November 30, 2018 – Oakbrook Terrace, IL – The Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP) is again collaborating with Arnoud de Kemp to organize the APE Pre-Conference in Berlin, Germany, on 14 January 2019. Academic Publishing in Europe (APE) is an independent, multidisciplinary conference established in 2006 to host an ongoing international debate about the future of scholarly communication and scientific publishing.
The APE Conference aims at a better understanding of scholarly communication and the role of information in science, education and society. Attendees convene to debate about the future of value-added scientific publishing, information dissemination and access to scientific results and offer an independent forum for ‘open minds’. Participants include academic, educational, scientific, technological, medical, legal and professional publishers, university presses, researchers, authors, editors, librarians, teachers, learned and professional societies and associations, funding agencies, politicians and policy makers, subscription agencies and booksellers, recruiting agencies, and technology providers.
“SSP is delighted to have renewed our agreement with the Academic Publishing in Europe conference to organize a pre-conference day. Last year’s collaboration was quite successful and we appreciated the opportunity bring high-quality SSP programming to Europe. This year, we will explore the theme of Bringing Value in Academic Publishing: Practical Solutions for Thriving in a Changing Environment,” said Melanie Dolechek, SSP Executive Director.
The 2019 Pre-Conference theme compliments the overall conference theme by focusing on the methods and tools that academic publishers need to cultivate to successfully meet the challenges posed by ongoing disruption in the scholarly communications ecosystem. Delegates will take away practical advice and new perspectives that they can apply to their own business challenges.
The Pre-Conference agenda will begin with keynote speaker Martha Sedgwick, Associate Vice President, Product Innovation, SAGE Publishing. Next a panel will discuss several case studies focused on developing solutions grounded in user needs. Panelists include Vanessa Fairhurst, International Community Outreach Manager, CrossRef; Sara Grimme, Director, Strategic Accounts, Digital Science; and Jason Colman, Director of Michigan Publishing Services, University of Michigan Library
Participants will then break into groups, each of which will identify topical user problems and discuss potential value-driven solutions using a framework that attendees can take back to their own organizations to help guide innovation.
The Pre-Conference will wrap up with a final panel, Overcoming Blind Spots: Keeping our Perspectives Open. Panelists include Philip Shaw, Executive Managing Editor at SAGE Publishing; and representatives from INASP and Global Young Academy.
Following the SSP Pre-Conference, the APE 2019 Conference offers a broad program with more than 30 speakers in two days organized around the theme of Platforms or Pipelines? Where is the Value in Scholarly Communications? Experts will discuss the changing infrastructure of scholarly publishing and the need for new talent and skills in this rapidly expanding ecosphere, among other things.
“The APE Conferences are ideally placed at the beginning of a new year—they provide a complete update,” said Arnoud de Kemp, organizer of the APE Conference since 2006. “There are still many open questions and nobody really can predict how the world of scholarly communication and scientific publishing will look like in the years to come. So there is a lot to talk about and we need to share experiences.”
The conference will be held in the Academy of Sciences and Humanities at the famous Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin Mitte and the pre-conference will be held nearby at the NH Collection Berlin Mitte at Checkpoint Charlie. To review the complete program for both events and to register, please visit https://www.ape2019.eu. Space is limited, so register soon to guarantee your place. SSP members receive a 25% discount on registration. The conference hashtag is #AcadAPE19.
About the Society for Scholarly Publishing – SSP, founded in 1978, is a nonprofit organization formed to promote and advance communication among all sectors of the scholarly publication community through networking, information dissemination, and facilitation of new developments in the field. SSP members represent all aspects of scholarly publishing—including publishers, printers, e-products developers, technical service providers, librarians, and editors. SSP members come from a wide range of large and small commercial and nonprofit organizations. They meet at SSP’s annual meetings, educational seminars, and regional events to hear the latest trends from respected colleagues and to discuss common and mutual (and sometimes divergent) goals and viewpoints.
About Academic Publishing in Europe (APE) – started in 2006. Those were the early days of Open Access, soon after the Berlin and Budapest Declarations. The first conference was an instant success, bringing all stakeholders in Europe for the first time together. Nowadays with delegates from over 15 countries, including USA, Russia and China, APE is truly international. The Conference is supported and sponsored by STM, ALPSP,and ICSTI as well as by Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley, Highwire Press, De Gruyter, IOS Press, Aries, Atypon, Copyright Clearance Center and others.
For more information, contact:
Melanie Dolechek, Executive Director
info@sspnet.org | 303 422 3914
Arnoud de Kemp, APE Initiator & Organizer
info@ape2019.eu | 00491713660392
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