Purdue Libraries and School of Information Studies News

University Library Committee to Focus on Sustainable Scholarship

October 6th, 2020

This article originally appeared in Provost Akridge’s September 2020 newsletter.

The University Library Committee (ULC) held its first meeting of AY 20-21 on August 31, 2020. Composed of campus and faculty leaders, the ULC is responsible for review and consultation on the performance of library services and allocation of resources. The ULC communicates major issues and opportunities within Purdue Libraries and School of Information Studies (LSIS) to the Purdue faculty at large.

This year, as the cost of renewing subscription resources continues to outpace inflation rates, the ULC will pay particular attention to making scholarship more sustainable at Purdue. At the Aug. 31 meeting, the ULC began this process by establishing goals of openness, transparency, and financial sustainability when negotiating with information resource vendors.

“As a land grant university, our mission is to provide broad access to education and knowledge beyond the academy,” said Dean of Libraries and Esther Ellis Norton Professor of Library Science Beth McNeil. “We believe that Purdue-authored scholarship should be more accessible to the public. Consequently, we plan to prioritize working with publishers who support open access and quality scholarship for all.”

A subset of ULC members will expand upon this preliminary work in the newly charged Sustainable Scholarship Committee this fall. “The goal of this committee is to bring together a group of leaders who believe strongly in the importance of sustainable scholarship and its role in the future of cost-effective, world class education and research at Purdue University,” said Dean McNeil. “We will rely on the ULC and the Sustainable Scholarship Committee to help us raise awareness and begin dialogues on this critical issue across campus.”