Open Access Resources Trends in Academic Libraries: The Evolving Role of Librarians

Sponsored by OverDrive Academic

Recorded on 06/14/2023
Posted in The Authority File

Episode 326

In the second episode of this four-part series, Jenny Townes, Open Access Librarian at Emory University, walks through the librarian’s role in supporting open access resources. She shares how librarians must act as facilitators for OA research—not gatekeepers—and can buttress this work through intentional budget management and keeping up with external OA projects. Jenny also predicts that librarians will need to act as advocates for open access through consistent communication with higher education stakeholders and a strong commitment to an equitable scholarly communication ecosystem. Next, Emily Farrell, Global Commercial Director for Open Research at Taylor & Francis, discusses how the environment has shifted so that librarians now take on responsibilities that used to fall under a research office. Emily explains why this transformation affects publisher relationships with libraries and researchers, and how publishers are working to counter misinformation surrounding open access materials.

About the guests:

Emily Farrell
Global Commercial Director for Open Research
Taylor & Francis

Emily Farrell is the Global Commercial Director for Open Research at Taylor & Francis where she works to build partnerships that increase access to research. She has worked in both sales and editorial roles with De Gruyter and the MIT Press. She holds a PhD in Sociolinguistics from Macquarie University, Sydney.

Jenny Townes
Open Access Librarian
Emory University

Jennifer Townes is the Open Access Librarian at Emory University. In this capacity Jennifer leads open access outreach, advocacy, and educational services, specifically focused on all aspects of OEPs and two of the university’s open access repositories. She earned an MSLS from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and spent ten years working at different academic libraries in the Research Triangle before coming to Georgia. Jennifer’s research interests are open access, institutional repositories, and open educational resources. In 2015 she co-edited the Handbook of Research on Disaster Management and Contingency Planning in Modern Libraries and she regularly presents at national library conferences. Outside of academia, Jennifer is an accomplished artist, television enthusiast, and feline wrangler.

Enjoy the conversation? Listen to the rest of the series:

• Core Benefits and Current Roadblocks to OA
• Addressing OA Funding and Sustainability
• Current OA Milestones and Wish List Items

Check out our previous series with OverDrive Academic:
– Redefining Space, Access, and Formats in Academic Libraries
– The Academic Library (Not Quite) Post-Pandemic
– Adjusting to Modern Library Needs
– Changes and Opportunities in an Evolving Collection Landscape

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