Case Study: LSU Libraries Scholarly Communications Review and Plan
Client: Louisiana State University Libraries
Project: Scholarly Communications Review and Plan
In the summer and Fall of 2019, Athenaeum21 worked with LSU Libraries’ goal of establishing a more structured and intentional approach to their scholarly communications services. In July and August, Athenaeum21 held preliminary phone and/or video conference interviews with LSU Libraries staff to understand the strengths of, and challenges for, existing scholarly communications services, infrastructure, and processes, as well as any opportunities for new services.
This was followed by a site visit, where A21 conducted follow-on, in-person, on-site interviews with both LSU Libraries’ staff involved with scholarly communications activities, services, infrastructure and processes, and with LSU administration, faculty and students regarding their research processes, behaviors, and needs. This visit deepened our understanding of the current state of existing scholarly communications offerings and infrastructure, as well as of unique scholarly communications scholarship opportunities for the University as a whole, and for LSU Libraries as a service provider to the University.
Having captured and synthesized the perspectives gleaned in the interviews and site visit, A21 facilitated three half-day group workshops. These discovery workshop/s, focused on creating a service inventory relevant to scholarly communications, performing a gap analysis between existing and desired services, prioritizing those services, and identifying opportunities for coordination and growth of scholarly communications. The format of the workshops were interactive and very practical, and engaged staff and stakeholders in actively designing a cohesive scholarly communications program that is both ambitious, and proportioned to the libraries’ resources.
The final report provided a series of recommendations for framing and carrying out the work needed to establish a leading, and context-sensitive, scholarly communications program. This included the identification of essential staffing and organizational needs, and recommendations for communicating services to the LSU community.
Stanley Wilder, Dean of LSU Libraries said of of our work:
“In October 2019, the consulting firm Athenaeum21 did a major project for the LSU Libraries, charting a course for better library support for research—faculty and students as creators. Good work hold up over time, and the Libraries is so much stronger for their efforts.”
Services Provided:
Scholarly Communications Strategy
Organizational and Staffing Needs Analysis
Organizational and Staffing Plans
Gap Analysis
Strengths Audit
Skills Gap Audit
Service Audit
Methods Used:
Interviews (in person, via telephone, and via videoconference)
Workshops
Desk Research