At Elsevier, we’re gaining valuable experience with the Society for Scholarly Publishing

The Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP) opens in new tab/window brings together people from across scholarly publishing — including publishers, librarians and vendors — to discuss industry trends and challenges, share perspectives, and learn from each other’s experiences. At Elsevier, we value taking part in these conversations. They relate to our mission to help researchers and healthcare professionals advance science and improve health outcomes for the benefit of society. We work together to address common challenges to make scholarly publishing more equitable, transparent and sustainable.

In May, several hundred people convened in Portland, Oregon, for the 45th Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP) Annual Meeting opens in new tab/window. The theme of the conference was “Transformation, Trust, and Transparency,” and major topics included publishing ethics, AI and its role in research integrity, technological innovation for workflow optimization, and open access for sustainable development.

The program featured thought leaders from across scholarly publishing, including several Elsevier representatives. During the conference, Elsevier was recognized for its contribution to SSP’s Generations Fund opens in new tab/window, which creates inclusive opportunities for the publishing thought leaders of tomorrow to fullfil their potential.

We both represent Elsevier on the SSP Board of Directors (Meredith as VP, Publishing Operations, and Simon as Head of Central Strategies, Content Acquisition). We serve on committees and support the community in various capacities. In the process, we’ve gained valuable skills and experience that have helped us in our work with Elsevier.

The conference further strengthened the already strong bonds between Elsevier and SSP. Elsevier has been an organizational member of SSP for many years, supporting its work and ensuring that our employees can take part in SSP programs and serve on its committees. As part of this organizational membership, Elsevier employees are entitled to various benefits, including discounts to SSP’s events.

SSP’s volunteer-driven committees work to facilitate conversations that focus on learning and sharing our collective knowledge and also pursue initiatives to improve the industry from multiple angles (for example, SSP is deeply engaged with C4DISC opens in new tab/window’s work to create inclusive, industry-specific toolkits for equity). Elsevier employees play an active part in several SSP committees, including the committees for Education; the Annual Meeting Program; Membership; Early Career; and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility.

Trina Arpin opens in new tab/window, Deputy Managing Editor for Cell opens in new tab/window, joined SSP in 2019 when she was asked to present in a session on publishing videos at the annual meeting. She joined the membership committee, where she has worked to align benefits with what members, including organizations, value the most.

“For me,” she said, “the real benefit of SSP has been in conversations with other members — through committee work, discussions within Elsevier, or by attending the annual meeting. These discussions provide a valuable perspective on how a variety of stakeholders, including librarians and commercial, university and society publishers, view challenges and opportunities for the industry.”

SSP also runs a program of webinars and seminars opens in new tab/window on timely topics. Elsevier employees regularly contribute to these discussions, helping to take our industry forward in meaningful ways. Shirley Decker-Lucke opens in new tab/window, Director of Content for SSRN — Elsevier’s open access online preprint community — has been actively involved with SSP for the past six years. She has presented and moderated on various topics at the annual meeting, presented and moderated webinars, and served on the Education Committee. While representing Elsevier, she also learns a lot herself, she said: “This has been a wonderful way to share my own thinking and expertise and also learn from others in areas such as innovation, future thinking in scholarly publishing, and the role of books and preprints.”

One of SSP’s most popular initiatives is its Mentorship Program opens in new tab/window, which matches publishing industry professionals together to aid mutual professional development. Elsevier employees regularly serve as both mentors and mentees. Here, Elsevier colleagues share their experiences and how participation has aided their daily work:

At Elsevier, we seek to actively engage with our environment to better serve the communities we are a part of. Through industry organizations like SSP, we can help to lead publishing industry conversations and shape our collective future.