Working better together: Library, publisher, and vendor perspectives

In the rapidly evolving scholarly ecosystem, ‘working better together’ is increasingly important. This session will explore how collaborations between libraries, publishers, and vendors can produce new efficiencies in workflows for library staff and lasting improvements to discoverability for academic researchers. Cross-sector representatives will share sector perspectives and discuss interoperability issues, with a common focus on publisher content, research tools, and library systems. Panelists’ introductory remarks will explore interoperability issues and implementation implications. To set the stage for cross-sector discussion, Maria Collins (NCSU, Head, Acquisitions and Discovery) will describe NCSU’s technical services reorganization and highlight vendor collaborations. Within this framework, panelists’ Nicole Pelsinsky (Serials Solutions, Manager, Implementation Services) and Aaron Wood (Alexander Street Press, Vice President, Systems and Data Architecture) comments will address such practical questions as these:Data – how to take advantage of publisher content to improve the research process via the discovery service?Implementations – what to expect from vendors to ensure a smooth and efficient implementation?Linking – how to ensure seamless access to content using data from the publisher?Tracking – what services are available to help librarians improve workflow?Maintenance – how can overhead associated with content maintenance be reduced? Noting achievements and opportunities, panelists’ conclusions will consider high impact recommendations for improvements in library efficiencies and user experiences. The aim throughout is to better understand contemporary challenges and opportunities for ‘working better together’, with the aspirational goal of fostering cross-sector collaborations that enable libraries to deliver value-added research services. Therefore, Mary M. Somerville (lead author, SAGE white paper, Improving the discoverability of scholarly content in the Twenty-First Century: Collaboration opportunities for librarians, publishers, and vendors) serves as the panel moderator