The Role Libraries and Open

Access Publishing Play in

Advancing the Sustainable
Development Goals
________________________________________

Knowledge Unlatched Webinar (Americas)

October 31, 2023
 Your Panelists Today

Alexandra Brown Sven Fund James Watson Elaine Lambert

Account Manager Senior Director Open Access Lead Account Manager
Knowledge Unlatched Knowledge Unlatched Taylor & Francis Knowledge Unlatched

2 10/31/2023
 "Libraries exist to serve the goals,
not the other way around."
Barbara Lison, IFLA President (2021-2023)

Agenda
• Brief update on the UN’s SDGs
• SDGs: Libraries and Publishers
• Taylor & Francis’ SDG efforts
• Knowledge Unlatched’s SDG efforts
• Survey | Q&A
 • People
• Planet
• Prosperity
• Peace
• Partnership

4 10/31/2023 https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals
 Sounding the Alarm at
the SDG Summit 2023

• A reality check of the progress made on

the SDGs at the midpoint towards 2030
reveals significant challenges

• Of the approximately 140 targets

evaluated, half of them show moderate or
severe deviations from the desired
trajectory

• More than 30 % of these targets have

experienced no progress or, even worse,
regression below the 2015 baseline

5 10/31/2023 https://www.un.org/en/conferences/SDGSummit2023 | https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2023/

 The crucial role of libraries in achieving SDGs worldwide
1. Libraries can directly and indirectly contribute to various SDGs, depending
on their services, resources, and community engagement efforts

2. The versatile nature of libraries allows them to play a crucial role in

advancing multiple SDGs

3. Libraries are positioned to help advance all SDGs as all goals depend on
access to information and sharing of knowledge worldwide

4. Libraries that support Open Access (OA) publishing enable a seamless and
uninterrupted flow of information and knowledge related to SDG topics

5. Libraries are established institutions that can effectively reach

marginalized populations (whose well-being is at the core of many SDGs)

6. Barbara Lison, former president of IFLA (the voice of libraries and a partner of
the UN in its SDG efforts): “Libraries exist to serve these goals, not the
other way around.”

6 10/31/2023 https://sdgs.un.org/partnerships/contribution-libraries-sdgs | https://www.ifla.org/units/sustainable-development/

 What SDGs librarians find most important and closest to their missions

7 10/31/2023 Cyr, C. (2020). Libraries and the UN Sustainable Goals: The past, present, and future. | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ol6KQ0SU1I (2021)
 Advancing the SDGs in resource-limited contexts: Studies | Research
• Difficult for libraries to achieve all the goals; libraries should focus on adopting the goals
that can be well-managed (Igbninovia, 2016)

• Libraries can achieve Goals 2 (Zero Hunger) and 3 (Good Health) through repackaging of
agricultural and health information in different formats and in the languages rural
communities understand (Mbagwu, 2020)

• Major challenges in advancing the SDGs include poor networking among library
professionals and inadequate staff training (Okuonghae, 2019)

• Health sciences librarians should collaborate with health care professionals to address
health literacy deficiencies in countries like Nigeria (Popoola, 2019)

• Continuing education for LIS professionals in Ghana improved their professional

knowledge and skills, which in turn helped them build confidence in promoting lifelong
learning (Goal 4.7) for others (Atta-Obeng, 2020)

• Obstacles such as clinging to old traditions and resistance to change limit the ability of
libraries to plan for SDGs need to be removed (Khalid, A., 2021)

8 10/31/2023 See References | For Further Reading

 Open Access as the main platform for advancing
the SDGs in resource-limited contexts
• Cheaper and unrestricted access to quality research and educational
resources

• Easy and speedy publication of scholarly work (resulting in new

opportunities for scholars to be part of a broader international research
community)

• Elimination of bias against researchers in resource-limited contexts and

their contributions to science

• Global visibility and utilization of research findings (through OA,

researchers have a diverse audience and easier and cheaper dissemination
of research output and higher citation rates)
_________________________________________________________________________________

KU's partnership with award-winning training center TCC Africa empowers over 900
members across 2 continents. To date, TCC Africa has trained 23,000+ researchers and
over 80 institutes in effective communication. The joint mission of the two organizations
is to promote Open Access content available freely on Open Research Library.
9 10/31/2023 Jain, P. (2021). Open Access Implications for Sustainable Social, Political, and Economic Development | https://www.tcc-africa.org/
 Like libraries, publishers are instrumental for achieving the SDGs

• Compact aims to accelerate progress to achieve the SDGs

and to inspire action among publishers
• Launched in collaboration with the International
Publishers Association
• Signatories (nearly 200 to date) aspire to develop
sustainable practices during the Decade of Action (2020-
2030)
• Open Access publishing is the main driver for the
achievement of the SDGs
• Open Access contributes to most SDGs because they are
all reliant on improved access to knowledge and research
• At least 10 of the 17 SDGs require constant scientific
input (UNESCO)

10 10/31/2023 https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sdg-publishers-compact || https://en.unesco.org/themes/building-knowledge-societies/open-access-to-scientific-information

 What publishers and librarians can do now
to show their support for the SDGs

• Make a commitment (to specific

SDGs)
• Give directions to authors and
reviewers
• Use keywords
• Establish awards for contributions
to the SDG-related themes

• Advocate for SDGs

• Guide users to SDG content
• Curate SDG collections
• Opt for open (open access, open
source, open data)
• Refine metadata
11 10/31/2023 https://www.sdgcompactfellows.org/
Taylor & Francis’ SDG efforts
 The Sustainable Development Goals at Taylor & Francis

• Aim to publish books and

journals that will help inform,
develop, and inspire action
globally.

• CarbonNeutral publication
certification for all our print
books and journals.

13 10/31/2023
 What books we publish OA

14 10/31/2023
 How we publish OA
We have 3 main types of
OA book publishing:
1. Born OA
2. Retrospective OA
3. Chapter OA

15 10/31/2023
16 10/31/2023
 T&F Sustainable Development Goals Online (SDGO)
• Regularly expanded with curated
major content releases twice a year
• Contains over 32,000 chapters, over
1,700 open access book chapters as
well as an additional 2,000 free to
view.
• Includes over 400 open access journal
articles
• Hosts free to access tailormade
Teaching & Learning material

17 10/31/2023 https://www.taylorfrancis.com/sdgo
 ‘Pledge to Open’: A collaborative OA Book pilot

Aims to fund the open

access publication of 70
front list research book titles

Centered around seven key

issue-based collections
inspired by the SDGs

18 10/31/2023 https://newsroom.taylorandfrancisgroup.com/pledge-to-open/
Knowledge Unlatched’s SDG efforts
 A Decade of Pioneering Diamond Open Access
and Collaborative Library Pledging Initiatives

• Ten Years of KU Select: flagship multidisciplinary collection of

HSS books
• Libraries pledge support for the collection on an annual basis
• Over 4,000 books and 50 journals published Open Access to date
• Support from about 680 institutions worldwide to date
• Partnerships with over 100 publishers and university presses
• Approaching 24 million user interactions worldwide

20 10/31/2023 https://www.charleston-hub.com/2023/05/looking-over-the-edge-ten-years-of-knowledge-unlatched-paving-the-way-for-diamond-open-access-monog
 Important changes to KU Select in 2023

1. SDG ALIGNMENT – Moving away from discipline-specific approach

(e.g., Anthropology, History, Politics) to include HSS subjects
related to UN’s Sustainable Development Goals
2. OPEN OPPORTUNITIES – Retaining up to 10% of titles for
independent and early-career scholars with limited access to
funding, ensuring that KU’s flagship collection represents diverse
perspectives, helping to reduce inequalities in research
3. FRONTLIST FOCUS – Including only frontlist titles to ensure access
to the most up-to-date scholarship needed to advance the SDGs
in a timely fashion

21 10/31/2023 https://knowledgeunlatched.org/ku-select-2024/
 How KU Select was curated in 2023
• We used the SDGs for broad subjects framing in the context of humanities and social sciences.

• We selected 7 SDGs that we felt were impactful and offered good matching to the types of subjects covered in
other KU collections

• We informed participating publishers that we were accepting nominations in 7 SDG subject areas and invited
them to submit information for each title

• We invited the KU Selection Committee (comprising nearly 300 librarians worldwide) to vote for the titles that
would make the final list of 140 titles, informing them which SDG each nominated title was associated with.

22 10/31/2023 https://www.knowledgeunlatched.org/ku-selection-committee/
 The result: KU Select 2024 SDG Books
 Pledging option 1: Support KU Select 2024 SDG Books as a full collection of 140 books
 Pledging option 2: Support 7 individual collections (20 books per collection)

23 10/31/2023 https://knowledgeunlatched.org/ku-select-2024-sdg-books/
 SDG Video Collections
 Two collections of scholarly videos by Latest Thinking (LT), which complement
KU Select 2024 SDG Books in their exclusive focus on two distinct SDGs: Climate
Action (SDG 13) and Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions (SDG 16)
 All videos (20 per collection) are based on peer-reviewed academic publications
and feature authors who navigate users through their flow of ideas related to
SDGs 13 and 16

Latest Thinking on the

Climate Action SDG 2024

Latest Thinking on the

Peace, Justice and Strong
Institutions SDG 2024

24 10/31/2023 https://knowledgeunlatched.org/sdg-videos/
 Survey Results

16%

48%

32%

17%

50%

33%

25 10/31/2023 https://shorturl.at/fhiLZ
Q&A
 References | For further reading
• United Nations. Sustainable Development Goals. https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

• United Nations (2023). The Sustainable Development Goals Report: Special Edition: Towards a Rescue Plan for People and Planet
https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2023/

• United Nations. Contribution of Libraries to the SDGs. https://sdgs.un.org/partnerships/contribution-libraries-sdgs

• International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. Powering Sustainable Development. https://www.ifla.org/units/sustainable-development

• Igbinovia, M. (2016), "Libraries as Vehicle to Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDGs): Nigerian’s current status and outlook", Library Hi Tech News, Vol. 33 No.
5, pp. 16-17. https://doi.org/10.1108/LHTN-03-2016-0010

• Mbagwu, FC et al (2020). Achieving Sustainable Development Goals Two and Three: Role of Academic Libraries. Library Philosophy and Practice. 3995.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/3995

• Okuonghae, O.., Igbinovia, MO (2019). The Role of Academic Libraries towards the Attainment of Sustainable Development Goals: The Nigerian
Perspective. Covenant Journal of Lib and Info Science, 2(2). https://journals.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/index.php/cjlis/article/view/1861

• Popoola B.O. (2019). Involving libraries in improving health literacy to achieve Sustainable Development Goal-3 in developing economies: a literature review.
Health Info Libr J. 2019 Jun;36(2):111-120. http://doi.org/10.1111/hir.12255

• Atta-Obeng, L., Dadzie, P.S. (2020). Promoting Sustainable Development Goal 4: The Role of Academic Libraries in Ghana. Atta-Obeng, L., & Dadzie, P.S.
(2020). Promoting Sustainable Development Goal 4: The Role of Academic Libraries in Ghana. International Information & Library Review, 52, 177 -
192. http://doi.org/10.1080/10572317.2019.1675445

• Khalid, A., Malik, G.F., Mahood, K. (2021). Sustainable development challenges in libraries: A systematic litearture review (2020-2021). J of Acad Lib, Vol. 47 No.
3. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2021.102347
27 10/31/2023
 References | For further reading, cont.
• Lison, B., Hinz, A.l.. (2023) De Gruyter Conversations: Libraries exist to serve the Sustainable Development Goals. https://blog.degruyter.com/libraries-
exist-to-serve-the-sustainable-development-goals-an-interview-with-barbara-lison/

• Cyr C., Connaway LS. Libraries and the UN Sustainable Goals: The past, present, and future. Proc Assoc Info Sci Technol. 2020:57.
https://doi.org/10.1002/pra2.237

• OCLC (2021). Libraries and sustainability A global perspective Webinar. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ol6KQ0SU1I

• United Nations. SDG Publishers Compact. https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sdg-publishers-compact/

• UNESCO. Open Access to Scientific Information. https://en.unesco.org/themes/building-knowledge-societies/open-access-to-scientific-information

• Jain, P., Mnjama, N., Oladokun, O. (2021). Open Access Implications for Sustainable Social, Political, and Economic Development.
http://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-5018-2

• SDG Compact Fellows. Top Action Tips. https://www.sdgcompactfellows.org/

• KU Team (2023).Ten Years of Knowledge Unlatched: Paving the Way for Diamond Open Access Monographs. Charleston Hub. https://www.charleston-
hub.com/2023/05/looking-over-the-edge-ten-years-of-knowledge-unlatched-paving-the-way-for-diamond-open-access-monographs/

• Taylor & Francis. SDG Online. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/sdgo

• Knowledge Unlatched website. www.knowledgeunlatched.org

28 10/31/2023
Thank you.
alexandra@knowledgeunlatched.org
sven@knowledgeunlatched.org
james.watson@tandf.co.uk
elaine@knowledgeunlatched.org