In an effort to increase awareness of Open Access publishing at UNC Charlotte, Atkins Library is introducing a series of interviews with Open Access (OA) Champions around campus. These Champions are faculty and researchers at UNC Charlotte who have published their work in Open Access journals or books, deposited their work in the Niner Commons, or shared their scholarship via other Open Access avenues. Some Champions have received support from the Atkins Library Open Access Publishing Fund to publish in Open Access journals.
Today's OA Champion is Dr. Becky Croxton, Head of Assessment in Atkins Library.
Q: Why did you decide to publish in an open access journal or book?
A: As a librarian and educator, I am deeply committed to making research available to everyone throughout the world. Fortunately, the realm of scholarly publication related to librarianship and library and information studies has been pushing open publishing in recent years. Thus, finding reputable, open access journals to submit my work at no cost has been quite easy.
Q: How did you obtain the funding? Was it written into your grant?
A: I have never paid to publish in any journal, including open access journals.
Q: How was your experience publishing open access different than publishing in a traditional pay journal? (licensing, process, etc.)
A: For me, the process of publishing open access did not differ from traditional pay journals. What has been easier, though, is gaining (or already having) permission to easily submit my work in Niner Commons, UNC Charlotte's institutional repository.
Q: Do you believe that publishing in an open access journal or book increased the visibility of your material?
A: Yes! Since the COVID-19 outbreak, I've become even more convinced about the value of open access publishing. For example, a 2014 article I wrote about online learning has had a recent uptick in citations. Via my Google Scholar profile, I've noted citations of this article by researchers in Brazil, China, Ghana, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turkey. Though I can't say whether these authors found this article in a database behind a paywall or via open access, I'd like to think that open access played a role in increasing the visibility of this work.
Q: Are there any almetrics or bibliometrics you wish to share in this spotlight article to demonstrate advantages of open access vs subscribed content?
A: Here are the Altmetrics from an article that was published April 2020 in College & Research Libraries, an open access journal.
Croxton, R., & Moore, A. C. (2020). Quantifying the Library’s Value: Aligning Library, Institutional, and Student Success Data. College & Research Libraries, 81(3), 399-434. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.81.3.399.