University Libraries hosts first-ever SEC Academic Collaboration Award Workshop

By Marketing and Communications | 01-30-2015

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M University Libraries will host the inaugural SEC Academic Collaboration Award 2015 Workshop, Feb. 6-8, at Sterling C. Evans Library on campus at Texas A&M. The workshop will enable students and representatives from each SEC university to build strategic plans advancing open access and open educational resource initiatives at SEC universities.

In the first year of the SEC Academic Collaboration Award, the University Libraries’ proposal, Advocating for Change in Scholarly Communication: A Collaboration Between Student Governments and the Libraries of the SEC, was selected as the first-ever winner, among 15 submissions. Since winning the award, the University Libraries have partnered with The Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) and the Right to Research Coalition to organize the workshop.

“We are thrilled that the inaugural award for this SECU program went to a program proposed by libraries,” said David Carlson, Dean of the Texas A&M University Libraries. “The topic of the sponsored workshop is integral to both the future of libraries and is one of the key areas where I believe libraries can have a significant impact for future scholars.”

The two-day workshop will bring teams of representatives from SEC universities together, which will be comprised of two student leaders from student governments (one undergraduate, one graduate student), as well as relevant library experts, scholarly communication librarians and library directors. Each team will design and complete an open access initiative that draws upon the strengths of the library-student government partnership, while aligning with other campus initiatives and meeting the needs of the team’s campus community.

The workshop will also feature nationally recognized experts on programs that effectively promote open access and open educational resources, including “just-in-time, just-for-me” support for each institutional team as they learn about open access and work on designing their own action plans.

“We all know change is hard, but we believe that university libraries-student government partnerships can act as change agents on their campuses,” said Dr. Bruce Herbert, Director of the Office of Scholarly Communication at Texas A&M and workshop coordinator. “The SEC Academic Collaboration Award 2015 Workshop will help build those partnerships.”

The University Libraries will launch an online discussion forum after the workshop for SEC student governments to post their experiences, successes and challenges, and plans for promoting relevant initiatives throughout the next year.

For more information: Contact James Solano, Texas A&M University Libraries; 979.862.2764 or agco2012@library.tamu.edu.after the workshop for SEC student governments to post their experiences, successes and challenges, and plans for promoting relevant initiatives throughout the next year.