Unfortunately, our library is no match for the powerhouses of the scholarly publishing industry. However, professors and researchers are well positioned to influence the course of events. The biggest danger a publisher faces is people calling into question its free raw materials, volunteer labor force, and exploitative business model which builds profit margins at the expense of its authors' institutions of higher learning.
We encourage the faculty of the University of Lynchburg to take an active and participatory role in this conversation. The list below contains the steps that you can take to help make positive change.
- Understand your rights for your existing publications
- Retain your rights as an author for future publications in scholarly journals
- Share your work using open licenses whenever possible
- Evaluate publishing opportunities carefully - both traditional, and open access; and contribute in peer review of open access journals whenever possible
- Participate in Digital Showcase, a publishing platform for the University of Lynchburg community
- Select open and affordable course materials. Open educational resources (OER) offers the pedagogical flexibility to customize teaching and learning materials to your specific curricular goals; while also keeping costs down for the university and its students and ensuring access to required course content on day one.
