The Museum Studies Literature: Revisiting Traditional Methods of Discovery and Access,Exploring Alternatives,and Leveraging Open Access to Advance the Field |
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| Abstract: | A decade ago, East (2008) examined the coverage of major museum studies journals by two major databases and one academic search engine, concluding that bibliographic control of the museum studies literature was inadequate and posed a barrier to further development of the field. In this article, we revisit the issues raised by East. We reevaluate the availability of core journals in museum studies through traditional venues and identify alternative access and discovery points, including academic citation search engines, journal content alerts, social media, and field‐specific websites. We then consider the open access movement and present five recommendations for leveraging open access to enhance discovery and access for the museum studies literature: maximize authors’ rights to their own content; publish scholarship in open access or hybrid journals; develop an open access fund for museum studies researchers and scholars; deposit work in open access repositories; and create new open access resources. |
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