Using Agile Methods to Navigate Complex Publisher Open Access Workflows: The Case of the Qatar National Library Open Access Fund

<p dir="ltr">Qatar National Library launched a national fund to cover the costs of open access (OA) publishing for Qatar-based researchers. The Library has adopted this role due to the absence of national mandates for OA and institutional OA funds. The fund leverages "read and p...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Alwaleed Alkhaja (13761787) (author)
Published: 2022
Subjects:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1864513562862419968
author Alwaleed Alkhaja (13761787)
author_facet Alwaleed Alkhaja (13761787)
author_role author
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Alwaleed Alkhaja (13761787)
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2022-11-09T00:00:00Z
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv 10.5281/zenodo.7307318
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv https://figshare.com/articles/presentation/Using_Agile_Methods_to_Navigate_Complex_Publisher_Open_Access_Workflows_The_Case_of_the_Qatar_National_Library_Open_Access_Fund/23941995
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv CC BY 4.0
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Information and computing sciences
Library and information studies
open access
open access publishing
transformational agreements
open access workflows
Agile Methods
Kanban
APC management systems
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Using Agile Methods to Navigate Complex Publisher Open Access Workflows: The Case of the Qatar National Library Open Access Fund
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv Text
Presentation
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
text
description <p dir="ltr">Qatar National Library launched a national fund to cover the costs of open access (OA) publishing for Qatar-based researchers. The Library has adopted this role due to the absence of national mandates for OA and institutional OA funds. The fund leverages "read and publish" agreements that provide several article vouchers to be used by Qatar-based researchers. In parallel, the Library funds articles through agreements with fully OA publishers. The service proved popular, and as of August 2021, the Library received 5000 funding requests and confirmed funding of 3000 articles.</p><p dir="ltr">However, while the growing demand for service is positive, it led to several workflow scalability issues, such as fund request tracking and communication. Also, variations in publishers' workflows compounded the problems. Libraries need time and effort to navigate non-standardized workflows with varying complexities. Such variations include using different APC management systems, processing funding requests at different editorial stages, and policies regarding licensing requirements. At one point, the Library had 15 separate publisher agreements. A learning curve is associated with each new workflow or publisher system, causing issues with funding requesters.</p><p dir="ltr">This presentation describes how the OA fund team adopted methods and tools from agile project management to improve workplace and external communication and workflows to address the higher demand for the service. It explains how the adoption and use of agile tools such as Kanban boards, daily stand-ups, workflow visualization charts, backlogs, identification of waste, and author journey mapping were applied in managing the OA fund. The presentation also describes how agile tools allowed the team to identify preferences and recommendations for publishers' workflows and APC management systems. In addition, the presentation aims to provide guidelines for other libraries and institutions to manage their OA funding programs, including advice on navigating various open licensing options and approaches to have institutional support for OA.</p><h2>Other Information:</h2><p dir="ltr">The presentation was delivered at the First Annual Forum for Open Research in MENA (FORM).</p>
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
id Manara2_33556505fda36b00a645f574b82f18cc
identifier_str_mv 10.5281/zenodo.7307318
network_acronym_str Manara2
network_name_str Manara2
oai_identifier_str oai:figshare.com:article/23941995
publishDate 2022
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository_id_str
rights_invalid_str_mv CC BY 4.0
spelling Using Agile Methods to Navigate Complex Publisher Open Access Workflows: The Case of the Qatar National Library Open Access FundAlwaleed Alkhaja (13761787)Information and computing sciencesLibrary and information studiesopen accessopen access publishingtransformational agreementsopen access workflowsAgile MethodsKanbanAPC management systems<p dir="ltr">Qatar National Library launched a national fund to cover the costs of open access (OA) publishing for Qatar-based researchers. The Library has adopted this role due to the absence of national mandates for OA and institutional OA funds. The fund leverages "read and publish" agreements that provide several article vouchers to be used by Qatar-based researchers. In parallel, the Library funds articles through agreements with fully OA publishers. The service proved popular, and as of August 2021, the Library received 5000 funding requests and confirmed funding of 3000 articles.</p><p dir="ltr">However, while the growing demand for service is positive, it led to several workflow scalability issues, such as fund request tracking and communication. Also, variations in publishers' workflows compounded the problems. Libraries need time and effort to navigate non-standardized workflows with varying complexities. Such variations include using different APC management systems, processing funding requests at different editorial stages, and policies regarding licensing requirements. At one point, the Library had 15 separate publisher agreements. A learning curve is associated with each new workflow or publisher system, causing issues with funding requesters.</p><p dir="ltr">This presentation describes how the OA fund team adopted methods and tools from agile project management to improve workplace and external communication and workflows to address the higher demand for the service. It explains how the adoption and use of agile tools such as Kanban boards, daily stand-ups, workflow visualization charts, backlogs, identification of waste, and author journey mapping were applied in managing the OA fund. The presentation also describes how agile tools allowed the team to identify preferences and recommendations for publishers' workflows and APC management systems. In addition, the presentation aims to provide guidelines for other libraries and institutions to manage their OA funding programs, including advice on navigating various open licensing options and approaches to have institutional support for OA.</p><h2>Other Information:</h2><p dir="ltr">The presentation was delivered at the First Annual Forum for Open Research in MENA (FORM).</p>2022-11-09T00:00:00ZTextPresentationinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersiontext10.5281/zenodo.7307318https://figshare.com/articles/presentation/Using_Agile_Methods_to_Navigate_Complex_Publisher_Open_Access_Workflows_The_Case_of_the_Qatar_National_Library_Open_Access_Fund/23941995CC BY 4.0info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:figshare.com:article/239419952022-11-09T00:00:00Z
spellingShingle Using Agile Methods to Navigate Complex Publisher Open Access Workflows: The Case of the Qatar National Library Open Access Fund
Alwaleed Alkhaja (13761787)
Information and computing sciences
Library and information studies
open access
open access publishing
transformational agreements
open access workflows
Agile Methods
Kanban
APC management systems
status_str publishedVersion
title Using Agile Methods to Navigate Complex Publisher Open Access Workflows: The Case of the Qatar National Library Open Access Fund
title_full Using Agile Methods to Navigate Complex Publisher Open Access Workflows: The Case of the Qatar National Library Open Access Fund
title_fullStr Using Agile Methods to Navigate Complex Publisher Open Access Workflows: The Case of the Qatar National Library Open Access Fund
title_full_unstemmed Using Agile Methods to Navigate Complex Publisher Open Access Workflows: The Case of the Qatar National Library Open Access Fund
title_short Using Agile Methods to Navigate Complex Publisher Open Access Workflows: The Case of the Qatar National Library Open Access Fund
title_sort Using Agile Methods to Navigate Complex Publisher Open Access Workflows: The Case of the Qatar National Library Open Access Fund
topic Information and computing sciences
Library and information studies
open access
open access publishing
transformational agreements
open access workflows
Agile Methods
Kanban
APC management systems