FW: ACRL Scholarly Communications Tookit

["Fyffe, Richard" <rfyffe@ku.edu>]

Forwarding on behalf of Ray English, Oberlin College.

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Contact: Mary Ellen Davis
ACRL Executive Director
312-280-3248
medavis@ala.org

For Immediate Release
March 10, 2005

ACRL provides Scholarly Communications toolkit to support advocacy efforts
for academic and research libraries

CHICAGO-- The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) offers
members a Web-based Scholarly Communications toolkit as a resource
designed to support advocacy efforts that work toward changing the
scholarly communication system and to provide information on scholarly
communication issues for librarians, faculty, academic administrators and
other campus stakeholders.

The toolkit aims to meet the needs of the full range of academic
institutions represented in the ACRL membership base. A primary goal of
the toolkit is to summarize key issues and content in order to give
readers quick, basic information on scholarly communication topics.

"I'm delighted that the ACRL Scholarly Communications Toolkit is now
available to support learning and advocacy related to scholarly
communications issues," said Ray English, chair of ACRL's Scholarly
Communications Committee.� �"ACRL owes special thanks to Karen Williams,
now Associate University Librarian for Academic Programs, University of
Minnesota, who created the toolkit during a recent sabbatical leave from
the University of Arizona."

The toolkit, which is available on the ACRL Scholarly Communication Web
page,
www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlissues/scholarlycomm/scholarlycommunication.htm,
is designed with three pathways: one for academic administrators, one for
faculty and one for librarians. Key issues chosen for inclusion are the
effects of inflationary price increases and relatively stable information
access budgets; new alternatives for disseminating scholarly information;  
aggregated or bundled electronic content; author control of intellectual
property; and publisher mergers and acquisitions.

In addition to a basic introduction of each topic, other tools featured in
the site include a bibliography that selects and annotates a few key items
from among the wealth of information available and a selective
Webliography providing annotated links to such items as online exhibits,
sample publishing agreements, directories, price data and a list of other
associations working in this arena. The three Act Now! lists suggest ways
in which, working together, we can effect change.

The toolkit was created as a living site with the intention of revising
content and adding tools as the issues change. The site will debut with
tools contributed largely by members of the ACRL Scholarly Communications
Committee. ACRL members are encouraged to submit other tools and
suggestions in order to make the toolkit a vibrant and useful asset. For
example, PowerPoint presentations and brochures created by librarians for
use on their respective campuses can often be adapted for local use by
others. Instructions for submitting ideas and materials are be available
on the toolkit site.

The purpose of the ACRL Scholarly Communications Initiative is to work in
partnership with other library and higher education organizations to
encourage reform in the system of scholarly communication. Educating
librarians to serve as advocates and change agents is an important
strategy in the success of this initiative.

ACRL, a division of the American Library Association (ALA), represents more 
than 12,800 academic and research librarians and interested individuals. 
ACRL is the only individual membership organization in North America that 
develops programs, products and services to meet the unique needs of 
academic and research librarians. Its initiatives enable the higher 
education community to understand the role that academic libraries play in 
the teaching, learning and research environments.

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