The Authority File Round-Up: May 2023

A quick overview of last month's episodes, in case you missed them

Posted on June 13, 2023 in Blog

Although definitions may vary, those in higher education can agree on the importance of student success. In our first series last month, a professor in instructional leadership, a student success librarian, an instructional librarian, and a publisher discussed how to best support students. Our guests considered the impact of new technology and library anxiety, and offered tips for establishing the library as a valuable resource that meets students where they are. The speakers also covered the benefits of communicating with campus stakeholders and the value of accessible publisher resources. 

Our second series took an in-depth look at the unique insights a book distributor provides as an intermediary between libraries and publishers. Our speaker from Rittenhouse Book Distributors highlighted the importance of diverse resources and making peer reviewed content equally available by partnering with publishers of all sizes. Our guest also detailed the demand for Rittenhouse’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) collection, efforts to address libraries’ budgetary restraints, and how data informs the distributor’s operations.

Here’s a quick round-up of the episodes, in case you missed them. We hope you find the conversations engaging, informational, and thought-provoking. Thanks for listening!

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Building Skills for Student Success

Last month, TAF brought together Ceceilia Parnther, assistant professor in the Department of Administrative and Instructional Leadership at St. John’s University; María Evelia Emerson, Student Success Librarian at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Amber Eakin, Instructional Librarian at Strayer University; and Andrew Boney, executive editor in Sage’s Learning Resources Division. Our speakers detailed their approaches and definitions of student success and how to aid students at the library, faculty, and publisher levels. Our guests further underscored the need to cultivate partnerships across campus, bolster students’ sense of belonging, and enable accessible online learning. Brought to you by Sage.

Listen to episode one: Characterizing Success and Today’s Learning Environment
Listen to episode two: The Library’s Role
Listen to episode three: Creating and Maintaining Partnerships
Listen to episode four: Pandemic Impacts and Strategies for the Future

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Supporting DEI and Patron Needs with Strategic Collection Management

Next up, Nicole Gallo, Executive Vice President of Rittenhouse Book Distributors, joined the program to discuss the distributor’s role in supporting DEI resources in health sciences publishing. Nicole explained how Rittenhouse communicates with publishers to understand the “why” behind their titles, and helps to ease the buying experience for libraries by providing flexible options for content acquisition. Nicole also noted how DEI collection policies have shifted in recent years and highlighted the impact of the rise of digital publishing. Brought to you by Rittenhouse Book Distributors.

Listen to episode one: Introduction to Rittenhouse Book Distributors
Listen to episode two: Market Perspectives on Pain Points, Production, and Adoption
Listen to episode three: Updating Operational Practices and Easing the Buying Experience
Listen to episode four: Current Business Trends and Leveraging Data

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Missed April’s episodes? We’ve got you covered.

Tanis MacDonald, Professor in the Department of English and Film Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University, provided background on the Laurier Poetry Series and her role as General Editor. Tanis underscored the series’ goal of making poetry available in print to aid teachers who often grapple with the fleeting nature of collections. Tanis further stressed the need to advocate for poetry courses, the appeal of the genre to younger generations, and her own titles and Watershed Writers podcast. You can listen to the series here.

For our second series, Nicola Jones, Director of Springer Nature’s SDG Programme, discussed Springer’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Nicola covered the benefits of creating working groups on individual SDGs and accompanying hub webpages to organize Springer’s publishing portfolio. Nicola also touched on internal sustainability efforts at Springer, how the SDG Programme encourages cross-disciplinary alliances, and the ways Nature journals and Books help support the goals. Listen to the first episode here.

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What’s Coming Up in June

We have two insightful series this month. First, librarian and information resources management consultant Barbie Keiser dives into the evolution of scholarly communication. Barbie covers topics including open access, AI tools for librarians, and the ways vendors and publishers have enhanced their services. Barbie also underlines the adaptability of librarians and how to better market library services to the wider academic community. Listen to the first episode here.

In our second series, a librarian and publisher share perspectives on open access trends. Our guests address the impact of AI and paper mills on research integrity, along with misconceptions over the quality of OA publications. Our speakers also note the benefits of library and publisher partnerships, chat about new OA monograph publishing models, and detail how the OSTP’s Nelson Memo influenced their workflows. You can listen to the first episode here.

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You can find more episodes of the Authority File here on our website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Thanks for listening! See you next month.

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