Penny Andrews on attending the ALPSP International Conference 2013

SLA Europe DigiComms

Penny Andrews, SLA Europe ECCA winner 2013, tells us about her experience of the Association of Learned & Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP) International Conference.

I was very grateful to win the Librarian Travel Grant from SAGE to attend the ALPSP annual conference at the Belfry in September. Much of the discussion related to Open Access, which is my main topic of interest in the library world and forms the basis of most of my current research.

I am not generally known for being publisher-friendly, so I found it both challenging and interesting to spend time with publishers and people from learned societies over the three days of the event. It’s hard to see anyone as “evil” when you’re sharing breakfast with somebody or on the same quiz team as them.

My understanding of the learned society position in particular has become more nuanced, and it was not just my position that became more complex. I left at least one person considering forming a co-operative for open access journal publishing, as they were less than satisfied with services from the big name publisher doing all but editing their journals.

Some sessions may have made me downright angry, as traditional publishers sought to defend their position and profits, but others showed that new models were possible and the innovation awards at the ALPSP dinner were particularly exciting, with current and former winners both in attendance. I learned a great deal about last year’s champions Peerage of Science directly from the Finns responsible for its existence, and it was lovely to see PeerJ crowned on the night.

The main takeaway from the conference, however, was that everyone feels the same level of precariousness as we information professionals have experienced in recent years. The publishers and societies were questioning others’ perception of their profession, the value they add and the future of their careers. It seems we are all in it together, and it’s worth remembering that while battling with systems, services and subscription costs.

About the author

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