Research Statement
Someone once said that books are tools for thinking. As far as technology goes, print books have served humans well for the last 500 years. They accommodate efficient distribution of ideas and provide a user-friendly mechanism for interacting with those ideas. Paper, as a medium in general, allows for wide proliferation of daily news events, recounting of history, announcements of scientific discovery, and artistic interpretations of the world. Yet, the use of print books is declining. In a recent survey of 902 academic scientists, researchers found that 23% of those surveyed had visited the library an average of one time over 12 months to use a print book (Hemminger, et al., 2007). The number of print books checked out from the libraries here at the University of Utah has steadily declined since 2000. In a 2005 survey of 396 college students, 39% of the respondents indicated that they used print books available in the library (OCLC, 2005). The fact that members of the faculty, researchers and students do not readily use print books as tools for thinking begs the question: what tools are being used for thinking and how are they being created, measured and assessed?
Research Keywords
- privacy
- intellectual freedom
- copyright
- authorship
- Scholarly communication
- Reading
- History of Authorship
Research/Scholarship Projects
- Presenting Chaplain Allen Allensworth . PI: Allyson Mower. 10/2022 - 01/2023.
- Academic Freedom at the U: Powers that Be, Personalities, Teaching . PI: Allyson Mower. 10/2022 - 01/2023.
- The University of Utah, it Authors, and Their Works, 1883-1970. PI: Allyson Mower. 05/08/2017 - 11/01/2019.
- Library-based Publishing Services: Strategies for Success. PI: Jim Mullins. Co-PI(s): Joyce Ogburn, Catherine Murray-Rust. 09/01/2010 - 11/01/2011.
Copyrights
- When Rights Clash: Origins of the University of Utah Academic Senate. Allyson Mower and Paul Mogren, 10/01/2014.
Software Titles
- University Scholarly Knowledge Inventory System. Tracks authors, articles, and publisher copyright policies. Release Date: 02/01/2007. Inventors: Allyson Mower, Anne Morrow, Scott Cowley.
Presentations
- Permission-Free Resources for Advertising Library Events, Programs, Collections at ULA Annual Conference. Presentation, Presented, 05/16/2019.
- Mower, A. How the Act of Reading Changes Lives. Banned Book Week, Marriott Library. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 09/20/2018.
- Panelist for session on predatory publishing at the Association of Food Scientists. Panel, Presented, 07/18/2018.
- Anderson R., Christensen R., Cummings E., Miles E., Sollis L., Steidinger S., Thoms B., Mower A. How to Craft a Fair Use Policy Utah Library Association, Sandy, UT. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 05/16/2018.
- Anderson, R., Cummings, E., Miles, E., Steidinger, S., Thoms, B., Vanderhooft, P., Mower, A. © Myth Destroyers. Utah Library Association, Sandy, UT. Panel, Presented, 05/18/2017.
- Mower, A. “Study of Authorship & Publishing at the University of Utah,” Society for the History of Authorship, Reading, and Publishing, July 22, 2016, Paris, France. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 07/22/2016.
- Panelist for session on dynamic publishing at the Council of Scientific Editors, May 16, 2016, Denver, CO. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 05/16/2016.
- Mower A, “Opening the Doors to the U.S. Copyright System,” Utah Library Association, May 5, 2016, Layton, UT. Presentation, Presented, 05/05/2016.
- Workshop on shared governance for faculty, faculty senate, and administrators at Dixie State University, March 23-24, 2016. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 03/23/2016.
- Mower, A. James, MA. “One Library’s Successful Venture in Providing Comprehensive Streaming Media Services,” Charleston Library Conference, November 7, 2015, Charleston, SC. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 11/07/2015.
- Mower, A. “When Rights Clash: Origins of the University of Utah Academic Senate and the Story of AAUP’s First Investigation,” American Association of University Professors, June 12, 2015, Washington, DC. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 06/12/2015.
- Craigle V, Herbert J, Mower A. “Cracking the Code: Illuminating New Directions in Scholarly
Communications and Publishing.” November 4, 2012, Denver CO.
Presentation,
Presented, 11/04/2012.
http://content.lib.utah.edu/cdm/ref/collection/usp... - Watkinson C, Nesdill D, Mower A, Murray-Rust C. “Library Publishing Services: Strategies for Success.” Charleston Conference. November 3, 2011, Charleston, SC.
Presentation,
Presented, 11/03/2011.
http://content.lib.utah.edu/cdm/ref/collection/usp... - Mower A. Know Your (Author) Rights: Understanding & Educating Faculty About Author Rights
Open Access and Digital Repository Forum
San Jose State University, San Jose, CA.
Invited Talk/Keynote,
Presented, 05/25/2011.
http://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/oa_digitalrepos/Progr...
Publications
- Allyson Mower (2022). Librarianship as a Mainstay of Cognitive Justice. Journal of Information Ethics. Vol. 31, 18-25. Published, 12/2022.
- Allyson Mower (2021). Opportunities for eTextbook innovations and partnerships: A case study of the Marriott Library at the University of Utah. Learned Publishing. Vol. 34, 30-34.
Published, 01/18/2021.
https://doi.org/10.1002/leap.1355 - Allyson Mower (2020). Copyright Policies & Workflows in Libraries. Rowman & Littlefield. Published, 06/05/2020.
- Mower, Allyson (2019). One-Line Book Reviews. [Website] URL https://readers.lib.utah.edu.
Published, 11/01/2019.
https://readers.lib.utah.edu - Mower, Allyson (2019). Viewpoint Discrimination. [Website/Blog] URL https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=18217.
Published, 09/04/2019.
https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=18217 - Mower, Allyson (2019). Review of "Beyond Banned Books". [Website/Blog] URL https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=18217.
Published, 07/11/2019.
https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=18217 - Mower, Allyson (2019). New Privacy Law in Utah. [Website/Blog] URL https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=18057.
Published, 06/19/2019.
https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=18057 - Mower, Allyson (2019). Thoughts on Andrew Curran’s Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely. [Website/Blog] URL https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=17601.
Published, 04/24/2019.
https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=17601 - Mower, Allyson (2019). Freedom of Information Day--Thank a Reporter. [Website/Blog] URL https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=17305.
Published, 02/15/2019.
https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=17305 - Mower, Allyson (2019). Integrating Libraries and Books. [Website/Blog] URL https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=16828.
Published, 01/21/2019.
https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=16828 - Mower, Allyson (2018). A Review of "The Age of Surveillance". [Website/Blog] URL https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=16379.
Published, 11/28/2018.
https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=16379 - Mower, Allyson (2018). How the Act of Reading Changes Lives. [Website/Blog] URL https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=15776.
Published, 10/03/2018.
https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=15776 - Mower, Allyson (2018). Sources of Evidence to Inform Scholarly Communication Librarianship. Evidence Based Library and Information Practice. Vol. 13.
Published, 09/18/2018.
https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/eblip/index.p... - Mower, Allyson (2018). Intellectual Freedom in Situational Contexts. [Website/Blog] URL https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=14747.
Published, 06/25/2018.
https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=14747 - Mower, Allyson (2018). Net Neutrality Represents Ongoing Debate About Affordable Broadband in America. [Website/Blog] URL https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=14304.
Published, 05/31/2018.
https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=14304 - Mower, Allyson (2018). Book Review of "Speak Freely: Why Universities Must Defend Free Speech". [Website/Blog] URL https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=13906.
Published, 04/23/2018.
https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=13906 - Mower, Allyson (2018). Intellectual Freedom Needs Content, Curriculum, and Librarians. [Website/Blog] URL https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=13324.
Published, 03/13/2018.
https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=13324 - Mower, A. (2018). Stories of Reading and Not Reading in Utah. [Website] URL https://readers.lib.utah.edu.
Published, 03/01/2018.
https://readers.lib.utah.edu - Mower, Allyson (2018). From Restrictive Speech Codes to Virtue-Signaling Statements: Is There a Better Way?. [Website/Blog] URL https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=12968.
Published, 02/25/2018.
https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=12968 - Mower, Allyson (2018). Is There a Connection Between Mental Health and Intellectual Freedom?. [Website/Blog] URL https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=12595.
Published, 02/02/2018.
https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=12595 - Mower, Allyson (2018). Freedom to Use Your Mind. [Website/Blog] URL https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=12085.
Published, 01/10/2018.
https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=12085 - The University of Utah, its Authors, and their Works, 1883-1970 Descriptive bibliography and historical research on provenance of University of Deseret/Utah.
Published, 03/20/2017.
http://authors.lib.utah.edu - Mower A, James MA, “One Library’s Successful Venture in Providing Comprehensive Streaming Media Services,” Charleston Conference Proceedings 2015, article in press. Published, 11/01/2016.
- Coordinator of Library/Press partnership on Battin, Margaret P. Ethics of Suicide: Historical Sources. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015 and Archive Librarian for Ethics of Suicide Digital Archive.
Published, 09/01/2015.
http://ethicsofsuicide.lib.utah.edu/ - When Rights Clash provides both a history of how the University of Utah came to have an Academic Senate and a guide to navigating the U of U’s modern shared governance system. It was authored by Allyson Mower and Paul Mogren. Paul and I both served as Presidents of the Academic Senate—2008-2009 and 2013-2014, respectively.
Published, 10/01/2014.
https://whenrightsclash.lib.utah.edu/ - Craigle V, Herbert J, Morrow A, Mower A. “The Development of Library-Led Publishing Services at the University of Utah,” in Library Publishing Toolkit. Geneseo, NY: IDS Project Press, 2013. Published, 08/2013.
- Mower, A. The Librarian's Copyright Companion, 2nd Edition, by James S. Heller, Paul Hellyer, & Benjamin J. Keele. Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication, 2013, 1(3):eP1067.
Published, 05/2013.
http://dx.doi.org/10.7710/2162-3309.1067 - Amos K, Mower A, James MA, Weber A, Yaffe J, Youngkin ME. “Exploring the Publishing Patterns of a Large Research University: Implications for Library Practice.” Evidence Based Library and Information Practice, 2012; 7(3).
Published, 07/2012.
http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/EBL... - Mower A. “Working Together or Apart: Promoting the Next Generation of Digital Scholarship (review)." portal: Libraries and the Academy, 2009; 9(4): 519-520.
Published, 10/2009.
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/pla/summary/v009/9.4.... - Morrow A, Mower A. “University Scholarly Knowledge Inventory System: A Workflow System for Institutional Repositories.” Cataloging and Classification Quarterly, 2009; 47(3/4): 286-296.
Published, 10/2009.
http://content.lib.utah.edu/u?/ir-main,23718 - Mower A., Chaufty L. “Do something no one has imagined: the 2008 SPARC Digital Repositories meeting.” College & Research Libraries News, 2009; 70(3): 158-60.
Published, 03/2009.
http://content.lib.utah.edu/u?/ir-main,21018 - Lombardo NT, Mower A, McFarland M. “Putting Wikis to Work in Libraries.” Medical Reference Services Quarterly. 2008 Summer; 27(2):129-45.
Published, 06/2008.
http://content.lib.utah.edu/u?/ir-main,17332 - Mower A, Youngkin ME. “Expanding Access to Published Research: Open Access and Self-Archiving.” Journal of Neuro-Ophthalmology, 2008; 28(1):69-71.
Published, 03/2008.
http://content.lib.utah.edu/u?/ir-main,14996 - Mower, A. Developing an institutional repository: an insider’s look at the University of Utah IR. Library Student Journal, November 2006.
Published, 11/2006.
http://www.librarystudentjournal.org/index.php/lsj...