Professor Carol Tenopir, director of the Center for Information and Communication Studies at UT, recently served as a member of a roundtable initiated by the U.S. Congress to identify ways in which federally funded research can be more widely and effectively dispersed.
The House Committee on Science and Technology’s Scholarly Publishing Roundtable evaluated in what ways and to what extent the public should be given the ability to view scholarly articles whose findings result from federally funded research.
Tenopir and a group of fellow information experts helped the committee explore this issue.
“The roundtable included a mix of publishers of scholarly journals, librarians, university provosts and researchers,” Tenopir said.
Contributing to the discussion, Tenopir was able to offer a unique perspective on potential policies for information distribution.
“My research area is scholarly publishing, including reading and economics, so that is why I was selected,” Tenopir said.
A highly acclaimed faculty member, Tenopir has earned the distinction of Chancellor’s Professor, which is reserved for professors who demonstrate excellent service to the university and have made research achievements in their field of academia.
“My participation demonstrates how the UT College of Communication and Information is involved in research on many important issues in publishing,” Tenopir said.
Her inclusion in this roundtable was not only a tremendous personal honor but a credit to UT as well.
“Dr. Tenopir’s vast knowledge and experience in the area of e-publishing, return on investment and all aspects of information science, coupled with her excellent communication and collaboration skills, will help the congressional roundtable generate a consensus that will shape public policy in this area for years to come,” Mike Wirth, dean of the UT College of Communication and Information, said.
Spurred by increasingly accessible Internet resources and an evolving information age, methods of research publication are changing.
Traditionally, libraries and academic entities have paid subscription fees for access to scientific e-journals. This system, however, has been complicated by easier access to articles over the Internet and constricting university budgets.
With calls for universal access to scholarly advances as expressed in journal and magazine articles via the Internet, the government is looking for new ideas to address this growing issue.
This specific panel was aimed at finding a solution for more easily dispersing government-funded research without creating one “particular economic model” for the way all information is shared online.
“The roundtable worked all summer long and is just finishing our green-paper report this fall,” Tenopir said.
The “green-paper” report will serve as a synopsis of the work the panel has done and the panel’s advice for the future.
