Library News

Northeastern Signs on to SCOAP3

logo4 Northeastern University Libraries has recently signed on to the SCOAP3 Expression of Interest. SCOAP3 is the Sponsoring Consortium for Open Access Publishing in Particle Physics Publishing. The goal of SCOAP3 is to create an innovative economic model to achieve open access to peer-reviewed literature in high-energy physics (HEP). The model seeks to re-direct the high cost of subscription expenditures to ensure open access and work to contain costs – and hopefully, achieve more value than is possible within a subscription-based system. The SCOAP3 initiative has already been endorsed by dozens of other institutions.  Each SCOAP3 partner will finance its contribution by canceling journal subscriptions. Each country (currently over 23 countries) will contribute according to its share of High Energy Physics publishing. The transition to open access will be facilitated by the fact that the large majority of HEP articles are published in just six peer-reviewed journals. HEP funding agencies and libraries are currently signing Expressions of Interest for the financial backing of the consortium. Provided that SCOAP3 funding partners are prepared to engage in long-term commitments, many publishers will hopefully be ready to enter into negotiations.  The example of SCOAP3 could be followed by other scientific fields. For more information, you may want to view the recent webcast about the project.  The talk given by Dr. Salvatore Mele of CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) about SCOAP3 is a very good introduction to the project.

Announcing: The Hub

The Hub is a new fab space for everyone to come hang out in, meet friends, and browse stuff deemed cool and noteworthy by our unbeatable library staff. Starting Spring 2010 semester, as soon as you walk through the front doors of Snell Library you’ll find a new, better-than-ever browsing collection with selected bestsellers, literary fiction, graphic novels, DVDs, and prize-winning non-fiction all in one central place. We hope this new area becomes your first stop when you need a change of pace or are searching for that special book to challenge you, expand your horizons, or simply entertain you. The name of this new area was chosen from a pool of over 100 student entries, and the winner, Corina Medley, received a $100 gift certificate donated by the NU Bookstore. While The Hub will include a selection of the most interesting new books, you can see a full list of every new book coming into the library via our online New Titles lists. Come visit us soon!

Work on the First Floor of Snell Library

Work has begun on the first floor with an eye to removing the old reference desk to make way for a new area with seating that focuses on leisure reading, with bestsellers, literary fiction, graphic novels, DVDs, and prize-winning non-fiction all in the same place. (Research assistance is still available, but is now accessible on the second floor of the Library.) We hope that work will be finished by the time spring semester classes start.

Librarian assumes new role in scholarly communication

Congratulations to Hillary Corbett on her movement to the new position of Scholarly Communication Librarian this past October!  She has chaired the Library’s Scholarly Communication Committee, which worked on outreach to faculty about issues affecting them as researchers and authors, since its inception. Corbett’s new full-time position is devoted to scholarly communication to advance the Library’s focus on supporting research and publishing on campus; to promote the value of IRis as a research repository and publishing tool; and to keep the university community informed about relevant issues such as open access. In addition to her responsibilities as committee chair, she was formerly the Assistant Head for Receipt and Resource Control. There she supervised the group responsible for receiving and cataloging print materials for the Library, managing print journal subscriptions, and the physical processing (labeling, binding, etc.) of all library materials. Hillary says she plans to use Snell Snippets, in addition to the feed already in place, to share information on scholarly communication.  Stay tuned!