Core’s Library Resources & Technical Services Journal Goes Fully Open Access

Core is proud to announce that Library Resources & Technical Services (LRTS), ALA’s premier journal dedicated exclusively to all aspects of collections, is now completely open access.

Previously, the most recent six issues of LRTS were embargoed behind a login for subscribers and Core members, which has been removed. This change makes the complete contents of the journal from 1996 to the present freely available on the LRTS site.

LRTS is a peer-reviewed journal that takes a critical approach to the questions and challenges facing librarians and libraries regarding collections, scholarly communication, preservation (including digitization), acquisitions (including licensing and economic aspects of acquisitions), continuing resources, cataloging (including descriptive metadata, authority control, subject analysis, and classification). LRTS publishes both research papers and thoughtful explorations of operational issues that have value and implications for other libraries. In addition, LRTS publishes editorials, book reviews, and letters to the editor.

LRTS joins Core’s two other journals, Information Technology & Libraries (ITAL), and Library Leadership & Management (LL&M), in offering high-quality, peer-reviewed articles freely available to all.

Core is dedicated to promoting equity in librarianship and expanding who has a voice in our community. Open access (OA) publishing, which makes high-quality scholarship freely available to readers around the world, is integral to that commitment.

New LRTS Editor Rachel Scott and new LRTS Assistant Editor Michael Fernandez worked to make the journal open access as one of the top priorities in their first year. They are also working with ITAL’s editors, Ken Varnum (Editor) & Marisha Kelly (Assistant Editor), and LL&M’s editors, Elizabeth Nelson (Editor) and Cinthya Ippoliti (Assistant Editor), to standardize workflows and policies across all three journals.

The editors shared, “We are very excited for this change that will broaden the reach of the scholarship and research being produced by LRTS contributors.” They noted that this makes LRTS an even more ideal venue for discussing issues surrounding openness in technical services, collection development, and scholarly communication.

To celebrate the lifting of the embargo, LRTS is currently welcoming submissions for a special themed issue on OA topics, to be published in January 2024. Submissions for this issue will be accepted through July.

At its January 2023 meeting, the Core Board approved a proposal submitted by the six journal editors to migrate ITAL and LL&M to ALA’s hosting platform, where LRTS is already housed. Uniting all three journals as fully open access publications on the same platform will make it easier for readers, practitioners, and researchers to find and access all of Core’s journal content. ITAL and LL&M will complete their move to ALA’s platform in Q3 of 2023.

About Core: Leadership, Infrastructure Futures
Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures is the national association that advances the profession of librarians and information providers in central roles of leadership and management, collections and technical services, and technology. Our mission is to cultivate and amplify the collective expertise of library workers in core functions through community building, advocacy, and learning. Follow us on our Blog, Twitter or Instagram.