Library Publishing Forum 2021

Amidst the isolation and uncertainty of COVID-19, many of us fortunate enough to continue to be employed have perceived an expectation, stated or not, to maintain established levels and models of productivity, despite the fact that we and our communities are often struggling to determine how to move forward and continue to adapt to shifting psychic and physical circumstances. While platforms like Zoom provide a way to continue performing many of the procedural aspects of our work, less quantifiable aspects of productivity have receded. I, a solo practitioner developing and managing an emerging, modest library publishing program focused primarily on undergraduate publication, have, like many others, experienced disruptions to processes and productivity. But within these delays and obstacles—and in fact because of them—I have found myself motivated to contemplate a future in which the program I oversee assumes an unorthodox disposition, both in mission and practice, allowing it to extend its reach beyond the boundaries of traditional academic publishing paradigms.

This presentation does not presume to provide answers, but rather begins the work of exploring and sharing possibilities for such a program through the depiction of several speculative scenarios. Employing strategies and models of speculation borrowed from other disciplines (design, fiction, architecture), I propose a notional re-conception of my program which, while continuing support for traditional publication styles and processes, additionally prioritizes incorporating an expanded set of practices. If a speculative mindset offers a means to train one’s perspective away from established norms and expectations and toward the consideration of imaginative ideas and potentialities, I suggest it is a worthwhile exercise to envision a library publishing program that is responsive not only to institutional and academic protocols and expectations, but also to the shifting desires, circumstances, and needs of the community it serves and who sustain its relevance.