
– Quality of editorial board
At-risk journals edited at Pitt now
published online by the ULS
Revista Iberoamericana
Carl Beck Papers
Bolivian Studies Journal
Pitt Political Review
Ethnology: An International Journal of Cultural and Social Anthropology
The five law journals
 University of Pittsburgh Law Review
 Pittsburgh Tax Review
 Pittsburgh Journal of Technology Law and Policy
 Pittsburgh Journal of Environmental and Public Health
 Journal of Law and Commerce
Toolbox Tip: How to make a referral to
publish a journal with the ULS
 Direct inquiries about journal publishing to the ejournals Web site www.library.pitt.edu/e-journals for
more information
 Contact the Office of Scholarly Communication and
Publishing at e-journals@mail.pitt.edu with
questions or to propose a journal