Abstract
In early 2017 a piece of research was carried out via questionnaire asking librarians to share the messages they wanted to convey to publishers. There was the option of anonymous submission to encourage candour. This research aimed to supplement messages offered to publishers and other organizations via library advisory board meetings, conference talks and other channels. The hope is to facilitate understanding and to progress the library/publisher partnership that is essential for a healthy future for research communication. A lightning talk at the 2017 UKSG Annual Conference summarized the key findings. This article now shares the findings in more depth and delves into the detail of the most recurrent themes. It also features some organizational case studies which illustrate how the findings are being used practically and/or how these organizations ensure they understand the needs of the libraries they work with. These case studies may help other publishers with the implementation of listening programmes.
Highlights
The idea for carrying out some work on librarians’ messages to publishers arose from a conversation between Claire Grace (Head of Content and Licensing, The Open University) and me at the UKSG Conference in 2016
We talked about opportunities for interaction and feedback between librarians and publishers such as library advisory boards, ad hoc workshops, official consultations about deals, and others, and their effectiveness
The question asked was framed solely to provide guidance for participants: ‘Thinking about your experience in your role for the last 6–12 months, what are the three key messages that you would like publishers to hear? You might like to think about areas that have warranted a lot of discussion, feedback that you would like to give, changes that have occurred within your organization or in the external environment challenges you’ve faced, or something entirely different.’
Summary
The idea for carrying out some work on librarians’ messages to publishers arose from a conversation between Claire Grace (Head of Content and Licensing, The Open University) and me at the UKSG Conference in 2016. We talked about opportunities for interaction and feedback between librarians and publishers such as library advisory boards, ad hoc workshops, official consultations about deals, and others, and their effectiveness. We felt that there is often the danger of inconsistency in interactions, which has the potential for unclear messages sent from libraries to publishers. We wanted to enable publishers to hear librarians’ thoughts in a way that would have more impact
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
