Retooled Create Change Web Resource Helps Faculty Fulfill the Promise of Digital Scholarship

[Jennifer Heffelfinger <jennifer@arl.org>]

For Immediate Release
June 22, 2006

RETOOLED CREATE CHANGE WEB RESOURCE HELPS FACULTY
FULFILL THE PROMISE OF DIGITAL SCHOLARSHIP

Fully Revised Version of Popular Web Site Looks at Scholarly 
Information Sharing on the Internet

Washington, DC: SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic 
Resources Coalition) and ARL (Association of Research Libraries), 
with support from ACRL (Association of College and Research 
Libraries), today announced the re-launch of the Create Change 
Web site, a popular resource on scholarly communication issues. 
The site has been updated to provide faculty with current 
information, perspectives, and tools that will enable them to 
play an active role in advancing scholarly information exchange 
in the networked environment.

The new Create Change Web site (http://www.createchange.org) is 
based around the idea that the ways faculty share and use 
academic research results are changing rapidly and irreversibly. 
By posing the question, "Shouldn't the way we share research be 
as advanced as the Internet?" the site outlines how faster and 
wider sharing of journal articles, research data, simulations, 
syntheses, analyses, and other findings fuels the advance of 
knowledge. It also offers practical ways faculty can look out for 
their own interests as researchers.

"Access to research and scholarship is in the news; faculty 
deserve an up-to-date examination of how new policies and 
technologies can benefit them and their colleagues," said 
Heather Joseph, SPARC Executive Director. "SPARC and ARL took a 
fresh look at our Create Change program, which has received so 
much positive feedback in the past, and redeveloped the Web site 
to reflect today's needs and perspectives. Faculty will find it 
an invaluable tool for understanding the changing landscape of 
scholarly communication, and librarians will discover a uniquely 
useful means of introducing the topic to their faculty and 
administrators."

"The redeveloped Create Change site is a timely new resource that 
focuses on exploring the potential for scholarly exchange in the 
ever-increasingly networked environment," said Karla Hahn, 
Director of ARL's Office of Scholarly Communication. "With change 
in scholarly communication systems continuing to happen at such a 
rapid pace, the site will be a key tool in engaging researchers 
and librarians around the fundamental issues."

The Create Change Web site includes sections on digital 
scholarship and new modes of communication; examples of change in 
diverse fields; and ways to stay informed on new developments. It 
offers tailored guidance for researchers who play many roles in 
their professional lives -- as researcher, author, reviewer, 
editor, editorial board member, society member, faculty member, 
or teacher. The site features selected news items; an ongoing 
series of interviews with scholars from different disciplines; 
and scores of links to other Web sites and resources.

For more information, contact:

Karla Hahn
Association of Research Libraries
karla@arl.org
(202) 296-2296 ext. 112

Jennifer Heffelfinger
SPARC
jennifer@arl.org
(202) 296-2296 ext. 121