Teague Allen ERL candidate

Notas del editor

1. Hello, I am Teague Allen, and I am a candidate for the Electronic Resources Librarian position.
2. Thank you for coming out this morning: as a Southern California native I’m learning to appreciate winter the old-fashioned way, and I’m still new enough to be impressed by an Arctic vortex.
3. I’m here to talk about the subject of transition … actually, my appointed topics are:“[To] describe what [I] believe are some of the biggest issues for libraries in terms of electronic resources and licensing. What skills and abilities would [I] bring to the department in this position?For one thing, I’ve yet to excel at the necessary evil of self-promotion – I don’t even like the term “necessary evil” – but I do enjoy metaphors, which can bring so with your permission I’d like to ease into it, and start by talking about these issues using a metaphor that captures the idea of metaphor for me .. but first, a definition
4. Electronic resources, by virtue of their comparative ease in discovery and use, have heralded a major transition in how academic publishing and scholarly resources are created, distributed, and consumedThe precise causes can be debated, but the effect is beyond dispute. You need not be enthusiastic about electronic access to acknowledge this is true, but nearly everyone concedes the point : electronic resources are proliferating, in large part at the expense of tangible paper resources (or print). There’s still room for philosophical discussion about just how different print delivered electronically is from printing on a page…
5. The Wild West: A time of transition between periods personified by apparent chaos I stress “apparent” -- it's actually quite purposeful, but not all the actors have identical purposes
6. A change from Less centralization: Interaction amongst diverse groups, administered locally with varying levels of formality, which turned into...
7. More unitary control by a more homogenous group, administered centrallyWe’re still not quite on the mark with this metaphor, because that's not what's happening here...
8. I believe we are in the inverse situation – going from a stable situation controlled by relatively few stakeholders to a fluid and diverse environment.
9. What’s really similar to the American Wild West, and what makes that a more interesting and relevant metaphor than say the Dark Ages, is that interim period, in this case the decades between Lewis & Clark and the 1890 census, where the end of a new order of things seemed to be in sight, but the way there had surprises. Some characteristics of the time period:
10. less certain, less security – self-service was the rule
11. sometimes that turns out well, and a stable structure is built for all to enjoy...
12. Sometimes mistakes were made for lack of a robust structure
13. What we’re transitioning from: Academic resources traditional division of labor, dictated by the needs of print:
14. overseen/controlled by middlemen of various sorts:PublishersSocietiesProduced by researchers, and largely consumed by same
15. “Fiat” model, overseen by somewhat by custom, more particularly by intellectual property mechanisms of copyright (trademark to a much lesser extent)
16. As digital publishing and distribution evolve, unitary control loses value to varying extentLessened need for centralized distribution and control Allows more freedom, but demands more attention to detail locally
17. Less unitary control by a more homogenous groupPower shifting down to disciplines, groups, and individual researchersLessened need = diminished leverage for big publishers/big dealsProducer/consumers now have more options : OA movement (PLOS) instutional and other repositories (Hathi, Google Books), self-publishingEstablished vendors of library software will also be players (ORCID)Repositiories (HATHI trust, Google Digitization efforts, Internet Archive)
18. Regulation and formal enforcement being pursued by those heavily invested in status quo
19. Don’t read too much into the choice of publisher used for the illustration – every institution has their own villains and herosNot a case of being evil, but defending a previously successful business model that’s trending toward the untenable
20. more personal choice, with potential cost of more responsibility – even vendor provided services must be monitored and requests for service made
21. Standards take more importanceOnly way to assure some interoperabilityStandards organizations (ANSI, ISO, NST) usage standards like SUSHI/COUNterMetadata standards (XML, MARC, Linked data) for both description and usage (Library of Congress, OCLC)Established vendors of library software will also be players (ORCID)
22. More variables to keep track ofMore sources – That is to say, more people to buy, borrow, or beg fromMore platforms – More delivery methods, more standards, schedules, policies, procedures … and payments
23. Possibility of article being the basic unit, rather than the journal – “Content over container” – a la carte taken to the extreme
24. Be able to build consensus internally among KState librarians, faculty, students of all types, and administrationCommon goal
25. Be able to negotiate reasonably with vendors, keeping a balance between changing landscape and existing relationshipsCommon ground
26. Be attentive at all levels, from large scale (publisher packages) to small scale (do links work correctly?)Common sense
27. Technically proficientUncommon work ethic – familiar with Multiple metadata formatsIntricate software (ILS administrator)ExLibris procedures
28. Kansas was founded as a place of change and aspiration, and all its institutions reflect the same values. We don’t know with complete certitude what K-State will look like in 2025, but I think its worth being part of. I hope you feel the same.
29. Questions?