Symposium opens communication about scholarly journals
A Scholarly Communication Symposium was held Wednesday in the Eccles Conference Center as part of Utah State University’s National Library Week activities.
Julia Blixrud, assistant director of public programs for SPARC, or Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition, spoke on issues surrounding the rising costs of academic journals.
According to a symposium press release, commercial journal prices have increased by an average of 9 percent every year since 1986. As a result, university libraries spent 152 percent more to purchase 7 percent fewer journal titles in 1998 than in 1986.
Blixrud said SPARC objectives include raising awareness of price increases and exploring alternative ways for scholars to publish their research.
Nonprofit publishing options should be expanded through the creation of alternative journals and digital platforms, Blixrud said. By posting their work on the Internet, scholars could greatly increase the number of people who can read it.
“Expanded access to a scholar’s research expands the impact in the community to that research,” Blixrud said.
Another method of decreasing access costs would be by expanding the use of open-access journals, she said. Universities would not have to pay to access these journals. Blixrud said publication costs could be covered through subsidies, grants and article submission charges.
A panel composed of USU professors and moderated by James Williams, dean of Libraries at the University of Colorado, led a discussion on Blixrud’s remarks.
According to panel members, many scholars are reluctant to publish their works in non-traditional journals out of fear that the academic community will not consider them valid. Articles published in well-established journals are usually regarded as more qualified than those published on the Internet or in other forms.
“The academic world is slow-moving. It is hard to overcome biases,” said Christine Hult, a professor in the English department.
Paul Jackus, associate professor in the economic department, said, “It can be dangerous for professors wanting to get tenured to stray from traditional journals. It’s critical that leading researchers take the lead in publishing in non-traditional journals.”
-lynze@cc.usu.edu