Kristen L. Scotti Carnegie Mellon University Libraries
Chenyue Jiao
University of Illinois Urbana Champaign
Melanie Gainey Carnegie Mellon University Libraries
Emily Bongiovanni Carnegie Mellon University Libraries
Emma Slayton Carnegie Mellon University Libraries
Source
via OSF Preprints
DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/uwcfk_v1 (version 1)
Abstract
Open Science aims to make research publicly accessible, transparent, and reusable, promoting collaboration across disciplines and fostering relationships among government, academia, industry, and society. International and regional reviews have explored the roles of academic libraries in promoting open science on both global and local scales. However, practices within U.S. academic libraries have not been examined comprehensively. This study addresses this gap. We employ a systematized literature review methodology to map U.S. academic library engagement in key areas of open science (e.g., open access, open data, open educational resources) and overlap analysis is used to assess shifts from discrete initiatives (e.g., open access, research data management) to holistic, integrated services that span the research lifecycle. Using a comprehensive search strategy, we identified 3,752 publications for inclusion in the study. We find that U.S. academic libraries are actively engaged in open science practices, with the most extensive involvement in open access and the provision of infrastructure to support open science. However, engagement in activities related to citizen science remains limited. Through thematic overlap analysis, we find that ~50% of publications report activities across two or more themes of open science, suggesting a possible shift toward more comprehensive practices. A key challenge reported by libraries is the need for continuous professional development to address technical skills gaps. As research needs and corresponding librarian responsibilities continue to evolve, maintaining librarian professional development opportunities will remain crucial for equipping librarians with the skills necessary to continue supporting and advancing open science initiatives.
Fig. 8. Chord diagram showing thematic overlap among publications; themes include: Open Access (OA), Open Data (OD), Open Educational Resources (OER), Open Reproducible Research (ORR), Open Innovation (OI), Open and responsible evaluation of science (Eval), open science policy, declarations, and guidelines (Pol), and open science infrastructure and tools (Infrastructure). Source: 10.31219/osf.io/uwcfk_v1
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area.
He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit.
Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.
