Digital Publishing from the Library: A New Core Competency

In the earlier years of the Web, libraries focused on moving services online and building digital collections, but in recent years, libraries have emerged as key players in the world of digital publishing. Librarians possess all of the necessary skills to act as digital publishers; they join the ranks of many others who have discovered the barriers around digital publishing are lower than ever. Library-based digital publishing solutions have matured to a point that the act of digital publishing could—and should—become a new core competency for the library profession. To explore this hypothesis, the researchers offer a working definition of digital publishing and assess the key roles that traditional publishers have historically offered over time. They find that librarians already possess the requisite skills to become digital publishers, and the collaborative culture of the library profession is a strength for this new role. Examples of digital publishing from two libraries at the University of California-Berkeley offer a proof of concept. Services at these libraries include the conceptualization of overall Web site strategies, a content plan that emphasizes distinctive and original material, and special projects that promote digital publishing at the local level, even as they take advantage of campus- or system-level services. Researchers find that offering library-based Web publishing services can reinforce overall information management programs and also advance the status of libraries within their respective host organizations. The comparative ease of digital publishing has opened an opportunity for librarians to follow the user as they use the Web in creative ways.