Libraries – Open Access Books Network

This post, written by Dr. Reggie Raju (Director Research and Learning Services) & Jill Claassen (Scholarly Communications & Research) both from the University of Capetown Libraries, is an introduction to the next event in the ‘BoOkmArks: Open Conversations About OA Books’ series. A live session, open to all, will be held via this Zoom link on Tuesday 2th March at 16:00 CET/ 15:00 GMT/10:00 ET, when we will interview Reggie & Jill about a continental platform for open research in Africa. If you have questions for Reggie & Jill, please add them to the comments section below so they can be included in the conversation on 2th March — and join us at the event if you can! A recording will be available afterwards via our YouTube channel.

Continue reading “A platform for inclusivity”

By Jayne Kelly (Ebooks Administrator, Collections and Academic Liaison Department, Cambridge University Library) and Clara Panozzo (Latin American & Iberian Collections, Collections and Academic Liaison Department, Cambridge University Library)

During the COVID-19 pandemic, two colleagues from different areas within the Collections and Academic Liaison department at Cambridge University Library have tackled problems related to Open Access books’ metadata and accessibility. Here you will read about the particular case that sparked their conversations, and the challenges that librarians encounter when dealing with Open Access books.

In spring 2020, lockdown began and our focus turned to electronic publications, so that we could still guarantee our readers access to relevant resources during this period. It became apparent to the Latin American and Iberian Collections team at Cambridge University Library that work had to be done on the bibliographic records pertaining to publications by CLACSO (Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales, a network of 700 research institutions from 52 countries with a rich Open Access ebooks catalogue). CLACSO is an excellent publisher and it is essential for us that their publications are available for our readers. Continue reading “Open Access books and [in]discoverability: a library perspective”