 |
MAKING OPEN ACCESS BOOKS A REALITY |
| BY CHARLES WATKINSON |
 On Friday the first truly sustainable open access book Purdue University Press has published will go to the printer. Understanding the Global Energy Crisis, edited by Eugene Coyle and Richard Simmons, will be made freely available under a Creative Commons (CC-BY-NC) license through the European OAPEN publishing system, as well as several other platforms. Global, free-of-charge, online access to this book, which would otherwise only have been available to purchasers, has been made possible by pledges from over 200 library supporters of Knowledge Unlatched, a new collaborative non-profit initiative hosted by the New York Public Library. Purdue University Libraries is one of those that has pledged to purchase the pilot collection.
Financial arrangement for publishing Open Access journal articles are by now quite well established. In 2011 around 12% of all articles were published immediately open access, according to a 2013 study by Nature, the majority funded through author payments that ranged from a few hundred dollars to over $3,000 per article. And the number has been growing since then. However, open access book publishing is still in its infancy, mainly because most books are published in the humanities and social sciences, where the funding for author fees (which would likely be higher than for journal articles because of the greater length of books) is hard to find.
A recent article by David Parker of Alexander Street Press in Against the Grain (25.6) outlined four different funding mechanisms for open access scholarly books: foundation/institution funding; freemium; crowd funding; and author fees. Pure freemium approaches, where sales or a print or enriched e-book edition are meant to cover all the publisher’s costs, have not proved very successful, because for scholarly publications, readers generally seem to find the free PDF a satisfactory substitute for most needs. Author fees continue to be problematic not only because of the limited funds available, but also the perceived “vanity” stigma in many fields of paying for your book to be published. Foundation/institution funding and crowd funding are the two most hopeful approaches, and the ones that Purdue University Press is pursuing most actively. Knowledge Unlatched is an example of the “crowd-funding” approach, while we are closely monitoring a developing foundation/institution-funding initiative through which the Mellon foundation hopes to incentive provosts’ offices to fund first books by faculty authors.
Many details remain to be worked out if Knowledge Unlatched is to develop from being a pilot to becoming a fully-fledged program. However, both the short and long term benefits for the impact of Understanding the Global Energy Crisis are clear. The publisher, Purdue University Press, has been able to cover the development costs of around $10,000 for the book and will still benefit from sales of the print and enhanced e-book versions; supporting libraries will receive rich cataloging records as well as enhanced usage data; and end users worldwide will have easy access to the latest information on how sustainable technologies and more efficient ways of using energy can help combat climate change. |
 |
STUDENT AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE FOR LIBRARIES STUDENT STAFF |
| BY BECKI CORBIN |
It is time to encourage your student staff members to apply for the Purdue University Libraries' Student Awards, the Dorothy Newby McCaw Scholarship and the Dr. Albert Viton Scholarship. A liball message was sent on Monday, February 17 with the information for the online application process. A flyer was included for you to print and post in your area. Please share the information and encourage your students to apply for the appropriate award and/or scholarship.
We are pleased to announce there are eight awards/scholarships available this year. The application deadline is March 14, 2014.
The PULSE Award
This award was created by the Purdue Libraries Circulation/Reserve Team (CRT) in 2004. Initial funding was initiated through garage sales, a craft/bake sale and individual donations. In the first year, $1,445.80 was raised from 40 donors. Contributions continued to be added throughout the year with the goal of reaching the $20,000 amount necessary to endow the award. In 2004, Dean of Libraries, Jim Mullins, led a fundraising challenge and agreed to match pledges from the Dean's Fund dollar for dollar. In 2005, endowment efforts were achieved with the efforts and contributions of Purdue graduates Mike and Judy Humnicky of California, who both spent their time at Purdue (1966-70) employed by the Libraries. The first two awards were presented in May 2004. This year four $1000 awards are available.
The Dorothy Newby McCaw Scholarship
In 2004, Dorothy Newby McCaw found a meaningful way to honor her friend: she endowed the Dorothy Newby McCaw Scholarship for Libraries Student Workers in honor of Emily R. Mobley, former Dean of Libraries. McCaw established the scholarship in honor of Dean Mobley's retirement as a way to recognize her many accomplishments during the 12 years of her deanship. The scholarship fulfilled one of Mobley's goals as Dean — to recognize top student workers in the Libraries. The first scholarship was awarded in 2007. This year two $2000 scholarships are available.
The Dr. Albert Viton Scholarship
In 2006, Dr. Albert Viton, author and retired economist, endowed a scholarship to be awarded annually to a student employee from the Purdue University Press or the Libraries. His desire is that this scholarship will make a significant impact on students' lives and education while at Purdue. Viton became associated with the Press with the publication of his book, The International Sugar Agreements: Promise and Reality, in 2004. The first scholarship was awarded in 2007. This year two $2000 scholarships are available.
Important Information
- All student staff members should receive e-mail notification of this opportunity but please make sure that they are aware of these awards and scholarships and of the March 14 deadline.
- Supervisors, please be aware of your part of the application process and the deadline. Students will not be considered without your portion of the application process.
- The URL for the info is http://www.lib.purdue.edu/pulsescholar
- Remind your senior student staff that they are eligible for the PULSE award if they meet the other criteria.
Selection committee members include: Chair Becki Corbin, Co-chair Cheryl Oliver, Kay Schurr, Donna Slone, Mary Sego, Monica Kirkwood and Gretchen Stephens.
If you have questions please contact Becki Corbin at rlcorbin@purdue.edu or Cheryl Oliver at csmith68@purdue.edu. |
|
NOMINATIONS BEING ACCEPTED FOR LIBRARIES ANNUAL STAFF AWARDS |
| |
It is time to submit nominations for the Dagnese, Moriarty and the three Dean's Awards. Please review the different criteria and eligibility for each award on the Libraries intranet at https://intranet.lib.purdue.edu/display/HOME/Libraries+Awards.
There is no limit to the number of nominations you may submit and self-nominations are accepted. All Purdue University Libraries, Purdue University Press and University Copyright Office employees, who meet the criteria, are eligible for the awards. This year the amount for each individual award is $1000. The team award is $1000 shared among the team members.
Final selections are made by members of the Dean's Council, the Administrative Committee and the Dagnese Award Selection Committee which consists of AdCom plus last year's awardees.
The deadline for receipt of applications is March 11. You may submit your nomination(s) to JoAnne Carow by email at jcarow@purdue.edu or by campus mail at ADM/STEW 272. The nomination form is available on the intranet link shown above.
Awards will be presented at the 10th Annual Libraries’ Staff Awards Luncheon on Thursday, April 10, in the PMU North Ballroom from 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.
|
|
PURDUE MARKS 100 YEARS OF ROAD SCHOOL WITH INDIANA TRANSPORTATION EXHIBIT |
| BY SAMMIE MORRIS |
Purdue University’s Libraries and Special Collections is commemorating 100 years of hosting the Purdue Road School with a special exhibit focusing on Indiana transportation.
“The Crossroads of America: Indiana Transportation in the Early 20th Century,” is on display through March 13 in the Virginia Kelly Karnes Archives and Special Collections Research Center on the fourth floor of the Humanities, Social Science and Education Library in Stewart Center. The exhibit coincides with this year’s road school, set for March 11-13, on campus.
The exhibit profiles early transportation in Indiana and includes rare publications on railroads and canals; historical road maps of Indiana; photographs of road construction projects and equipment; documents pertaining to the opening of major highways; and documents chronicling the history of the Purdue Road School and the Joint Transportation Research Project. Themes such as the evolution from horse and buggy travel to streetcars and automobiles, surveying and methods of traffic control, and road and bridge safety, are explored, along with the impact the rise in popularity of the automobile had on rural life.
The Purdue Road School is an Indiana tradition that brings together federal, state and local agency personnel, elected officials and professionals from throughout the field, including industry, consulting and academia. It builds upon a rich tradition dating to professor W.K. Hatt’s efforts to organize a civil engineering conference in 1913.
Curators for the exhibit include Sammie Morris, associate professor and university archivist, and head of archives and special collections; Neal Harmeyer, digital archivist in archives and special collections; and Michael Maune, graduate assistant in archives and special collections.
|
|
LIBRARIES CLERICAL AND SERVICE STAFF INVITED TO BREAKFAST WITH THE DEANS |
| BY ALLEN BOL |
The Libraries Clerical Service Staff Advisory Committee (LCSSAC) is pleased to announce the annual “Breakfast with the Deans” for all Libraries clerical and service staff members on April 4 from 8-9:30 a.m. in STEW 202.
The Dean and Associate Deans will be there to address and listen to any thoughts, ideas, concerns or questions you might have.
Questions may be asked informally at the breakfast or may be submitted anonymously ahead of time at the following link: https://purdue.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_a5zalg4yyifd89f.
All submissions will be kept confidential. Deadline to submit a question is March 31.
If you have questions please contact a LCSSAC member.
|
|
|
LEARNING: Libraries faculty lead
in information literacy and learning space implementation, research and scholarship.
GLOBAL CHALLENGES: Libraries faculty lead in international initiatives in information literacy, e-science, information access and data management and collaborate on Purdue's global initiatives.