UW’s Faculty Senate and Libraries Call for Responsible Stewardship and Equitable Access to Information

University of Wyoming faculty members are backing UW Libraries in ongoing discussions with significant academic publishers regarding licensing agreements. These agreements will dictate access to academic journals, specifying terms, conditions and costs for the institution.

The UW Faculty Senate unanimously approved Resolution 447 Nov. 27, endorsing the UW Libraries licensing priorities. The resolution acknowledges UW Libraries’ dedication to delivering top-quality information and expertise while advocating for responsible stewardship through equitable information production, discovery and access.

“Equitable pricing is not only of paramount concern for university budgets, but it also is an ethical requirement considering that academic researchers, with no or minimal compensation, provide the bulk of content made available by academic publishers,” says Bob Sprague, UW Faculty Senate chair and a professor in the Department of Management and Marketing. “Scholarly sharing also is critically important, since it is a core tenet of scholarly discourse.”

The Faculty Senate’s support coincides with UW Libraries’ ongoing negotiations for the renewal of licenses with major academic publishers. This includes negotiations with Elsevier through the Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries. The Elsevier journal package currently constitutes the most substantial expenditure in the UW Libraries collection budget.

“At UW Libraries, we are committed to ensuring access to high-quality resources and scholarly articles for our students, faculty and researchers,” says Cass Kvenild, interim dean of UW Libraries. “We also are responsible for transparent stewardship of state funding as well as upholding the public trust.”

As part of the ongoing negotiations, UW Libraries has outlined licensing priorities, as detailed in the resolution approved by the UW Faculty Senate. These priorities are:

-- Accessibility: Provide equitable access to information for all library users.

-- Affordability: Negotiate fair and sustainable prices for resources and services based on transparent and cost-based pricing models.

-- Preservation: Ensure long-term digital preservation and accessibility of content with trusted digital archives.

-- Privacy and Security: Preserve users’ rights to privacy, ensure data security and prevent unauthorized use of user data.

-- Scholarly Sharing: Allow the ability to borrow and lend between libraries.

-- Transparency: Eliminate license terms or practices, such as nondisclosure or confidentiality clauses, that are counter to the obligations as a state institution.