Open Access and Bottom Lines: Finance, Tech, and Libraries
Location
Online
Start Date
21-10-2025 12:30 PM
End Date
21-10-2025 12:50 PM
Description
“It is often stated that libraries are not neutral, but when libraries rely on others to build connections on their behalf, the lack of neutrality deepens.” – Smith, 2025, p. 13
This presentation will combine philosophical and practical research findings to illustrate the impact that technological business interests have on access to information and cultural heritage preservation. Framed within the context of original research (2024, 2025), the presentation will begin with theoretical explorations of technological impacts, both local and global, on libraries. The second portion of the presentation will provide an institutional case study that exemplifies such theories. Both paywalled and open access will be discussed, with attention drawn to findings that illustrate through both theory and in practice that in a tech-centric world financial bottom lines shape cultural heritage.
Smith, C. (2024). Lack of Collections as Data: Making Meaning Out of the Films We Cannot See. Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science, (47)3, 11-20. https://doi.org/10.5206/cjils-rcsib.v47i3.18988
Smith, C.F., ed. (2025). Platform Power and Libraries. (162) Sacramento, CA: Litwin Books (978-1-63400-156-4) https://litwinbooks.com/books/platform-power-and-libraries/ & https://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/995573/1/PPAL_final.pdf
Open Access and Bottom Lines: Finance, Tech, and Libraries
Online
“It is often stated that libraries are not neutral, but when libraries rely on others to build connections on their behalf, the lack of neutrality deepens.” – Smith, 2025, p. 13
This presentation will combine philosophical and practical research findings to illustrate the impact that technological business interests have on access to information and cultural heritage preservation. Framed within the context of original research (2024, 2025), the presentation will begin with theoretical explorations of technological impacts, both local and global, on libraries. The second portion of the presentation will provide an institutional case study that exemplifies such theories. Both paywalled and open access will be discussed, with attention drawn to findings that illustrate through both theory and in practice that in a tech-centric world financial bottom lines shape cultural heritage.
Smith, C. (2024). Lack of Collections as Data: Making Meaning Out of the Films We Cannot See. Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science, (47)3, 11-20. https://doi.org/10.5206/cjils-rcsib.v47i3.18988
Smith, C.F., ed. (2025). Platform Power and Libraries. (162) Sacramento, CA: Litwin Books (978-1-63400-156-4) https://litwinbooks.com/books/platform-power-and-libraries/ & https://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/995573/1/PPAL_final.pdf
