BYU Scholarly Communications Committee Mission

BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY

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Committee Mission

The following letter was sent to the committee by Gary Hooper on 1/19/05:

The Scholarly Communications Committee has been approved by the university as an ad hoc committee—that is we are organized for a specific purpose and are not intended to be a permanent group.

This being said, however, it is anticipated that the committee may meet for several years as we try to understand and cope with the several problems that now exist in the area of scholarly publications and communications. These concerns include the high costs (and attendant management problems) associated with our library’s efforts to keep up with our journal and book needs. There are also concerns with control/ownership of published materials and some concern with availability of suitable venues for publication in some academic areas.

The committee is composed of nominated representatives for each college or school, members of the Faculty Advisory Council and representatives of appropriate academic support unit staff. The term will be a staggered three-year term of service so some may participate a year less or a year more to get the staggered replacement in process. A full membership list is attached.

Meetings will be held at least monthly during academic semesters. While Gary Hooper will convene and chair the first meeting it is anticipated that a member of the committee will be selected to continue as chair. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Gary at grhooper@byu.edu.

The following document by University Librarian Randy Olsen was distributed by Gary Hooper as a starting point for the committee:

Brigham Young University Scholarly Communications Committee

The Scholarly Communications Committee supports the University's research, teaching, and citizenship mission by guiding the University faculty, staff, and students in matters relating to the dissemination, use, and archiving of knowledge.

Further, the Scholarly Communications Committee is charged with the responsibility to work collaboratively with University faculty, administration, colleges, and departements to develop and implement a program offering both local and natinoal leaderhsip and direction altering the current course of scholarly communications so that it is economically sustainable and ensures the widest possible access to the scholarly record.

The program may include

Strategies to inform the University about issues and trends impacting scholarly communication, such as making available information on activities of specific publishers which restrict dissemination of knoweldge either by excessive costs or restrictive access
Evolving the library's materials selection and acquisition process to support the goal of making scholarly publications available at reasonable costs and encouarge faculty to support such publications with their submissions, editorial talents, and expertise
Providng faculty guidance on fair use, intellectual property rights, and management of their creative works
Supporting measures focused on archiving knoweldge and fair access to that knowledge at the international, national, and local levels
Providing avenues and incentives directed at encouraging fauclty to explore innovative alternatives for scholars to disseminate their work.

The Scholarly Communications Committee membership and chairmanship is appointed by the Academic Vice President. The Committee also reports to the Academic Vice President.

Committee Membership

Faculty Representative from each academic college (1)
Copyright Licensing Office (1)
Faculty Library Council Representative (1)
J. Rueben Clark Law Library (1)
Harold B. Lee Library Representatives (2)
Faculty Advisory Council Representative (1)