Opening libraries to the exciting possibilities of Open Access, “Open Access Literature in Libraries: Principles and Practices” outlines both its strategic and practical aspects, showing librarians how to understand and support OA regardless of their organizational context or resources. This Core text has continuously received positive acclaim since its release date. Below, find excerpts from four new reviews about the book, or visit the Core Store to learn about this and other Core titles.
Open Access Literature in Libraries is written for librarians who are looking for practical advice on incorporating OA resources into their libraries in a way that makes those resources discoverable and accessible to patrons. The book provides a quick but comprehensive introduction on how to make OA titles a part of the mission within a library.
– J. Rodzvilla, Journal of Web Librarianship
Brunsting and Harrington are both librarians at the University of Memphis, and Scott is associate dean of information assets at Illinois State University. In each of the six chapters in this slim book they examine a particular avenue through which librarians engage with materials that are open access (OA). The first chapter considers the intersection of collection development policies and OA; the subsequent chapters look at, respectively, strategies for creating and maintaining OA library collections through practices like institutional repositories and OA mandates, OA principles statements and advocacy groups, best practices in OA tailored to each unit of library operations and stakeholders, various ways that OA can be used for DEI purposes, and the need for adaptability in library approaches to OA. As the foregoing indicates, the book provides a useful blend of practical advice and philosophical principle, so it can act as both a primer for librarians new to OA and a quick reference for those already actively engaged in OA practices. A solid addition to the literature on a burgeoning area of information science.
– E. Jeitner, Choice
A major focus of this book is the argument that libraries should have nimble principles and practices for supporting Open Access instead of inflexible policies. The authors offer up several thoughtful points about the labor and flexibility needed when incorporating Open Access materials into the collection, as well as the shortfalls of collection development policies. Brunsting et al. argue that policies are often too rigid and too slow to change to keep up with the rapidly changing nature of Open Access. The authors also suggest that libraries maintain Open Access content alongside licensed content so that it does not become an optional or pet project. Chapter three provides several real-life, current examples of OA guiding principles from various types and sizes of organizations which libraries could model their own principles after. The “Best Practices for Principles Statements” is extremely helpful to librarians responsible for managing how their institutions incorporate and manage Open Access resources.
– Angela M. Morse, Technical Services Quarterly
This book attempts to distill all library-related OA concerns into one volume. The result is a fair overview of the OA landscape, touching on such things as whether it should be invoked in libraries’ policies, principles, philosophy, or otherwise; explaining various models under which it can be expanded (Read & Publish vs crowdfunding, for example); providing examples of principle statements which various libraries and organizations have declared; and providing a nuanced discussion of the ways in which it both helps and hinders the cultivation of diverse, equitable, and inclusive materials in our collections.
– Nicole Eva, Charleston Hub
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