ACRL offers scholarly communication 101 road show at no cost to you
Bring the workshop “Scholarly Communication 101: Starting with the Basics” to your campus, compliments of ACRL. Recognizing that scholarly communication issues are central to the work of all academic librarians and all types of institutions, ACRL is pleased to underwrite the costs for delivering proven content to you. Two expert presenters emphasize experiential learning during this in person and onsite 3-hour workshop. You need to collaborate with at least one other local academic library and arrange the logistics.
Program Description
This structured interactive overview of the scholarly communication system underpins individual or institutional strategic planning and action. Four modules focus on:
• new methods of scholarly publishing and communication
• copyright and intellectual property
• economics
• open access and openness as a principle
The workshop is appropriate for those with new leadership assignments in scholarly communication as well as liaisons and others who are interested in the issues and need foundational understanding.
Learning Objectives
Participants will:
• Understand scholarly communication as a system to manage the results of research and scholarly inquiry and be able to describe system characteristics, including academic libraries and other major stakeholders and stakeholder interests, major types and sources of current stress and evolution, and key indicators of size, complexity, and rates of change
• Enumerate new modes and models of scholarly communication; business models; research & social interaction models (from blogs, curated websites, etc), and peer review models and examples of the ways in which academic libraries have or can initiate or support those models
• Be able to select and cite key principles, facts, and messages relevant to current or nascent scholarly communication plans and programs in their institutions, e.g. as preparation for library staff or faculty outreach, to contextualize collection development decisions
Successful Applicants Must
• Include participants from more than one institution.
• Minimum participation is 35, maximum of 100 individuals, to allow for maximum interactivity.
• Provide a statement of support from hosting authority, i.e. library director/dean, consortia/association administrator, or ACRL chapter leader.
• Provide a brief essay (1 page maximum) explaining what your institutions will do after the workshop to maintain momentum, engagement, and awareness.
• Apply by April 13, 2009.
• Host this event by August 31, 2009.
Preference to
• Hosts who are organizational members of ACRL (Not sure? Ask ACRL staff member kmalenfant@ala.org to check for you.)
• Hosts who identify an experienced local presenter to partner and deliver workshop content.
• Diversity of institution types represented among participants (i.e. 2 year, liberal arts, masters comprehensive, doctoral)
• Diversity of types of library staff participating (i.e. liaison librarians, catalogers, access services staff, senior management)
Host Responsibilities
1) Registration
a) Marketing and publicity of the workshop (print, Web, e-mail)
b) May consider this as an opportunity to invite staff outside the library (i.e. research office, graduate college).
c) Management of selection process, if any
d) Management of registration process (i.e. issuing registration receipts, rosters, etc.)
e) Limit participation to 100 individuals (minimum participation is 35), to allow for maximum interactivity
f) Participant and presenter name badges
2) Event coordination and logistics to include:
a) Reservation of meeting space per room requirements provided by presenters
b) On-site A-V technology and support
c) Planning and associated costs of food and beverage for break (if any)
d) Printing and copying of handouts in advance
e) Volunteer staff as needed
The application deadline was Monday, April 13, 2009, and applications are no longer being accepted. The ACRL Scholarly Communication Committee will review applications, selecting several locations, based on number of requests and capacity, The committee will aim for geographic diversity and notify applicants of their status by Friday, April 24, 2009.
Expert presenters may include:
• Lee VanOrsdel, Dean of University Libraries, Grand Valley State University
• Joy Kirchner, Project Manager, Scholarly Communications & Sciences Collections Librarian, University of British Columbia Library
• Molly Keener, Reference Librarian, Wake Forest University Health Sciences
• Sarah Shreeves, Coordinator, IDEALS, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Questions about the program or how to apply? Please contact Kara J. Malenfant, Scholarly Communications and Government Relations Specialist, ACRL, at kmalenfant@ala.org or 800/545-2433 ext. 2510.
FAQs for Potential Hosts
1.) Who is the appropriate audience for this event? Would it be useful for faculty and graduate students as well as library staff?
The primary audience is librarians and library staff who need good grounding in these issues. As mentioned in the Program Description, "The workshop is appropriate for those with new leadership assignments in scholarly communication as well as subject liaisons and others who are interested in the issues and need foundational understanding." You'll also note, under Host Responsibilities, that hosts “May consider this as an opportunity to invite staff outside the library (i.e. research office, graduate college)". This workshop could well serve as a stepping stone for the library, perhaps along with campus partners, to organize a later event for graduate students and faculty.
2.) Can an ACRL Chapter apply to host this event? What about a library consortium or state association?
Yes, both types of organizations can serve as hosts. You'll see this referenced in the criteria for successful applicants, "Provide a statement of support from hosting authority, i.e. library director/dean, consortia/association administrator, or ACRL chapter leader."
3.) How long does the statement of support need to be?
We’d recommend keeping it brief, a few paragraphs at most. Remember, this is a competitive process so you’ll want to make a compelling argument throughout the application about why we should choose you!
4.) Could we hold the event later than August 31?
Not during this iteration of the road show, in part as this marks the end of ACRL's fiscal year. Summer is a quieter time in most libraries, and this workshop is aimed at librarians/library staff, not faculty. We thought libraries would be more likely to organize professional development then, rather than the fall (which is typically far too busy to ask librarians to give up a half day + travel time). The ACRL Scholarly Communications Committee could consider offering a second round in the next fiscal year, starting September 1. The ability to extend the program will be contingent on availability of presenters and sufficient funding in ACRL’s budget to cover their travel. Like everyone else, we need to keep a close eye on our bottom line these days. That being said, ACRL feels strongly that developing a basic understanding of scholarly communication issues is a high priority for every librarian. We are pleased to offer this road show during tough economic times as we know that your travel funding to attend conferences is quite tight.
5.) When is the earliest that the sessions could be scheduled? (May/June?)
It all depends on the presenters’ availability. Since decisions are being made by April 24, the very earliest we could reasonably expect presenters to arrange for time off work and book travel would be mid May. This is why we ask for you to indicate 3 dates.
6.) Will the host institution be responsible for covering travel, lodging or incidentals for the ACRL speakers?
Nope! ACRL covers all the costs for bringing two expert presenters to you.
7.) Can the host charge a registration fee to cover other costs (name badges, photocopies, snack)?
We have designed this to be a very affordable event for hosts. We would not expect that charging a registration fee will be necessary. We expect that the cost for name badges and photocopies of handouts will be nominal and that the host and/or participating libraries can cover this directly. We anticipate that hosts would not need to rent out space or pay for audio visual, but would have complimentary access to facilities and equipment on campus. It is optional whether you would like to include food and beverage (coffee, cookies, etc.) as part of the event.
If it is part of your culture to charge individuals for food during professional development events, then you may do so. We expect that most institutions would not choose to charge fees. If any registration fees are charged, they should be on a cost-recovery basis only. This event may not serve hosts in generating revenue to support other activities. If you feel it necessary to charge individual participants a registration fee, please indicate this when you apply in the box "other information for consideration." Please indicate your rationale along with estimated costs and fee per person.
8.) What type of facility is needed to host? Is a single room sufficient or are there breakout sessions requiring smaller rooms along with the “main” room?
One single room is all it takes, set up with round or conference tables (not theater style). This allows participants to engage more easily in hands-on activities. Breakout rooms are not necessary.
9.) There is a max of 100 participants and a minimum of 35. Can we self-limit to, say, only 50?
Yes, that is possible. Since it is the host responsibility to manage all aspects of registration and participant selection, if any, you could limit to less than 100. Please include the number of participants you expect to invite and include a brief sentence or two on why.
10.) I have found a few available dates at our campus conference center, and they are willing to hold one for us now. Would you be able to recommend that we hold one specific date over the others?
It's far too early to suggest a date. We expect to undertake a two step process: the ACRL Scholarly Communications Committee will review applications and make selections, and then the presenters will be matched up to hosts. This will likely include some small amount of back and forth between presenters and host to nail down the specific date. We can’t promise anything specific just yet and won’t start working out the details with presenters until the committee has made their selections. If you want to include any comments about timing, please indicate this when you apply in the box "other information for consideration."
11.) Our area of the country has a large contingent of higher education institutions. Would it be feasible for ACRL to approve 2 requests from our region?
While feasible, this would be unlikely. As indicated, “The ACRL Scholarly Communication Committee will review applications, selecting several locations, based on number of requests and capacity. The committee will aim for geographic diversity...” Since this is the first time we're offering this road show, we don't know how many applications to expect. We will have to balance demand with how much travel our presenters (and budget) can bear. It could be that the selection process involves some tough decisions.
12.) Will there be an online version?
“Scholarly Communication 101: Starting with the Basics” is offered as a workshop at the ACRL National Conference in Seattle. The entire 3-hour workshop will be recorded on site as a digital file and available for one year, through the virtual conference http://www.acrl.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/events/seattle/virtual/virtual09.cfm, to everyone who has registered. To provide greater accessibility, we will record the 20 minute lecture portions as 4 separate screencast modules and put these in the ACRL Scholarly Communication Toolkit http://www.acrl.ala.org/scholcomm/ later this spring. Since the workshop has hands-on exercises, that interactive nature will be lost in the screencasts. They will preserve the basic overview/content and introduce the exercises.
13.) On the application form there are several boxes to fill in for "Participant institutions.” What is a “participant institution?” Are these just the other institutions we would invite?
That's right. We are asking applicants to identify one “host” to be the primary coordinator for the registration and event coordination/logistics duties. We expect most hosts will provide the space for the workshop to be held. You also need to indicate one or more “participant institutions” which are the other libraries who would be sending their staff.
14.) What does it mean that preference is given to “hosts who identify an experienced local presenter to partner and deliver workshop content?” Would this person give a presentation in addition to the 3-hour workshop or as part of it?
This person would work with the external presenters in advance of their arrival and cover at least one of the four modules (new methods, copyright and IP, economics, open access/openness) during the 3-hour workshop. ACRL will send 2 expert presenters who can cover all this content. If, however, you can identify someone, from either the host or participant institutions, who knows these issues and is a skilled presenter, we consider that a plus as it indicates local capacity and commitment. In addition, we would expect that most hosts would like to give a brief welcome before the workshop begins.
15.) How much weight will ACRL Scholarly Communication Committee give to the preferred criterion of being an organizational member in the selection process?
It’s hard to give a firm answer. You'll see there are several preferred criteria that may be used to weight applications, and that the committee will aim for geographic diversity as well. Since this is the first time we're offering this road show, we don't know how many applications to expect. The number of inquires thus far has been quite high. It could be that the selection process involves some tough decisions, and that the selectors on the ACRL Scholarly Communication Committee will look closely at all the preferred criteria. For details on becoming an organizational member see http://www.acrl.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/about/membership/.