Predatory Publishing and the Academic Librarian: Developing Tools to Make Decisions

Abstract

Predatory publishing tactics are well-documented in the literature; however, the way in which academic librarians handle questions about these deceptive practices is not. A thorough review of the literature revealed a need for true decision-making tools that were easy to use and share. Based on this evidence, the authors developed Scholarly Tools Opposing Predatory Practices (STOPP) to empower librarians to make informed decisions by providing the appropriate context and tools for appraising journals, websites, conferences, and thesis converters. While geared toward academic medical librarians, these tools are built to evolve and adapt across disciplines as predatory practices evolve and adapt.

KEYWORDS:

• Decision-making tools
• predatory publishing
• scholarly communication

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Rick Anderson, Associate Dean for Collections & Scholarly Communication at the J. Willard Marriott Library at the University of Utah and an author for The Scholarly Kitchen, for reviewing our tools to provide basic face validity. We are also grateful to our colleagues who tested the tools and provided feedback.

We would also like to thank Jeff Lacy, MLIS for his assistance in editing this manuscript.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Emme Lopez

Emme Lopez, MLS ([email protected]) is Liaison Librarian to the School of Nursing, Dolph Briscoe, Jr. Library, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, TX 78229.

Christine S. Gaspard

Christine S. Gaspard, MSLS ([email protected]) is Head of Liaison Services and Liaison Librarian to the School of Medicine, Dolph Briscoe, Jr. Library, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, TX 78229.