Scholarly Communications (ScholComm) Advisory Group
Description and Statement of Work
Return on Investment (ROI)
Because participation in the work of ScholComm is optional, ROI will vary from person to person. Each member of ScholComm will have the opportunity to attend one or more web and in-person professional development opportunities, and can also serve on task forces.
- ScholComm Advisory Group Member
- Investment: ScholComm’s web and in-person professional development opportunities may range from one hour to one day. These meetings will provide opportunities for engagement in ScholComm topics and networking with others interested in scholarly communications. There is also a variable time commitment to explore and implement resources, tools, and services provided by ScholComm.
- Return: Attendance at ScholComm’s professional development opportunities will allow participants to be greater informed about this emerging and evolving field, and to connect to their PALNI ScholComm colleagues. Exploring ScholComm’s resources, tools, and services educates members in a way that prevents duplication of effort and allows quick access to relevant material.
- ScholComm Steering Committee Member
- Investment: Members of the ScholComm Steering Committee are expected to spend at least 3 hours a month on ScholComm work. This includes monthly to bimonthly hour long meetings used to define and develop action items.
- Return: ScholComm steering members receive up to $2000 annually in professional development funds to develop skills and share knowledge. They also gain an increased understanding of scholarly communication, experience developing ScholComm programs, and leadership development.
- ScholComm Task Force Member
- Investment: Each task force meets monthly for one hour to address specific action items. Duration and work for the task force varies by task force and level of involvement.
- Return: ScholComm Task Force members get the opportunity to focus on specific areas of interest and/or expertise, share knowledge across ScholComm/PALNI, and to apply best practices/expertise at their home institutions.
- Return: ScholComm’s work provides resources, tools, and services to all PALNI members regardless of involvement in ScholComm activities.
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Goals of this Statement of Work
This statement of work defines the operational support provided by the ScholComm Advisory Group and ScholComm Steering to PALNI supported institutions. The objectives of this statement of work are to:
- Articulate clear roles and responsibilities of the ScholComm Advisory Group and ScholComm Steering.
- Provide a concise and clear description of the operational services and support provided.
- Ensure that expected service is delivered through measurable means.
- Communicate expectations for PALNI supported institutions.
Group Charge
The Scholarly Communications Advisory Group (ScholComm) develops and supports scholarly communication initiatives at the PALNI-supported institutions. PALNI defines scholarly communication as the cycle through which scholarly information is created, evaluated, disseminated, acquired, and preserved. Initiatives include open access, scholarly publishing, institutional repositories, affordable learning, and digitization.
Specifically, ScholComm:
- Raises awareness and provides professional development opportunities related to ScholComm activities, via web and in-person.
- Identifies, develops, and maintains resources, tools, policies, and services applicable to ScholComm initiatives.
- Creates targeted task forces on pertinent ScholComm topics.
- Provides overarching structure for the PALNI Digital Admin Team, PALSave Admin Team, Publishing Services Admin Team, and the Institutional Repository Admin Team.
Group Membership
Anyone employed by a PALNI-supported institution who is interested in scholarly communications as defined by PALNI (the cycle through which scholarly information is created, evaluated, disseminated, acquired, and preserved) may participate in ScholComm. Participation in ScholComm events and work is encouraged but optional.
The work of ScholComm is coordinated by a Steering Committee.
- Amanda Hurford, PALNI Scholarly Communications Director, Chair
- Jennifer Coronado, Butler University
- Heather Myers, Anderson University
- Jerry Nugent, University of Indianapolis
- Victoria Peters, DePauw University
- Sue Wiegand, Saint Mary’s College
ScholComm includes the following Admin Teams and Task Force(s), and their representatives also serve on the Steering Committee.
- Institutional Repository Admin Team
Representative: Nicholas Stanton-Roark, Anderson University/PALNI
This team will operationalize workflows for the PALNI collaborative institutional repository and provide ongoing administration, training, and support.
- PALNI Digital Admin Team (PDAT)
Representative: Sudha Anand, DePauw University
Administer and provide support for PALNI’s digital asset platform for archival collections. Maintain system policies and recommend best practices for digital content management. Ensure data source interoperability with Indiana Memory, DPLA, and the PALNI discovery layer. As part of Scholarly Communications, work with other teams and task forces (primarily the Institutional Repository Task Force) on specific projects.
Representative: Erin Milanese, PALNI
This team provides ongoing administration and support for the PALNI Affordable Learning program.
- Publishing Services Admin Team
Representative: Amanda Hurford, PALNI
Provides support for library publishing activities at PALNI-supported institutions. The team primarily creates and maintains documentation for basic level journal publishing services using the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform; and also develops skills and workflows for other highly desired services, content types, and platforms under the PALNI Press. Members will work collectively to address local barriers to library publishing, engage with the library publishing community, and monitor the landscape for new developments in this area.
ScholComm includes the following Task Forces:
- OER Publishing Task Force
Representative: Jennifer Coronado
This task force will build PALNI’s capacity for the adaptation (editing and remixing) and creation of open resources such as open textbooks and ancillary content. This includes project pre-planning, education module development, deciding requirements/deliverables, and assessment plan for this initiative. This group will investigate platforms to be administered, identify services to develop, and perform a capacity scan based on best practices for modifying and publishing open content.
Ongoing Responsibilities of ScholComm
- Review the statement of work annually or as necessary to address changes in staffing, expectations, or service needs.
- Perform action items, including those from the strategic plan and others that are identified.
- Actively collaborate with other PALNI groups.
- Raise awareness and provide professional development opportunities related to ScholComm activities, via web and in-person.
- Identify and maintain resources and tools applicable to ScholComm initiatives.
- Provide support for PALNI ScholComm services.
- Create and lead targeted task forces on pertinent ScholComm topics.
- Provides overarching structure for the PALNI Digital Admin Team, PALSave Admin Team, Publishing Services Admin Team, and Institutional Repository services
Ongoing Responsibilities of ScholComm Steering
- Members of the ScholComm Steering Committee spend 3 or more hours a month working on ScholComm activities, and are expected to serve in a ScholComm leadership capacity by chairing and/or serving on task forces, as well as planning ScholComm events.
Ongoing Local Responsibilities
- ScholComm’s resources and support are developed specifically for PALNI- supported institutions. Implementation of tools and services should be done at the local level in coordination with ScholComm and/or PALNI Scholarly Communications Director.
Communication
- ScholComm provides the PALNI community, the PALNI Board, and other stakeholders with updates about activities and support requests.
Major Services
- Scholarly Communications Awareness and Outreach: How scholarship is created, acquired, and disseminated is quickly evolving. ScholComm raises awareness and provides professional development and group discussion opportunities related to open access, copyright, affordable learning, and more. ScholComm also scans the landscape for resources, tools, and services to share with the PALNI community. Institutions may contact the PALNI Scholarly Communications Director for focused consultation and to support local scholarly communications program development. Strategic Pillars: Expertise & Collaboration
- Affordable Learning Initiative -- PALSave: The increasing price of college textbooks has a negative effect on student performance and retention. Through PALNI, supported institutions are affiliate members of the Open Education Network, which helps higher education institutions and systems advance the use of open textbooks and practices on their campuses. The PALSave Admin Team offers faculty workshops to build Open Educational Resource (OER) awareness, education, and engagement, and provides support for identifying and integrating free-to-the-student texts, such as ebooks with unlimited concurrent use. The PALSave project leads also collect and report data illustrating the impact of the program across the consortium and locally. Strategic Pillars: Affordability, Expertise & Collaboration, Student Success
- Digital Repository Solutions: Showcasing special collections and institutional outputs online is an area in which libraries are increasingly providing services to their campuses. All PALNI libraries can currently build digital collections using the shared Hyku or CONTENTdm platforms. PALNI’s Institutional Repository Coordinator is available for Hyku and training and support. The PALNI Digital Admin Team (PDAT) is available for CONTENTdm support, and to consult on the digital collection creation process, from digitization planning to discoverability in Indiana Memory, the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA), and WorldCat. The Scholarly Communications Director additionally provides consultation and project setup support for digitization through Internet Archive. Strategic Pillars: Affordability, Expertise & Collaboration
- Library Publishing Platforms: Library publishing programs help libraries more actively participate in the scholarly communications cycle and promote open access. The Publishing Services Admin Team provides its supported institutions with capacity to create and host open access publications via the PALNI Press. It administers and supports instances of Open Journal Systems, Pressbooks, and Omeka. PALNI is a consortial member of the Library Publishing Coalition. Strategic Pillars: Affordability, Expertise & Collaboration
- Archives Management and Consulting: Academic archives maintain the historical record of institutions and their related communities. PALNI’s Archives Consultant is available to provide added capacity and expertise in this area, and can help with archives projects, best practices, and general questions. PALNI also provides access to and training for the archival management software ArchivesSpace at no additional cost. Strategic Pillars: Affordability, Expertise & Collaboration
- Grant Support and Management: Grants provide the financial resources that enable organizations to pursue initiatives that might not otherwise be possible. PALNI’s ScholComm program is the recipient of several grants supporting digitization, affordable learning, and repository development. PALNI’s Scholarly Communications Director is also available to consult on institution-level grants, including needs articulation, proposal review, and addressing roadblocks. Strategic Pillars: Affordability, Expertise & Collaboration
For More Information
- Contact PALNI Scholarly Communications Director Amanda Hurford at amanda@palni.edu.
Updated August 17, 2021 by Amanda Hurford