Library publishing often relies on librarians taking on journal “hosting” or publishing roles, despite having little experience with publishing. Key to this role is working with editors, who may also be new to the “back end” of publishing. Whether nurturing a collection of existing journals, or guiding a new journal toward its first issue, it can be challenging to build relationships with editors, understand the needs of the journals, and build the necessary skills. As a librarian who is still relatively new to library publishing, I am interested in the practices, ideas, and challenges of others who are working with similar programs. The session will be a semi-structured discussion intended to provide librarians an opportunity to ask questions and share strategies. Likely discussion topics include: • Strategies for communicating with editors and understanding their needs • Identifying and prioritizing useful library interventions (some possibilities: indexing, preservation, and accessibility) • Resources and strategies for learning about publishing • Decision making around taking on new journals • Development of policies to guide this work In order to help attendees turn this conversation into action, we will use a notes document to gather suggestions and resources.
