Announcing Sustainable Open Scholarship Working Group

Dear UT Community,

I am writing to announce the creation of the Sustainable Open Scholarship Working Group, charged with articulating strategies for how UT Libraries can transform access to information resources in support of the university’s educational and research missions.

Their work follows the recommendations from the Task Force on the Future of UT Libraries commissioned by the Provost’s Office in 2018. Eric Meyer, dean of the School of Information, and Lorraine Haricombe, vice provost and director of UT Libraries will co-chair this effort. The working group includes faculty, staff and student members from across campus.

UT Libraries has built one of the largest and most distinctive collections among public institutions of higher education. In recent decades, many aspects of academic libraries have changed. The evolving needs of students and faculty, and new approaches to teaching, learning, and research have driven this change. As a result of the pandemic, the digital shift to online learning and the broader economic impact on higher education, it is more critical than ever that we effectively move the Libraries toward a more open and sustainable future. It is imperative that we make public scholarship immediately available for all to read, that we contain publishing costs and licensing fees, that data sources are open to researchers, and that authors retain their rights.

An essential part of this process is engaging the campus community. The working group will actively seek input through various channels and venues, including four subcommittees: Open Access, Open Data, Open Educational Resources, and Licensing & Negotiation.

We will share additional information about activities and findings as their work progresses.

This is an important initiative for the campus as we work to ensure UT Austin continues to provide the necessary library resources to enable our faculty, researchers, and students to succeed. Thank you in advance for being engaged in this process. I look forward to a conversation on how UT Libraries can best support our academic mission.

Sincerely,

DANIEL JAFFE | Interim Executive Vice President and Provost
The University of Texas at Austin | provost.utexas.edu

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