DIY Librarian

Researchers have lots of questions about new publishing models, writes Jennifer Howard in the Chronicle of Higher Education. (A subscription is required for access to the article. The article is now available for free.)

Where can researchers find a guide to lead them through this 21st-century obstacle course?

The library, of course.

I’ve always been our local copyright expert (or copyright police, depending on your point of view). I’ve been increasingly getting questions about publishing, and this has increased even further as I’ve reached out to our research associates to make sure they are complying with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) public access policy.

When I was first asked to take on responsibility for advising about the NIH policy, I was taken aback. Isn’t that the grant administrator’s job? But the more I learn about it, the more of a natural fit it seems.

The Chronicle focuses on big research libraries (Duke, Harvard, and Brown), but in a way, I think a library like mine that serves a select set of faculty is almost better suited to do this work, because I can talk to individual faculty about their individual concerns. Almost all that I’ve talked to agree that the public access policy is a good thing, but in the midst of managing a research project, co-authors, graduate assistants, and the necessity of publication to get tenure, the greater good may not always be at the forefront of their minds.