2019 Charleston Library Conference

If the publishing ecosystem disappeared tomorrow, what would we put in its place?

Imagine a world with all of today’s technologies to hand, but none of the publishing ecosystem: no established journals, no sixth-edition textbooks, no rows of monographs, no online reference sources – and no libraries in which to house them all.

What would we need to create? What is needed to allow ideas to pass from one mind to another, to share learning, to stimulate thinking, to entertain and enlighten? How—if at all—would we measure and signal quality and rigor? What workflows would we need, who would need to collaborate, and what technologies would come into play? Where would content be stored, and how would it be accessed? How would the processes involved be financed and sustained?

Our panel will consider these questions and more, bringing a wealth of experience from their perspectives as experienced librarians and publishers.