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UNC School of Medicine faculty and staff are invited to upcoming town hall meetings to discuss university library journal subscriptions and costs of published research. Multiple sessions will be held in the coming weeks.


UNC School of Medicine faculty and staff are invited to upcoming town hall meetings to discuss university library journal subscriptions and costs of published research. Earlier this year, the University of California cancelled its contract with Elsevier, the world’s largest publisher of scholarly journals, due to unacceptable license terms and subscription costs. Here at Carolina, the University Libraries is now in renewal negotiations with Elsevier. The library, at the campus-wide level, seeks an agreement that is affordable and sustainable and that is consistent with both Faculty Council Resolution 2019-8, “On Containing the Costs of Published Research,” and the University’s open access policy. They are also working on other ways to make scholarly information more open. You can read more in The Well about these issues. The University Libraries now invites you to join members of the library staff at one of three town halls to learn more and to share your input.

Please help the organizers plan for these meetings by using the RSVP links above and by encouraging colleagues to RSVP and attend.

If you would like to read more about this issue in advance of the town halls, please consult the following:

Elaine Westbrooks, Vice Provost for University Libraries and University Librarian, will be present to receive your input and to give additional information. Inquiries within the School of Medicine may be directed to Kurt Gilliland (kogillil@med.unc.edu) (Associate Dean of Curriculum, School of Medicine) who currently serves as chair of the Administrative Board of the Library, a campus-wide committee that reports to the Faculty Council.