Open Access Week, now entering its fifth year, is just around the corner. It is a global event which promotes the benefits of open access publishing via free, immediate and online access of scholarly research (#OAW2011).

I will be celebrating the week by speaking at MIT on 10/26. I will discuss how scholarly communications has changed in recent years and the need for article level metrics to help identify what we don’t know, we don’t know.

My presentation, The Scholarly Communication Collider, will also explore how bringing together the right content, in the right place at the right time, helps create scholarly research.

Members of the MIT community are welcome to attend, Wednesday, October 26 from 11:30-12:30 in 3-270.

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I was at MIT a few days ago and had the opportunity to participate in Erik Brynjolfsson‘s class at Sloan School of Management. It was a fun class.  We discussed the early days of SSRN, bundled services, and electronic resources in general. During the conversation, I asked the MBA students if they knew where the library was and received many blank stares.  Maybe it was because MIT has a a lot of them, but more likely it was the fact that students’ relationships with their library has changed.

While the gap between students and stacks continues to grow, several libraries are building bridges. Personal Librarian Programs are being rolled out by a small number of universities across the country, including Drexel University and Yale. Essentially, these programs assign incoming students a personal librarian to serve as a direct access point in the library.  I haven’t looked at it from a cost perspective but from a customer service perspective, I think it is great.

Today, many of us understand and appreciate the overwhelming abundance of information available at our fingertips.  There is too much content to consume and crucial educational resources can get lost in the pile.  Librarians have a wealth of knowledge and specifically know:

• How to research & evaluate content
• How to use different resources for different purposes
• How to determine validity and appropriation
• How to think critically

Several months ago I spoke with Susan Gibbons, a forward-thinking librarian from the University of Rochester. She understands the challenge and provided some insight into how she has been able to enrich and simplify students’ experience at the UR library.  One idea that stuck with me was noting the library’s front desk phone numbers at the end of each stack, allowing students to get help immediately.

In addition to valuing libraries by their resources, Susan explained that important learning functions like camaraderie and group work are also fostered by the library structure.  Building learning communities is one of a library’s most important core missions.

For Susan’s view of the future, watch the video below:

Earlier in the day at MIT I had a conversation with a librarian and asked if students knew where to find the library. She replied, “Of course they know where it is, that’s where they go to sleep in between classes.”

I hope the Personal Librarian Programs and other initiatives are a success.  Students need to learn how to manage the overabundance of information today and it would be a shame for them to spend more time with their eyes closed than open in the library …

Here are the latest announcements from SSRN:

Announcing New FEN Editor’s Choice eJournals

We are pleased to announce the following Financial Economics Network (FEN) Editor’s Choice eJournals — Finance Educator: Courses, Cases & Teaching (Editor’s Choice), and History of Finance (Editor’s Choice).

Finance Educator: Courses, Cases & Teaching (Editor’s Choice)
View Papers: http://www.ssrn.com/link/FEN-Educator-Editors-Choice.html
Subscribe: http://hq.ssrn.com/jourInvite.cfm?link=FEN-Educator-Editors-Choice

Editors: Benjamin C. Esty, Harvard Business School, Michael J. Schill, University of Virginia – Darden Graduate School of Business Administration, and Kent L. Womack, Dartmouth College – Tuck School of Business

Description: The Finance Educator: Courses, Cases & Teaching Editor’s Choice abstracting eJournal distributes working papers and accepted paper abstracts that the Editor chooses to emphasize based on their own discretion or criteria. This eJournal allows the Editor to highlight papers that he or she believes are important for the profession. These papers may be distributed in this Editor’s Choice eJournal either before or after they appear in the regular all-inclusive eJournal. The Editor may choose to write an introduction to an issue that identifies a special collection of papers the Editor finds of interest, and he or she from time to time, may provide commentary on individual papers noting their special interest.

History of Finance (Editor’s Choice)
View Papers: http://www.ssrn.com/link/History-Finance-Editors-Choice.html
Subscribe: http://hq.ssrn.com/jourInvite.cfm?link=History-Finance-Editors-Choice

Editor: Victor Ricciardi, Social Science Research Network (SSRN)

Description: History of Finance Editor’s Choice abstracting eJournal distributes working papers and accepted paper abstracts that the Editor chooses to emphasize based on their own discretion or criteria. This eJournal allows the Editor to highlight papers that he or she believes are important for the profession. These papers may be distributed in this Editor’s Choice eJournal either before or after they appear in the regular all-inclusive eJournal. The Editor may choose to write an introduction to an issue that identifies a special collection of papers the Editor finds of interest, and he or she from time to time, may provide commentary on individual papers noting their special interest.

Announcing New ERN Research Paper Series Journals

We are pleased to announce that NYU Wagner School of Public Service has started an ERN Public Policy Centers Research Papers series, and Norwegian School of Economics & Business Administration Department of Economics has started an Economics Departments Research Papers series within the Economics Research Network (ERN).

NYU WAGNER SCHOOL OF PUBLIC SERVICE
View Papers: http://www.ssrn.com/link/NYU-Wagner-PUB.html
Subscribe: http://hq.ssrn.com/jourInvite.cfm?link=NYU-Wagner-PUB

The challenges of public service in the 21st century require thoughtful, innovative research programs designed to maximize both scholarly and public impact.

Wagner School faculty strive to produce and disseminate research that changes the way in which people frame, understand, analyze, manage, and act on public issues and policies of vital importance.

NORWEGIAN SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS
View Papers: http://www.ssrn.com/link/Norwegian-Economics-DEPT.html

At NHH, the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration, the first chairs in economics were created at its foundation in 1936. The Department of Economics itself was not established until 1951/52. From the beginning, a broad range of research interests were represented, and from the outset academic research has occupied a central place in the activities of the Department. Since the late 1960s, its members have been very active contributors to international economics journals. Many of them have also taken a strong interest in matters of economic policy, sometimes as members or experts on government committees, and sometimes as contributors to public debate about current economic issues.

Announcing ARN Editor’s Choice eJournals

We are pleased to announce the following Accounting Research Network (ARN) Editor’s Choice eJournals — Accounting Educator: Courses, Cases & Teaching (Editor’s Choice), Behavioral & Experimental Accounting (Editor’s Choice), Financial Accounting (Editor’s Choice), History of Accounting (Editor’s Choice), and Managerial Accounting (Editor’s Choice).

Accounting Educator: Courses, Cases & Teaching (Editor’s Choice)
View Papers: http://www.ssrn.com/link/ARN-Educator-Editors-Choice.html
Subscribe: http://hq.ssrn.com/jourInvite.cfm?link=ARN-Educator-Editors-Choice

Editor: Ross L. Watts, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – Sloan School of Management

Description: The Accounting Educator: Courses, Cases & Teaching Editor’s Choice abstracting eJournal distributes working papers and accepted paper abstracts that the Editor chooses to emphasize based on their own discretion or criteria. This eJournal allows the Editor to highlight papers that he or she believes are important for the profession. These papers may be distributed in this Editor’s Choice eJournal either before or after they appear in the regular all-inclusive eJournal. The Editor may choose to write an introduction to an issue that identifies a special collection of papers the Editor finds of interest, and he or she from time to time, may provide commentary on individual papers noting their special interest.

Behavioral & Experimental Accounting (Editor’s Choice)
View Papers: http://www.ssrn.com/link/Beh-Exp-Accounting-Editors-Choice.html
Subscribe: http://hq.ssrn.com/jourInvite.cfm?link=Beh-Exp-Accounting-Editors-Choice

Editor: Victor Ricciardi, Social Science Research Network (SSRN)

Description: The Behavioral & Experimental Accounting Editor’s Choice abstracting eJournal distributes working papers and accepted paper abstracts that the Editor chooses to emphasize based on their own discretion or criteria. This eJournal allows the Editor to highlight papers that he or she believes are important for the profession. These papers may be distributed in this Editor’s Choice eJournal either before or after they appear in the regular all-inclusive eJournal. The Editor may choose to write an introduction to an issue that identifies a special collection of papers the Editor finds of interest, and he or she from time to time, may provide commentary on individual papers noting their special interest.

Financial Accounting (Editor’s Choice)
View Papers: http://www.ssrn.com/link/Financial-Accounting-Editors-Choice.html
Subscribe: http://hq.ssrn.com/jourInvite.cfm?link=Financial-Accounting-Editors-Choice

Editor: Ross L. Watts, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – Sloan School of Management

Description: The Financial Accounting Editor’s Choice abstracting eJournal distributes working papers and accepted paper abstracts that the Editor chooses to emphasize based on their own discretion or criteria. This eJournal allows the Editor to highlight papers that he or she believes are important for the profession. These papers may be distributed in this Editor’s Choice eJournal either before or after they appear in the regular all-inclusive eJournal. The Editor may choose to write an introduction to an issue that identifies a special collection of papers the Editor finds of interest, and he or she from time to time, may provide commentary on individual papers noting their special interest.

History of Accounting (Editor’s Choice)
View Papers: http://www.ssrn.com/link/History-Acctg-Editors-Choice.html
Subscribe: http://hq.ssrn.com/jourInvite.cfm?link=History-Acctg-Editors-Choice

Editor: Victor Ricciardi, Social Science Research Network (SSRN)

Description: The History of Accounting Editor’s Choice abstracting eJournal distributes working papers and accepted paper abstracts that the Editor chooses to emphasize based on their own discretion or criteria. This eJournal allows the Editor to highlight papers that he or she believes are important for the profession. These papers may be distributed in this Editor’s Choice eJournal either before or after they appear in the regular all-inclusive eJournal. The Editor may choose to write an introduction to an issue that identifies a special collection of papers the Editor finds of interest, and he or she from time to time, may provide commentary on individual papers noting their special interest.

Managerial Accounting (Editor’s Choice)
View Papers: http://www.ssrn.com/link/Managerial-Acctg-Editors-Choice.html
Subscribe: http://hq.ssrn.com/jourInvite.cfm?link=Managerial-Acctg-Editors-Choice

Editor: Ross L. Watts, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – Sloan School of Management

Description: The Managerial Accounting Editor’s Choice abstracting eJournal distributes working papers and accepted paper abstracts that the Editor chooses to emphasize based on their own discretion or criteria. This eJournal allows the Editor to highlight papers that he or she believes are important for the profession. These papers may be distributed in this Editor’s Choice eJournal either before or after they appear in the regular all-inclusive eJournal. The Editor may choose to write an introduction to an issue that identifies a special collection of papers the Editor finds of interest, and he or she from time to time, may provide commentary on individual papers noting their special interest.