Scholarly communication initiatives at Georgetown University: lessons learned

Abstract

PurposeThe paper aims to describe the launching of Georgetown University's Scholarly Communication Symposium Series in 2003, and ongoing efforts to raise faculty and librarian awareness of changes in the scholarly communication landscape.Design/methodology/approachThe paper takes the form of a case study.FindingsRaising awareness about the effects of the “serials crisis” on academic libraries is challenging, because faculty members do not pay subscription costs directly. It remains difficult to encourage researchers to publish in open access journals, which often do not have the prestige of more established, subscription‐based journals. In the face of these challenges, Georgetown's Scholarly Communication Symposium Series has proven to be an enduring vehicle for informing faculty members of the changing landscape in scholarly communications. Targeted marketing (contextualized with reference to high profile developments and projects) and the engaging nature of the events have been critical to success. The broad, high level campus representation among the planning group has also been essential.Originality/valueThe paper allows readers wishing to develop or revise their scholarly communications initiatives to draw on Georgetown's experience.