2020 AAHSL Virtual Annual Meeting

Matheson Lecture

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About the Lecture:

Towards A More Equitable Opening of Science

The ideology of equity underlies much of the advocacy for open science. Openness is seen as a way to promote fairness by creating an environment where everyone has equal access to scholarship. However, while movements such as open access may promote access to the consumption of scholarship, it does not necessarily ensure equal access to the participation in and dissemination of scholarship. The article processing charges associated with many gold open access journals, for example, allow universal access to the scholarly record, while creating barriers for who can participate in scholarly publishing. Similarly, initiatives such as open review may appear to promote transparency; however, the power dynamics in academe may make it difficult for all voices to participate equally. Openness should include who has access to participate in scholarship, the mechanisms by which scholarship is evaluated, as well as the means by which it is produced and disseminated. Underlying all of this must be an infrastructure for openness that serves as a foundation for a fully open scholarly system. Openness should not be blithely associated with equity; rather, creators of open systems must stay vigilant to ensure that openness does not come at the expense of equity. This talk will example a broad conception of open science, including the composition of the scholarly workforce, the changing profile of scholarly products, and the new modes of dissemination and evaluation. Examples will demonstrate the complex interplay of epistemologies, incentives, ideologies, and legislation that govern the promotion of open science and discuss the role of libraries within this space.


About the Lecturer:

Cassidy R. Sugimoto, MSLS, PhD
Professor of Informatics
Indiana University Bloomington School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering

Cassidy Sugimoto is Professor of Informatics at the School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering at Indiana University Bloomington. She is also currently serving a rotation with the National Science Foundation as the Program Director for the Science of Science and Innovation Policy (SciSIP) program. Sugimoto's research expertise is broadly situated in the domains of science policy, scholarly communication, and scientometrics. Simply speaking, she investigates the ways in which knowledge is produced, disseminated, and rewarded, with a particular interest in issues of diversity and inclusion. She is interested in broad dissemination and accessibility of her own research.

To this end, she has edited and authored several books, the most recent of which--Measuring Research: What everyone needs to know--is a primer for those new to scientometrics. Her publication record is extensive and varied--including publication venues such as NatureThe LancetPLOS ONESocial Studies of ScienceJASIST, and Scientometrics. She regularly presents across the globe and her work is regularly covered by major press outlets, such as NatureScienceThe EconomistThe New York Times, and The Guardian. Her work has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Institute for Museum and Library Services, and the Sloan Foundation. Sugimoto is actively involved in teaching and service and has been recognized in these areas with an Indiana University Trustees Teaching award and a national service award from the Association for Information Science and Technology. She is currently serving as President of the International Society for Scientometrics and Informetrics. Sugimoto has an undergraduate degree in music performance, an MS in library science, and a PhD in information and library science, all from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.