2025 Library Publishing Forum

The Library Publishing Forum is an annual conference bringing together representatives from libraries engaged in (or considering) publishing initiatives to define and address major questions and challenges; to identify and document collaborative opportunities; and to strengthen and promote this community of practice. The Forum includes representatives from a broad, international spectrum of academic library backgrounds, as well as groups that collaborate with libraries to publish scholarly works, including publishing vendors, university presses, and scholars. The Forum is sponsored by the Library Publishing Coalition, but you do not need to be a member of the LPC to attend.

The 2025 Library Publishing Forum will be a virtual conference, scheduled to take place May 5–8, 2025.

Forum News

January 14, 2025:

DEIA Committee Report on the Library Publishing Forum 2024 Demographic Survey

The development and use of this survey was based on the recommendations found in the Library Publishing Coalition’s (LPC) Roadmap for Anti-Racist Practice. This is a charge carried out by … Continue reading DEIA Committee Report on the Library Publishing Forum 2024 Demographic Survey →

October 24, 2024:

2025 Library Publishing Forum Call For Proposals

The Library Publishing Forum is an annual conference bringing together representatives from libraries engaged in or considering publishing initiatives to define and address major questions and challenges; to identify and document collaborative opportunities; and to strengthen … Continue reading 2025 Library Publishing Forum Call For Proposals →

September 20, 2024:

Reporting out on the finances of the 2024 Library Publishing Forum

This is the third of three planned report-outs on this year’s Library Publishing Forum. The other two were on our COVID policy and on the closing plenary discussion. Check them … Continue reading Reporting out on the finances of the 2024 Library Publishing Forum →

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Keynote Speakers

Jerome Offord, Jr.

Jerome Offord, Jr. is the Associate University Librarian (AUL) and Chief Diversity Officer for Harvard Library. Expanding upon the library’s strong record of diversity initiatives, the AUL and Chief Diversity Officer collaborates extensively to develop strategies for organizational change through the library’s workforce, services, collections, and spaces. Before joining Harvard, Jerome served as the Vice President for Business and Administration at DeEtta Jones and Associates. Jerome has held senior cabinet positions at Lincoln University of Missouri, a Historically Black College and University (HBCU), over a span of eight years. Initially hired as Dean of Library Services and Archives, he was soon asked to serve as Interim Provost and Interim Chief Information Officer. He was subsequently appointed Chief of Staff to the President, and then Dean of Administration and Student Affairs. Jerome’s other professional experiences include serving as Diversity Officer and Corporate Inclusion Manager at OCLC Online Computer Library Center; Director of Diversity Initiatives at the Association of Research Libraries; Director of Finance and Development at Us Helping Us, People Into Living; and in student affairs roles at Colorado State University, George Washington University, and American University. Jerome’s educational credentials include a Ph.D. in Library and Information Science, with an emphasis in Managerial Leadership, from Simmons University in Boston; master’s degrees in Library and Information Science from the Catholic University of America and in Student Affairs in Higher Education from Colorado State University; an Executive MBA from Washington University in St. Louis; and a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from Lincoln University.

Tim Ribaric and Cecile Farnum

Keynote Title: Harvesting Library Labour in an AI World: The Grim Reaping of Library Work(ers) and What We Can Do About It

Description

“You must give to get, You must sow the seed, before you can reap the harvest.” ~ Scott Reed

The growth of GenAI, LLMs, and chatbots threaten many established ways of performing academic work, and is already resulting in labour concerns for library workers. This keynote considers the impact of AI on scholarly publishing work in academic libraries.

All aspects of the scholarly publishing life cycle (Submit, Review, Decide, Edit and Preserve) have the potential for a deep impact from AI, and are therefore relevant for the library community to consider. Scholarly publishing work is also deeply intertwined with the open access movement, where processes and outputs are often done ‘out in the open’, and are therefore ripe for harvesting by A.I. for reuse. What are the potential consequences of this brand of cognitive offloading in the scholarly publishing process? And what are the labour implications for library workers, authors and publishers, when A.I. tools begin to do this work?

In this keynote, librarians Tim Ribaric and Cecile Farnum will consider the role libraries may play in both augmenting and striving against AI, using a critical lens that is skeptical of the difference between what the promise of AI is, compared to the reality of what it will bring.

About the Speakers

Tim Ribaric is the Scholarly Publishing and Platforms Librarian at Brock University. He is a Librarian IV, and a PhD Candidate. He has published on technology instruction in libraries, Marxism, and is currently teaching 3 Library Juice Academy classes. He has served in various roles on his union executive and was the chair of the Canadian Association of University Teachers Librarians’ and Archivists’ committee.

Cecile Farnum (MA, MISt) is a liaison librarian at Toronto Metropolitan University Libraries. In this role, she supports specific academic programs, providing instruction, reference and research support to students and faculty.

Cecile actively participates in labour spaces, having participated in several rounds of collective bargaining through her faculty association, as well as work on other faculty association committees. Cecile also recently served on the CAUT Librarians’ and Archivists’ Committee, and the steering committee to organize OCUFA’s 2024 Bargaining Stronger Together Collective Bargaining Conference.

Code of Conduct

All participation in the Library Publishing Forum is subject to the Library Publishing Coalition’s Code of Conduct.

Sponsor Information

Sponsors of the Library Publishing Forum demonstrate their commitment to the emerging community of library publishers, including their many affiliates and partners. By becoming a sponsor, you will reach a highly influential, international audience of potential new partners and clients. Sponsorship dollars fund the costs associated with hosting this conference (venue, catering, reception).

More information about sponsorship opportunities is now available on the Sponsorship Opportunities page.