JLSC Board Editorial 2021

Authors

Anne Gilliland, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Rebekah Kati, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Jennifer Solomon, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Dave S. Ghamandi, University of Virginia
Jill Cirasella, CUNY Graduate CenterFollow
David Lewis, IUPUI University Library
DeDe Dawson, University of Saskatchewan

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2021

Abstract

It hardly needs to be said that 2020 was a difficult year for the world. COVID-19 has infected over 120 million people and killed over 2 million as of March 2021 (Johns Hopkins). At the same time, police violence against people of color continues, even as communities engage in long-overdue reckoning initiatives. Across the globe, researchers, governments, and communities needed quick, open, up-to-date information on testing for, treating, and preventing COVID-19. Our increased dependence on technology during lockdowns provided some with safety and continuity, while others experienced the widening of the digital divide. There is no greater urgency than the work of identifying and addressing issues of inequality and lack of equity and inclusivity.

Although the results remain to be seen, the field of scholarly communications experienced disruption in 2020. The editorials below discuss these recent changes and imagine what could come out of the pandemic. We hope that these reflections invite conversation and action.

Comments

This group editorial was originally published as: Gilliland, A., Kati, R., Solomon, J., Ghamandi, D. S., Cirasella, J., Lewis, D., & Dawson, D. (2021). JLSC Board Editorial 2021. Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.7710/2162-3309.2432

Individual contributions to editorial:

• Introduction (Gilliland, Kati, Solomon)
• System Change Is in Order (Ghamandi)
• Scholarly Conferences after Covid-19: Buck Convention, and the Convention Center (Cirasella)
• Outgoing Tides, Naked Swimmers, and Abandoning the Chronically Leaking Boat (Lewis)
• An Opportunity for Preprints and Overlay Journals? (Dawson)

This work is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).