C&RL preprints go open access

Contact: Kathryn Deiss
Content Strategist, ACRL
(312) 280-2528
kdeiss@ala.org
For Immediate Release,
May 6, 2008
C&RL preprints go open access

CHICAGO - College & Research Libraries (C&RL), the bi-monthly scholarly journal of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), is pleased to announce the launch of an open access, pre-publication service for accepted articles. The pre-print service, which made its debut in March 2008, moved to an open access model in an effort to make timely new research articles available to a wider audience. C&RL pre-print articles are now freely available on the ACRL Website at http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlpubs/crljournal/preprints/preprints.cfm.

 

“We’re pleased to make these pre-print articles openly available,” said ACRL Executive Director Mary Ellen Davis. “Drawing on our long-standing concerns for the health of scholarly communication, ACRL continues to experiment with our access and business models as a publisher. We encourage our members to join us in exploring open access and other strategies to ensure the future of high-quality scholarship and journals.

 

C&RL is one of the most read peer-reviewed scholarly journals in the field of library and information science. The journal follows a rigorous and deliberate peer-review process in its evaluation of submissions, a process that can take up to three months to complete. Submissions that are accepted for publication – C&RL has an acceptance rate of 30 to 40 percent - ­then wait approximately a year for formal appearance in the print. Such long timelines are common in traditional scholarly journal publishing, but are becoming less acceptable in new digital and networked scholarly communications.

 

Looking to best practices in science publishing, ACRL now makes accepted C&RL submissions available immediately through an open access, pre-publication service. The addition of pre-print articles makes important new writing and ideas in academic librarianship available to the public in a much timelier manner. C&RL pre-prints are fully vetted articles that are ready for publication pending only final copy editing and space in an upcoming issue. Once formally published, the pre-publication articles will be removed and the final, copy edited version of the article made available online.

 

“ACRL staff members were most helpful and responsive in establishing this new pre-publication service, which I saw as a priority in my new editorial role. After six months as the editor designate, I can see firsthand how important the peer review process is in selecting and validating the best research articles in academic librarianship,” said Joe Branin, director of libraries at The Ohio State University and editor designate of C&RL. “I want to continue the tradition of the highest quality articles appearing in C&RL; however, to stay relevant and timely, we must speed up the publication and dissemination process. The pre-publication service does this, benefiting authors, editors and most critically readers.”

 

Visit the C&RL Website at http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlpubs/crljournal/collegeresearch.cfm for additional information on the publication.

 

##

ACRL is a division of the American Library Association (ALA), representing more than 13,000 academic and research librarians and interested individuals. ACRL is the only individual membership organization in North America that develops programs, products and services to meet the unique needs of academic and research librarians. Its initiatives enable the higher education community to understand the role that academic libraries play in the teaching, learning and research environments.