Mason Publishing/George Mason University Press is growing, and we have an open position for a talented digital publishing professional. Consider applying, or forward this announcement to your friends and colleagues who may have appropriate experience in digital publishing, web technologies, graphic design, and production.
George Mason Universityâs Mason Publishing Group, within the University Libraries, seeks an experienced professional responsible for the management of digital publishing platforms and tools. This position reports to the Head, Mason Publishing Group. George Mason University has a strong institutional commitment to the achievement of excellence and diversity among its faculty and staff, and strongly encourages candidates to apply who will enrich Masonâs academic and culturally inclusive environment.
The Mason Publishing Group (http://publishing.gmu.edu/) unites the George Mason University Libraryâs digital publishing activity with the George Mason University Press to form a set of publishing services for the university.
Responsibilities:
The successful candidate will:
Focus on use of platforms to publish digital content, including e-journal and e-book hosting platforms such as OJS, PressBooks, and others, by providing project management and user support;
Manage the daily operations of the universityâs institutional repositoryâMason Archival Repository Service (MARS);
Work closely with our metadata services group to insure consistent metadata across all digital platforms;
Provide support and training for the Libraryâs new Research Commons, which includes a Digital Scholarship Center;
Provide support for digital publishing projects and platforms;
Consult with students, faculty and researchers who want to publish e-content; and
Maintain and enhance Mason Publishingâs web presence.
Required Qualifications:
Graduate degree in relevant discipline, such as ALA-accredited masters in library or information science, masters in publishing, and/or other advanced or terminal degree;
Demonstrated success managing and/or developing digital publications and collections within a library, publisher, or knowledge institution;
Outstanding analytical, organizational, project, and time management skills and ability to simultaneously lead multiple projects;
Ability to set priorities, meet deadlines, and complete tasks and projects on time and within budget by leveraging demonstrated creative and innovative problem-solving skills;
Ability to document relevant policies, procedures, and local standards;
Ability to build collaborative and mutually beneficial working relationships with people of varying backgrounds; and
Should be familiar with a range of web-based technologies and possess demonstrable expertise in at least one of the following: XML, XSLT, a scripting language (e.g., Python, PERL, Ruby) or CSS3.
Preferred Qualifications:
Two to four years of professional experience in digital publishing initiatives, digital collections, or digital repositories;
Experience working with digital publishing or institutional repository platform/software (e.g., Fedora, DSpace, Eprints, Digital Commons. OJS, PressBooks);
Knowledge of current metadata standards and understanding of metadata principles and practices;
Facility with the Adobe Creative Suite, particularly In-Design (CS5 or later) a plus; and
Knowledge of new scholarly publishing models.
George Mason University has a strong institutional commitment to the achievement of excellence and diversity among its faculty and staff, and strongly encourages candidates to apply who will enrich Masonâs academic and culturally inclusive environment.
The University Libraries is excited to report that the Student Government Senate has issued a resolution in support of open textbook adoption at Mason. This resolution encourages faculty to consider replacing expensive textbooks with open access materials and is a huge step on the path toward making college more affordable to Mason students.
What is an open textbook? It is a freely available digital book to which the author(s) has assigned a license permitting others, such as instructors, to use and adapt the content to suit their specific course learning objectives. That is, instructors can download, modify, remix, and share the item at no cost to themselves, their students, or their colleagues.
What do open textbooks offer students? Course material that is relevant, up to date, and varied in format, as well as accessible to all students as soon as a course begins. Concerns about the cost of pursuing a particular degree are diminished when textbook costs become immaterial. Not least of all, money that would have been spent on textbooks becomes available to help pay for rent, food, transportation, or even another course,.
What do open textbooks offer faculty? Some powerful incentives are:
the option to tailor course material selections to fit personal pedagogy,
the opportunity to work collaboratively with other disciplinary experts to select or create content that may be used and modified by colleagues around the globe, and
the ability to support students in a way that is deeply meaningful and purposeful, both inside and outside of the classroom.
The University Libraries invites your queries, discussion, and concerns about open textbooks. We are available to help you find these textbooks and other openly licensed materials to work with and integrate into your course(s). We are also experts in subscription content that may be appropriate for your course needs.
Please contact John Warren in the Mason Publishing Group about the open textbook initiative when curiosity overcomes you or you need assistance with existing open projects. As the expert in research materials specific to your discipline (both open and proprietary), your Subject Librarian is also available for consultation and assistance.
The George Mason University Libraries and the University Bookstore, present the Mason Author Series, in association with Mason Alumni Week Digital Destiny with Dr. Shawn DuBravac
Thursday, October 13, 2016
7:00-8:15 pm
Main Reading Room (2nd floor), Fenwick Library, Fairfax Campus
George Mason University alumni author Dr. Shawn DuBravac (MA â04, PhD â14), chief economist for the Consumer Technology Association, will speak about his book Digital Destiny: How the New Age of Data Will Transform the Way We Work, Live, and Communicate. This New York Times bestseller explores how the worldâs mass adoption of digital technologies portends the beginning of a new era for humanity in the realms of economics, health, travel and culture. In Digital Destiny, DuBravac provides examples of how the next decade will be defined by an all-digital lifestyle and the âInternet of Everythingâ â where everything, from the dishwasher to the wristwatch, is not only online, but acquiring, analyzing, and utilizing the data that surrounds us. And even as digital mechanisms take up more and more of our lives, individuals will have more freedom in action, work, health, and pursuits than ever before.
In his role as CTAâs chief economist, DuBravac provides crucial economic analysis to association and industry leaders regarding future economic activity and the relative health of the technology industry. He has been widely published on the topics of finance, economics and technology, and his keen insights have made him a highly sought-after speaker and commentator. In 2012, DuBravac was named to Dealerscopeâs â40 under 40â list of people to watch in the consumer technology industry. His analysis has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Financial Times, the Los Angeles Times, Barronâs and on CNN, MSNBC and other media outlets.
George Mason University alumni author Shawn DuBravac
DuBravac has taught as an adjunct professor for George Washington Universityâs MBA program and at University of Mary Washington and for George Mason Universityâs MBA program. Prior to joining CTA, DuBravac was head research analyst in the Economic Analysis Group of the Department of Justiceâs Antitrust Division He holds economic degrees from Brigham Young University and George Mason University.
DuBravac shares many of his insights and ideas on Twitter at @shawndubravac.
The University Libraries, Mason Publishing, and the University Bookstore, present
The Mason Author Series
in association with Fall for the Book
Tropical Conservation with Dr. A. Alonso Aguirre
Monday September 26, 2016
3:00-4:15 pm
Main Reading Room (2nd floor), Fenwick Library, Fairfax Campus
In Tropical Conservation: Perspectives on Local and Global Priorities, editor A. Alonso Aguirre (Department Chair of Masonâs Environmental Science and Policy program) brings together experts who primarily work in Africa, Latin America and Asia to introduce important conservation concepts and real world applications to issues that affect the tropics and subtropics; a region with 75% of the worldâs human population as well as 90% of its biodiversity.
Tropical Conservation argues that issues such as climate change, environmental sustainability, and emerging diseases must be studied and addressed on a global scale. Today, no part of the world can be viewed in isolation, and we further codify and integrate a range of approaches for addressing global threats to nature and environmental sustainability, including climate change and emerging diseases.
Aguirre will be joined by his contributors: Thomas Lovejoy who coined the term âbiological diversityâ; Larry Gorenflo, who focuses on how people adapt to their natural and cultural surroundings; Ingrid Visseren-Hamakers, whose research centers on international biodiversity governance; Harald Beck, who studies mammal-plant interaction and ecosystem engineering in temperate and tropical ecosystems; Andrew Taber, an environmental pioneer and authority on Neotropical wildlife; Elizabeth Loh, who studies anthropogenic land-use change; and wildlife biologist and veterinarian, Iga Stasiak.
Please join us for this event. The event is free and refreshments will be provided. The book will be available for purchase.
Mason Publishing has published the papers from the inaugural Open Scholarship Initiative (OSI) Conference, held in April 2016 at George Mason University, in collaboration with the National Science Communication Institute and UNESCO. OSI is a multi-year effort to establish a new, global framework in which a wide variety of stakeholders will be able to work together over the long term to shape and manage the future of scholarly publishing. The final papers and workgroup presentations can be found and downloaded at http://journals.gmu.edu/osi âall have been published under a Creative Commons license. Links to individual papers are below.
Of all the many conferences I have attended over the yearsâcertainly more than a few hundredâOSI was the most diverse in terms of stakeholder representation from a variety of different fields and perspectives in scholarly publishing. OSI2016 convened high-level (CEO/Dean/Director) delegates from across the research and academic publishing sphere to chart the future of scholarly publishing and open access. In all, 196 delegates attended OSI2016, representing 12 countries and 15 stakeholder groups across 184 institutions, including 50 major research universities (25 percent of delegates), 37 scholarly publishers (19 percent of delegates), 24 government policy organizations (12 percent), 23 scholarly libraries and groups, 23 non-university research institutions, 17 open knowledge groups (9 percent), eight faculty and education groups, and more. Countries represented include the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, Singapore, and South Africa.
OSI workgroup sessions and subsequent conference papers seek to answer broad, foundational questions: What do we mean by publishing? Who should decide what is and isnât open? What are the moral implications for open and what are the usage dimensions? Other topics included the tensions between impact overload and underload; the status of preservation mandates and repositories; peer review systems and options for reform; and tracking the impact of research through impact factors and alternative metrics. The different ideas and perspectives the participants led to a wide range of ideas on how to improving the way that research is published, shared and accessed.
The What is Publishing (1) Workgroup (DOI:Â http://dx.doi.org/10.13021/G8630H) looked at the evolving scholarly publishing ecosystem and determined that the needs of researchers are not being met by the current system. Instead, they recommend a change to disaggregated servicesâunbundling the products and services that publishers currently provide and letting market forces drive the development of, and demand for, a new and improved Ă la carte world of knowledge artifacts and knowledge management tools.
The “What is Publishing 1” workgroupâat work
Meanwhile, the What is Publishing (2) Workgroup (DOI:Â http://dx.doi.org/10.13021/G8CS33) envisions a future publishing paradigm that is netÂworked, open, and significantly more dynamic than the traditional model; their recommendations include identifying gaps in evidence and knowledge and working to define unmet publishing and disseminaÂtion needs of scholars.
The What is Open? Workgroup (DOI:Â http://dx.doi.org/10.13021/G8XK5R) found that the scholarly communityâs current definition of âopenâ captures only some of the attributes of openness, which instead exist along a broad spectrum of attributes. Their framework proposes an alternative way of describing and evaluating openness based on four attributesâdiscoverable, accessible, reusable, and transparentâthe âDART Framework for Open Access.â
Who decides the future of open access and who has the power to make decisions that can affect the future of open access? The Who Decides? Workgroup (DOI: http://doi.org/10.13021/G8P30V) examined stakeholders and their power as actors of change. Their report offers three possible change scenarios: in the way scholars are evaluated, the way some innovations in scholarly publishing can be nurtured, and the way cooperation can empower a âglobal flipâ of existing research journals to open access.
The Moral Dimensions of Open Workgroup (DOI:Â http://dx.doi.org/10.13021/G8SW2G) considered the moral foundations of knowledge production and access that underlie models of scholarly publishing. Their report identifies seven moral dimensions and principles to open-access scholarship and data, recognizing the moral responsibility to maximize the benefits of scholarly publishing for the larger society.
The Usage Dimensions of Open Workgroup (DOI:Â http://dx.doi.org/10.13021/G8FK5D) identified definitions, priorities, and themes, including the character of research outputs and the actual research workflow process, as well as economic considerations.
OSI2016 Usage Dimensions Workgroup
Two groups examined how scholarly publishing tools and products are evolving. The Evolving Open Solutions (1) Workgroup (DOI:Â http://dx.doi.org/10.13021/G8VS3F) considered barriers to openness, such as flawed incentives, and how these barriers can be overcome. Their recommendations included defining an ideal future and an alterÂnative system for funding, tenure, and promotion.
The Evolving Open Solutions (2) Workgroup (DOI:Â http://dx.doi.org/10.13021/G8ZK52) assessed the most significant challenges confronting academic publishing over the next 3-5 years and proposed recommendations centered on themes of culture change, funding/sustainability, and the unique infrastructural requirements for different disciplines and diverse forms of research output.
The Open Impacts Workgroup (DOI:Â http://dx.doi.org/10.13021/G8488N) identified three areas for a new framework for understanding the impact of open: measuring openness, utilization measures, and understanding economic impacts of open.
The Participation in the Current System Workgroup (DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.13021/G82C7P) focused on authors, who play a critical role in the scholarly communications system as the original content creators, are in many or most cases the original rightsholders, and are generally the ultimate decisionmakers when it comes to how, when, and where to publish their work. Envisioning a âperfect worldâ for authors, the group made recommendations for reforms, messaging, and research that could address many common author concerns and create a more hospitable framework for authors to participate in the open publishing system.
The Information Overload & Underload Workgroup (DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.13021/G8R30G) discussed access as a core aspect of the issue of overload and underloadâboth access to research materials and access to venues where one can contribute to the scholarly corpus. The group explored factors and causes of information overload and underload, and developed ideas for social and technology solutions addressing these issues.
The Repositories & Preservation Workgroup (DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.13021/G89W24) found that while repositories are a vital tool in modern information management and a key component of preserÂvation and long-term availability, they are not well-suited to the multitude of stakeholders in the modern scholarly publishing system. Among their recommendations for strengthening repositories and standardizing preservaÂtion processes are building new workflows and an ecosystem that will better ensure long-term access and preservation.
The Peer Review Workgroup (DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.13021/G8K88P) focused on peer review in the context of open scholarÂship and found that while greater openness and transparency would improve accountaÂbility, minimize bias, and encourage collaboration, there are significant challenges as well as a great variation in readiness across disciplines and publishing modÂels. The group recommended facilitation of peer review outside the traditional publication processâfor example, in the context of preprint servers and after publicationâwith incenÂtives for broad participation.
The Embargoes Workgroup (DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.13021/G8S014) categorized publication embargoes into four main types and focused on two: post-publication and subscription embargoes. Their recommendations include creating an evidence base for embargoes by funding a global survey of key stakeholders. They propose questions for the survey that would provide meaningful data about the isÂsues surrounding embargoes.
The Impact Factors Workgroup (DOI:Â http://dx.doi.org/10.13021/G88304) focused on the uses and misuses of the Journal Impact Factor (JIF), with a particÂular focus on research assessment. The groupâs recommendations include active support for the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) by research funders, higher education institutions, national academies, publishers and learned societies as well as the creation of an international âmetrics labâ to exÂplore the potential of new indicators and the wide sharing of information on this topic among stakeholders.
Finally, the At-Large Workgroup(DOI:Â http://dx.doi.org/10.13021/G80K5C), of which I was a member, was the largest and most diverse in terms of stakeholder representaÂtion, observing workgroup conversations during the meeting and used their wide-angle lens on the evolution of these questions and proceedings in order to develop some high-level takeaways on the OSI conference. These included observations on the format and process of the conference, the widespread theme of changing scholarly needs and outputs, the primacy of promotion and tenure in discussions on change in scholarly publishing, stakeholders and missing voices at OSI, the influence of impact, and recommendations going forward toward OSI 2017 and beyond.
Word Cloud of compiled text of OSI2016 conference paper
The At-Large paper discusses some of the common themes found throughout the workgroup sessions and papers. This word cloudâcreated from the compiled texts of all sixteen conference papersâalso highlights the most frequent terms and themes discussed at OSI2016.
The following Open Educational Resources (OER) collection includes scholarly articles and other research on the benefits, uses, development, and adaptation of OER. Given the rapid growth of the OER movement, both in terms of the academic credibility and attention of policy makers it has gained, it is important for us to monitor the OER landscape as it continues to evolve. To learn more about open educational resources in higher education and how you can get involved in the OER movement, check out the rest of the series:
Mason Publishing/George Mason University Press is hiring! We’re looking for an experienced and talented digital content designer with experience in graphic design and digital publishing tools.
Mason Publishing, a department of the University Libraries, invites applicants for a Digital Content Designer responsible for the development of digital and print publications and support for digital publishing tools and platforms. Mason Publishing is an initiative that unites the George Mason University Libraryâs existing digital publishing activity with the George Mason University Press to form a set of publishing services for the university. George Mason University has a strong institutional commitment to the achievement of excellence and diversity among its faculty and staff. Women, minorities, individuals with disabilities and veterans are encouraged to apply.
Responsibilities:
Reporting to the Digital Publishing Production Lead, the Digital Content Designer develops compelling textual and visual solutions across a variety of formats and digital platforms (e.g., print, e-books, mobile and Web).
Required Qualifications:
Outstanding typographical and design skills;
Experience in graphic design, publishing production or digital publishing (two to four years is preferred);
Proficiency with one or more of the following: Adobe Creative Suite (CS6) and/or Adobe Creative Cloud, including Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop;
Proficiency in one or more of the following: HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript;
Experience managing events and organizing meetings;
Ability to work collaboratively with outside vendors and the in-house production team;
Ability to work within tight deadlines without sacrificing quality;
Experience preparing digital assets for production and printing;
Be a self-starter, detail-oriented, and willing to conform to in-house design standards; and
Complete design tasks and implement visual identity across Mason Publishing products.
Preferred Qualifications:
Bachelorâs degree in graphic design, communication arts, fine arts, a closely related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience;
Develop print or digital publications such as monographs, short content, textbooks and other material using outside vendors or internal expertise;
Ability to work with in-house staff to style a variety of Web-based content systems;
Ability to work with clients to style Web-based e-journals and advise journal producers on design and production issues;
Knowledge of ePUB3 specifications, XML, and derivative or related formats; and
In-depth knowledge and expertise in the following: Adobe Creative Suite (CS6) and/or Adobe Creative Cloud, including Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop; HTML; HTML5; CSS3; and JavaScript.
For full consideration, applicants must apply for position number 00494z at http://jobs.gmu.edu by May 2, 2016; complete and submit the online application; and upload a cover letter, resume, and a list of three professional references with contact information.
On Wednesday, April 6th, at 3:00 p.m., weâll be celebrating the book launch of The Five George Masons: Patriots and Planters of Virginia and Maryland. In preparation, George (the statue) has decked himself in Mason Pride colorsâand you can also see that heâs proud of the new book.
University Professor Rosemarie Zagarri will be guest speaker at the book launch. The book, by Pamela C. Copeland and Richard K. MacMaster, was recently published in a new, second edition by the George Mason University Press. The book launch will be held in the Fenwick Library Main Reading Room.
May 6, 2016 will mark the 240th anniversary of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, written by George Mason, a document that has left an indelible mark on democracy as we know it today. In the Virginia Declaration of Rights and his efforts revising the laws of Virginia, George Mason made lasting contributions to the American tradition of individual liberty and limited government. His draft of the Virginia Declaration of Rights began âThat all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights…namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.â These words inspired Thomas Jefferson when he wrote the United States Declaration of Independence, and likewise inspired the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen of the French Revolution, one of the founding documents in the human rights tradition.
Dr. Zagarri will speak about âGeorge Mason in History and Memoryâ as part of the Mason Author Series, sponsored by the University Libraries and the University Bookstore. The Mason Author Series highlights significant publications of George Mason University faculty and alumni.
First published in 1975, the second edition of The Five George Masons has been published in collaboration with the Board of Regents of Gunston Hall, and features an introductory note by George Mason University President Ăngel Cabrera; a foreword by Scott Stroh, Executive Director of Gunston Hall; and new images and maps.
The event is free and open to the public. No registration is required. We hope you can join us!
University Professor Rosemarie Zagarri will be guest speaker at the book launch of The Five George Masons: Patriots and Planters of Virginia and Maryland, by Pamela C. Copeland and Richard K. MacMaster, recently published in a new, second edition by the George Mason University Press. The event will be held on Wednesday, April 6th, at 3:00 p.m. in the Fenwick Library Main Reading Room.
Dr. Zagarri will speak about âGeorge Mason in History and Memoryâ as part of the Mason Author Series, sponsored by the University Libraries and the University Bookstore. The Mason Author Series highlights significant publications of George Mason University faculty and alumni.
Dr. Rosemarie Zagarri
Rosemarie Zagarri received her Ph.D. from Yale University and is currently University Professor and Professor of History at George Mason University. She is the author of several books, has published numerous articles in scholarly journals, and received a number of national fellowships and awards. In 2009, she was elected President of the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic (SHEAR), the national organization for early Americanists.
First published in 1975, the second edition of The Five George Masons has been published in collaboration with the Board of Regents of Gunston Hall, and features an introductory note by George Mason University President Ăngel Cabrera; a foreword by Scott Stroh, Executive Director of Gunston Hall; and new images and maps.
The event is free and open to the public. No registration is required.
For more information, contact: John Warren, Head, Mason Publishing/George Mason University Press, University Libraries, George Mason University
Office: 703-993-3636 ⢠Email: jwarre13@gmu.edu
Mason Publishing, the George Mason University Libraries, and the University Bookstore present Mason University Professor Giorgio A. Ascoli, discussing his book Trees of the Brain, Roots of the Mind, in the kickoff of the Mason Author Series. This inaugural event of the series, which is sponsored by the George Mason University Bookstore, will be held in the Fenwick Library Main Reading Room, on Tuesday, March 29th, at 2:30 p.m.
In Trees of the Brain, Roots of the Mind, Dr. Ascoli offers a new perspective on the roots of individuality and humanity, discusses how the brain learns from experience, and unveils a radically new hypothesis of the mechanism for determining what is learned, what isnât, and why. Doing so, he makes a provocative claim about the mind-brain relationship. The book, published by MIT Press, reveals another aspect of the human brain: the stunning beauty of its cellular form, which includes tens of billions of nerve cellsâtiny tree-like structuresâcomprising a massive network with enormous computational power.
Dr. Ascoli is University Professor in the Molecular Neuroscience Department and founding Director of the Center for Neural Informatics, Structure, and Plasticity at the Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study at George Mason University.
The Mason Author Series will highlight significant publications of George Mason University faculty and alumni. The Mason Author series event is part of the grand opening festivities for the new Fenwick Library building, which opened in January 2016.
The second event in the series will celebrate the launch of the new edition of The Five George Masons, recently published by the George Mason University Press. Dr. Rosemarie Zagarri, University Professor and Professor of History at Mason, will be speaking about âGeorge Mason in History and Memory.â This event will also take place in in Fenwick Libraryâs Reading Room, on April 6, 2016, at 3 p.m.
The event is free and open to the public. No registration is required.
For more information, contact: John Warren, Head, Mason Publishing/George Mason University Press, University Libraries, George Mason University
Dr. Rosemarie Zagarri
