Scholarly Communication for Librarians (Chandos Information Professional Series)

Citation

Williamson, V. (2010), "Scholarly Communication for Librarians (Chandos Information Professional Series)", Library Management, Vol. 31 No. 4/5, pp. 374-375. https://doi.org/10.1108/01435121011046470

This recent publication from the Chandos Information Professional Series is a very interesting publication for a number of reasons. For instance, you have to wonder why a known open access advocate would publish a traditional book on a topic that is undergoing such rapid and significant change.

However, author Heather Morrison quickly addresses this question in an introductory Author's Note. By the end of the note, the reader is left without doubt that Heather Morrison not only knows what she is talking about; but she is very up‐to‐date on current developments; and, has clearly thought through and reflected on the various factors at play in the complex environment of scholarly communication and publishing..

Scholarly Communications for Librarians is a very readable book and one, which deserves to be read not only by librarians but by all who have an interest in or play a role in the scholarly communication and publishing.

Morrison takes her reader through the various elements of scholarly communication and publishing in a logical and systematic way. In doing so she discusses topics including scholarly journals, authors' rights and intellectual property, Open Access, the economics of scholarly communication, and emerging trends and formats. I would have liked to have seen included in the topics some overview and discussion of the role of the Academy and related academic processes as factors which have influenced, if not entrenched, traditional models of scholarly communication over the decades.

The book includes a number of appendices, which reproduce key documents on Open Access for easy access by the reader. There is also an extensive list of reference and web addresses and a comprehensive index. The inclusion of the web address listing is particularly thoughtful and helpful given the dynamic nature of the topics under discussion.

Congratulations to Heather Morrison and Chandos Publishing for an excellent publication, which clearly fulfils the purpose of the Chandos Information Professional Series, which is aimed at the busy information professional and specially commissioned to provide the reader with an authoritative view of current thinking. This book is easy‐to‐read and most importantly provides practical coverage of a topic that is of interest to librarians and other information professionals.