Against The Grain - The Podcast

Today's episode features guest host Michael Upshall (guest editor, Charleston Briefings) who talks with Herbert Van de Sompel, Researcher Fellow at Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) and Guest Professor at Ghent University. Although Herbert has spent the last 25 to 30 years working in libraries, he doesn't describe himself as a librarian but as what he calls an "infrastructure plumber."  With a background in mathematics and information science, he has done years of infrastructure work within the library to allow technology to be used to improve research communication. Starting with Ghent University Library, where he did his thesis, and which he says was behind in automation compared to other European libraries, he began with automation of administrative processes, but he says that he didn't then fully understand what automation in an academic library would be fully about. Herbert got to work with a vision- he didn't feel that library automation was catalog automation. It was about providing access

This episode is sponsored by Moara.io and contains corporate sponsored content. All content is provided by Moara.io. The views, opinions, and content expressed during this sponsored episode are those of the participants, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the podcast or the Charleston Hub. Sponsorship does not imply endorsement of any products, services, or statements made during the episode. Thank you to Moara.io for supporting ATG the Podcast and its mission to connect librarians, publishers, and vendors. Moara.io:  (a next gen literature review workflow tool), “Organize and review your research papers. Streamline your literature review process with guided workflows, seamless collaboration, and AI enablement.” Today’s episode features a conversation between John Frechette , CEO, moara.io; Adjunct Instructor, George Washington & Stevenson University; Ben Kaube, Co-founder, Cassyni; and Aaron Tay,  Head of Research & Data Services, Singapore Management University. This conversation expl

Today’s episode features guest host Michael Upshall (guest editor, Charleston Briefings) who talks with Adam Hyde, Founder, Coko (Collaborative Knowledge Foundation). Adam is known for innovating in publishing. In this conversation, he talks about an interesting career progression and how he transitioned into scholarly publishing. Born in New Zealand, he earned his master’s in philosophy at Waikato, a small University. However, he began his career managing community radio in the 1990s, becoming manager of the station after applying numerous times for the position.  He built a recording studio, with a devoted community and events around it, being one of the few independent radio stations in the country, even starting a community TV station, right as the internet was taking off. Adam moved to Australia and began working for an IT Consultancy, where he was introduced to Linux and streaming. He then moved over to Europe as a media activist and artist and then worked for an independent internet service provider

Today’s episode features guest host Michael Upshall (guest editor, Charleston Briefings) who talks with Abel Packer, Co-Founder, SciELO. In this conversation, Abel talks about beginning his career in engineering and computer science, working on UN demographic data projects in Latin America and creating the early bibliographic system, DocPop. He then earned his Masters in Library Science and, in 1997, co-founded SciELO, a decentralized, open access platform, to improve both visibility and access to Latin American Scientific Journals. Beginning with only 10 journals, SciELO is now used across 17 countries. Abel feels that, despite the success, SciELO is often overlooked globally, possibly due to its Global South origins.  https://www.linkedin.com/in/mupshall/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/abel-l-packer-2b29a540/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/scielo---scientific-electronic-library-online/posts/?feedView=all Twitter: Keywords: #SciELO #LibraryScience #OpenAccess #OA #OpenScience #GlobalSouth #GlobalLibra

Today’s episode features guest host Michael Upshall (guest editor, Charleston Briefings) who talks with Joy Connolly, President, American Council of Learned Societies. Joy has been President of ACLS since 2019. Prior to this, she was provost and interim president of the CUNY Graduate Center. Joy says she has always had an interest in the classics and has written two books on Roman Political Theory and rhetoric and is currently working on her third. In this conversation, Joy talks about the turn from a highly successful academic career to taking on the role at the nonprofit ACLS, which is very much aligned with academic institutions. Joy says this transition gave her an opportunity to bring to a different context some of the skills that she had gained as an academic administrator, faculty member, scholar, and teacher. The. video of this podcast can be found here: https://youtu.be/NtjQ2Za1jO0 Social Media: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mupshall/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/joy-connolly-a26b402

Today’s episode features guest host Michael Upshall (guest editor, Charleston Briefings) who talks with Rob Johnson, Managing Director, Founder, Research Consulting. Rob Johnson is founder and CEO of Research Consulting, well-known in scholarly publishing for investigations into policy. In this interview, we talk with Rob about his background and talk about his group’s recent large-scale reports on society publishing. Social Media: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mupshall/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/robjohnsonresearchconsulting/ Twitter: Keywords: #AcademicWriting, #AcademicNetworking, #ScholarlyWriting, #PublishingAdvice #GlobalAcademia #career #collaboration #scholcomm #ScholarlyCommunication #libraries #librarianship #LibraryNeeds #LibraryLove #ScholarlyPublishing #AcademicPublishing #publishing #LibrariesAndPublishers #podcasts

Today’s episode features guest host Michael Upshall (guest editor, Charleston Briefings) who talks with Steve Gump, Author and Associate Director, Fellowships, University of Virginia. Steve is author of the recently published How to Review Scholarly Books (Princeton University Press). In addition to working as a fellowship advisor at University of Virginia, he has also worked as a book review editor for the Journal of Scholarly Publishing since 2024, where he solicits, develops, and publishes scholarly book reviews. He talks about the benefits of building a network through reviewing, working with reviewers in other countries, and what authors of scholarly books really want. Social Media: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mupshall/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-gump/ Keywords: #BookReview #BookReviewEditor #PeerReview #ScholarlyReview #AcademicWriting, #AcademicNetworking, #ScholarlyWriting, #PublishingAdvice #GlobalAcademia #career #collaboration #scholcomm #ScholarlyCommunication #libraries #lib

Today’s episode features guest host Michael Upshall (guest editor, Charleston Briefings) who talks with Rice Majors, Associate University Librarian, University of California, Davis. Rice studied music and worked in the library as an undergraduate, where he was initially hired during the Summer to work on a retroactive barcoding project of their collections, looking at stacks of the music library. In this conversation, Rice talks more about his background, his current role as Associate University Librarian and his involvement as principal investigator for Project LEND, a major investigation into the use of digital books within institutions. LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/mupshall/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/ricemajors/ Keywords:  #DigitalLibraries #HigherEducation #LibraryInnovation #Innovation #KnowledgeSharing #LibraryJobs #career #collaboration #scholcomm #ScholarlyCommunication #libraries #librarianship #LibraryNeeds #LibraryLove #ScholarlyPublishing #AcademicPublishing #publishing #Libraries

Today’s episode features guest host Michael Upshall (guest editor, Charleston Briefings) who talks with Ronald Snijder, CTO, Head of Research, OAPEN Foundation. Ronald first obtained his bachelor’s in librarianship, then worked in IT, and then moved into academic publishing with Amsterdam University Press. He says he combines all these experiences with OAPEN library work, where he focuses on open access for books, and is responsible for the technical infrastructure of both OAPEN and the Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB). In this interview, he talks about his compelling career, which includes libraries, Not-for-profit foundations, and software companies. LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/mupshall/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronaldsnijder/ Keywords:  #OAPEN #DOAB #OpenAccess #OpenAccessBooks #PublishingTech #DigitalLibraries #HigherEducation #LibraryInnovation #Innovation #LibraryScience #KnowledgeSharing #LibraryJobs #career #collaboration #scholcomm #ScholarlyCommunication #libraries #librarian

Today’s episode features guest host Michael Upshall (guest editor, Charleston Briefings) who talks with Brian Nosek,  Executive Director, Center for Open Science. Brian is co-founder of three different non-profit organizations: The Center for Open Science, Project Implicit and the Society for the Improvement of Psychological Science, all of which are centered around advancing research and education on implicit bias, improving research culture, transparency, integrity and reproducibility.   He also co-developed the Implicit Association Test, a method that advanced research and public interest in implicit bias. Brian is also a social psychologist and professor of psychology at the University of Virginia. In this interview, he talks about these roles and how they intersect. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mupshall/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-nosek-682b17114/ Keywords:  #COS #OpenScience #OpenSource #OpenResearch #Research #ResearchCulture #FutureOfResearch #ScientificIntegrity #Reproducibility #Transparen

Today’s episode features guest host Michael Upshall (guest editor, Charleston Briefings) who talks with Damien Pattinson, Executive Director, eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd. Damien earned his PhD in neuroscience. After a postdoc at Kings College, London, UK, he began his career in scholarly publishing almost twenty years ago, first joining BMJ as a scientific editor, then PLOS ONE as executive director and then as editorial director, and Research Square as VP of Publishing Innovation.  Damien joined eLife in 2020. In this conversation, he talks about Open Science and the eLife publishing model.  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mupshall/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/damian-pattinson-b054508/ Twitter: Keywords:  #eLife #OpenScience #OpenResearch #Research #FutureOfResearch #ResearchIntegrity #AcademicResearch #OpenAccess #OpenSource #PeerReview #HigherEducation #LibraryInnovation #Innovation #LibraryJobs #career #collaboration #scholcomm #ScholarlyCommunication #libraries #librarianship #LibraryNeed

This episode is sponsored by Taylor & Francis, and the views, opinions, and content expressed during this sponsored episode are those of the participants, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the podcast or the Charleston Hub. Sponsorship does not imply endorsement of any products, services, or statements made during the episode. Thank you to Taylor & Francis for supporting ATG the Podcast and its mission to connect librarians, publishers, and vendors.  Today’s episode features Emily McElroy, Vice President, Academic Relations, Taylor & Francis, who talks with Matt Carson, Head of the Data Management and Technology Department, Galter Health Sciences Library and Learning Center at Northwestern University; Wind Cowles, Associate Dean for Data Research and Teaching at Princeton University Library; and Dr. Rebecca Taylor-Grant, Director of Open Science Strategy & Innovation, Taylor & Francis.   In this conversation, Matt and Wind, whom have both built strong data services programs and

Today’s episode features guest host Michael Upshall (guest editor, Charleston Briefings) who talks with John Willinsky, Founder, Public Knowledge Project. In this conversation, John talks about his career beginnings as a schoolteacher, then becoming a college professor and researcher. In 1998, he became frustrated with being unable to share research findings with the public due to copyright issues. So, he founded the Public Knowledge Project to improve discoverability and indexing in scholarly research. The PKP has since grown into a global, open-source initiative now used by over 50,000 journals, working with Google Scholar and OpenAlex. John believes research integrity and public education is important and talks about the development of open access and the challenges that remain today with implementing it.  The video of this interview can be found here:  Social Media: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mupshall/ Keywords: #PublicKnowledgeProject #KnowledgeSharing #Research #ResearchIntegrity #Academi

Today’s episode features guest host Michael Upshall (guest editor, Charleston Briefings) who talks with Stephen Webster, Director, Science Communication Unit, Imperial College, London. Stephan began his career by studying biology and the life sciences and attended Cambridge University where he studied the philosophy of science, and became interested in how science is understood and taught. He spent several years as a secondary school science teacher in London and eventually led one of the first science communication master’s programs, and is currently a senior lecturer at Imperial College. Stephen believes that engaging and listening to the public is very important with science communication to build trust, and to see the public as partners who could be very knowledgeable. He also says that good science is built on well-supported scientists.  The video of this interview can be found here: https://youtu.be/yG6kJtvfx7A Social Media: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mupshall/ https://www.linkedin.com/i

Today’s episode features guest host Michael Upshall (guest editor, Charleston Briefings) who talks with David Worlock, Publishing Veteran and Digital Strategy Advisor. David began his career in the scholarly publishing industry over 50 years ago. In this conversation, he reflects on the evolution of scholarly communication since the 1970’s when he began working in law publishing, the shift to digital formats and working with other publishers and, currently, the transformation brought on with AI. He also talks about preprints, self-publishing, and the evolving role of librarians and libraries as data collectors, aggregators, and curators of digital content as well as educators. David believes critical thinking is very important, and says “The more central the machines become, the more important the human-to-human interaction will become.” The video of this podcast can be found here: https://youtu.be/9h-0h9PseOk Social Media: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mupshall/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/david

Today’s episode features guest host Michael Upshall (guest editor, Charleston Briefings) who talks with Liam Bullingham, Assistant Director of Academic and Research Services, University of Essex. Liam is a Trustee and a conference organizer of UKSG, serves on the Library Advisory Group for Open Research Europe, co-organizes 'Open Research Week' with colleagues in Liverpool and Lancashire, and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Liam earned a Master’s in Literary Studies at the University of Glasgow and later earned a Master’s in Librarianship from the University of Sheffield.  He has worked in various roles in institutions across the UK and Scotland during his library career ranging from library shelver to Knowledge Management Resources Assistant to Information Advisor to Liaison Librarian, Research Support Librarian, Head of Research Support Services and now to his current role as Assistant Director of Academic and Research Services. Liam believes being a librarian isn’t just about books, but also

Today’s episode features guest host Michael Upshall (guest editor, Charleston Briefings) who talks with Richard Sever, Assistant Director, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. Richard earned his PhD in molecular biology and has been with Cold Spring Harbor for over 17 years. He recently became Chief Science and Strategy Officer at Open Archive, which oversees bioRxiv and medRxiv. Richard says he has always been fascinated with figuring out how things work, and that led him to a career in science. He realized that he didn’t want a career in academic research but enjoyed science communication instead. Richard moved into scientific publishing, enjoying the range of topics and collaboration with authors, and eventually chose Cold Spring to work with because of the high caliber research and mission driven innovation there.  Richard and his colleague John Inglis founded bioRxiv, a biology preprint server, with hopes to improve how science is evaluated and shared.   The video of this podcast can be found here: htt

Today’s episode features guest host, Michael Upshall (guest editor, Charleston Briefings) who talks with Richard Jefferson (Founder & CEO, Cambia and Executive Director, Lens.org). Richard was a pioneer in Open Science in genetics in the 1980's. In this conversation, Richard talks about growing up in California with his mother being a librarian, introducing him to evidence-based thinking from a very young age. He talks about being captivated in college by the revolution in biology based on DNA and molecular biology, and working with recumbent DNA. Richard talks about his career trajectory, going from a molecular biologist and plant geneticist to founding The Lens, “the world's largest free, open and secure platform of science and technology knowledge to enable new and different people and institutions to solve critical problems, 'Informed by Evidence, Inspired by Imagination.’” View the video of this interview here: https://youtu.be/TD914118beY Social Media: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mupsha

This episode is sponsored by Taylor & Francis, and the views, opinions, and content expressed during this sponsored episode are those of the participants, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the podcast or the Charleston Hub. Sponsorship does not imply endorsement of any products, services, or statements made during the episode. Thank you to Taylor & Francis for supporting ATG the Podcast and its mission to connect librarians, publishers, and vendors. Today’s episode features Christine Haynes, Professor of History, University of North Carolina, Charlotte who talks with David Givens, Director of Resource Acquisitions at Brown University Library, and Mitchell Scott, Coordinator of Collections Strategies at the University of Kentucky Libraries. In this conversation, Christine, David and Mitchell discuss the value of monographs and the role libraries play in meeting faculty and student needs, affordability initiatives, format preferences, measuring value, and balancing student space with browsa

Today’s episode features guest host, Michael Upshall, Consultant, ConsultMU Ltd., who talks with Torsten Reimer, Dean, University Library, University of Chicago. Torsten currently oversees one of the world’s largest academic library collections. In this conversation, Torsten shares his diverse academic journey which began as a historian with a focus on British maritime history,  before leading various digital and research initiatives at King’s College in London, JISC, the Imperial College in London and the British Library, and then to the University of Chicago where he leads the UChicago Node initiative, which is an integrated digital collections platform. Torsten says libraries play a very important role in the global research and knowledge ecosystem, in facilitating collaboration, and that they have an evolving role in the digital age ensuring digital content is preserved for future use.  The video of this interview can be found here: https://youtu.be/mSb_jwiDY7Y Social Media: LinkedIn: https://www.link