11 January 2019
Andrew Barker
As another year rolls by, the main committee of UKSG (and your editors, Helle and Leo) thought it would be helpful if I, as Chair of UKSG, took this opportunity to reflect on what we have achieved at UKSG in 2018, and what we are planning to do in 2019.
2018 has been a year of great change for UKSG, and we look forward to new developments in 2019 to ensure that we continue to meet the ever-evolving needs of our community, 42 years after John Merriman founded UKSG.
UKSG Insights
2018 started with a change to the way that we publish UKSG Insights. Traditionally a journal that published three issues a year, in January 2018 it moved to a continuous publication model. This move to continuous publication facilitated the publication of articles in a more timely and market sensitive manner. It has also enabled us to market articles at an individual level, shining a brighter light on articles, and publishing specific pieces to tie in with relevant events.
The move to continuous publication has also enabled the Insights Editorial Board to think more strategically, with a special issue on Gold open access post Finch due in 2019, edited by Graham Stone and Frank Manista of Jisc.
Looking ahead, January 2019 will see the Insights Editorial Board beginning a two-year pilot partnership with Kudos, a cloud-based toolkit to help authors of scholarly content explain and share their publications with the aim of broadening reach and impact.
UKSG Insights is your journal, and the editorial team are always looking for content that supports UKSG’s mission to connect the information community. To find out more about how you can contribute to Insights, have a look at the recent call for papers here.
Seminars, webinars and training events
Over 2018, six seminars and training events were held, with 162 delegates attending across the six. In October, we ran a new seminar, ‘Introduction to Open Access Publication Lifestyles and Compliance’, while also in October we ran a (sold out) refreshed seminar on ‘Usage Statistics for Decision-Making’.
Our series of webinars continues. There were six webinars delivered in 2018, with over 2100 registrations. These webinars allow us to broaden our engagement with members both in the UK and internationally. The majority of those attending webinars are from the UK, Europe and North America, although webinars continue to attract listeners from around the world. Our webinars aim to cater for all levels across the sector, running more practical and information-delivering sessions alongside opinion pieces, and providing a way for practitioners to keep up with new topics.
We record webinars, so you can still register and listen to one of our previous webinar recordings.
In 2019, we plan to review the geographic spread of our seminar programme and refresh our seminars to ensure that we appeal to all sectors of UKSG’s membership. More information about seminars and webinars are available on the UKSG website.
Looking towards 2019
The highlight of the year for UKSG is the Annual Conference, held each year in the spring. In 2019 our Annual Conference will be at Telford International Centre from 8-10 April, in Shropshire, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. Bookings will open early in 2019, so we look forward to seeing you there.
During the UKSG conference, we elect members for the main committee. Our ambition is for the committee to represent the breadth of our community, reflecting the variety of perspectives and backgrounds in our community, both from within the UK and internationally. I would encourage you to help us to ensure we represent the diversity of our membership by standing for election in 2019. The Committee Nomination Form is now available, so please consider standing yourself, or tell a colleague about it.
UKSG continues to listen to its membership, providing an organisation that meets the challenges of the changing scholarly communication landscape. UKSG has long been involved in developing collaborative research initiatives to ensure that we invest back into the community. In 2019, we are returning to these roots, by re-launching our Research and Innovation group. The group will focus in 2019 on three key areas:
- innovation competition/award
- white paper series
- sponsored conference place
Information about these key areas and details on how you can engage with our plans are available on the Research and Innovation pages of the UKSG website. In 2018, we refreshed and relaunched our website, and in 2019 we shall continue to develop it, so watch this space.
Last year we also launched our new subcommittee, Outreach & Engagement, the focus of which is to develop the membership of UKSG and promote engagement with our community. This group will work to ensure that our offer is relevant to our target groups. Specifically, the new group aims to reach out to the whole of our community, including under-represented sectors such as further education and corporate libraries.
These under-represented groups are an important part of UKSG. We plan to support them by reflecting on how we can expand our offer to under-served groups. Our ‘E-Resources for Further Education’ seminar is one way we support the FE community, but we will review other ways we can engage with the sector.
Following a staffing restructure in October 2018, we have plans to refresh the governance structures of UKSG. Specifically, we plan to review the role of the main committee of trustees and the honorary officers. UKSG is a charity, and members of the main committee are trustees. We will work to ensure that we provide our members with a governing body that is relevant to the changing shape of our community. Providing a body of trustees who give support to the leadership within the organisation is key to our future success.
Forty-two years after UKSG began, this organisation is still working, uniquely, across the sector, bringing librarians, publishers, intermediaries and others in our community together. Our charitable status reflects our wider charitable activities, and we are committed to continuing to play a central part in connecting the knowledge community.
I am grateful for the support of all UKSG staff and volunteers, and to all who have engaged with UKSG during this last year. You ensure that UKSG continues to be at the forefront of our community. I look forward to seeing you at Telford in April.