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05.27.2015 | SSP News & Releases

Annual Meeting Preview: Charles Watkinson to Deliver Opening Keynote

By Katie Greenock, Communications Committee

As a society that embraces both librarians and scholarly publishers as part of its membership, it seems that SSP could not have chosen a better representative than past board member Charles Watkinson, who will be delivering a keynote speech at SSP’s 37th Annual Meeting on Wednesday, May 27.

Watkinson is currently the Associate University Librarian for Publishing at University of Michigan Libraries and Director of University of Michigan Press. The University of Michigan’s MPublishing initiative is one of the best-known and most exemplary integrated academic library and publishing programs, and Watkinson has been there since 2014. In his interactive keynote, entitled “Seriographs and Monocals: Rethinking Book Publishing in the Digital Age,” Watkinson will discuss the use of innovative publishing formats and platforms in the previously little-changed process of monograph publishing. Watkinson will also touch on the effects that trends like demand-driven library acquisitions, open access publications, and the digitization of journal publishing have had on scholarly publishing.

According to Mary Beth Barilla, chair of the Annual Meeting Planning Committee, “Although he is no stranger to the journals world, Charles has extensive experience as a book publisher, which makes his keynote a welcome addition to a well-rounded meeting program. However, the talk will interest not only those working in book publishing, but anyone invested in the future of scholarly communications, as the line between journals and books becomes increasingly blurred.”

Prior to moving to Michigan in 2014, Watkinson was Director of Purdue University Press and Head of Scholarly Publishing Services in Purdue Libraries for five years. Previously, he served as Director of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. Watkinson started in the book business working for Oxbow Books as a specialist bookseller and distributor in archaeology, classics, and medieval studies, holding positions in both the United Kingdom and United States. He has been a board member of the Association of American University Presses and the Society for Scholarly Publishing and was an initiator of the Library Publishing Coalition.

Watkinson’s keynote will be from 4:30 to 5:30 PM at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Virginia. More information can be found at https://www.sspnet.org/events/annual-meeting/2015-schedule/keynote-charles-watkinson/.

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