Scholarly Communication & Libraries Unbound: The Opportunity of the Commons

Abstract

"The thesis presented here is that the trends of distributed computing and open paradigms for scholarly exchange have relaxed the boundaries between stakeholders, allowing more permeable and overlapping roles. Content once fettered by physical constraints has been loosened. The conventions of scholarly communication have been stretched and opened to a wider audience. The products of publication have become more process-like. The roles of libraries have also changed to embrace new opportunities for facilitating and shaping content, communication, and collaboration. This paper explores the changes underway and in particular the new ways in which the research library?s role as archive or steward of information goods is being transformed as a collaborator and potentially a catalyst within interest-based communities.

"While the discussion here will not focus on the concept of a commons per se, a central premise of this analysis involves the interplay of stakeholder roles within the scholarly information commons. The intent is to provide a review of key themes and a practical exploration of roles, culminating with potential opportunities for libraries in the future.

"Hess and Ostrom's (2004) organizing framework for this workshop notes the convergence of forces within the commons, citing the hyperchange brought about by 'linear, exponential, discontinuous, and chaotic change.' The exploration here includes instances of linear change (extrapolation from past models) as well as discontinuous change (innovation) and will suggest that the fundamental social norms and constraints of discipline communities explain a good deal of the variability in the adoption of new scholarly communication models. Further, while research libraries have potential to affect change, sensitivity to context ? to the prevailing norms ? will be absolutely key. This focus also poses significant challenge and potentially significant cost for the library.

"To understand the contemporary environment, we will first address the traditional conventions of scholarly communication and the traditional archival role of libraries in that environment. Then, to set the stage for an analysis of new, more engaged and collaborative roles for libraries, the transformations underway in content and communication processes will be pursued. With this investigation as backdrop, we can then explore library engagement within discipline communities and in shaping scholarly communication processes."