Chapter 1. Introduction to Altmetrics

Authors

  • Robin Chin Roemer
  • Rachel Borchardt

Abstract

Chapter 1 of Library Technology Reports (vol. 51, no. 5), “Altmetrics”

Chapter 1 provides brief background for the definition, history, and reputation of altmetrics as a movement within higher education. The concept of altmetrics is described alongside other modern research movements, including scholarly communication, bibliometrics, and more. The chapter concludes with an overview of the other chapters of this report.

Author Biographies

Robin Chin Roemer

Robin Chin Roemer is the instructional design & outreach services librarian at the University of Washington Libraries in Seattle, Washington. Her responsibilities include support for online learning, professional and continuing education programs, and information literacy initiatives across the UW Libraries. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from UCLA, a master’s degree in English from UC Santa Barbara, and an MLIS from the University of Washington. Robin previously held the role of communication librarian at American University, where she worked closely with departments including journalism, film and media arts, communication studies, and public communication. She is the coauthor of the upcoming book, Meaningful Metrics: A 21st Century Librarian’s Guide to Bibliometrics, Altmetrics, and Research Impact, with her report coauthor Rachel Borchardt.

Rachel Borchardt

Rachel Borchardt is the science librarian at American University in Washington, DC. Her current job responsibilities include serving as a liaison to seven science departments, as well as responsibilities related to assessment, marketing, and research impact support within the library. She holds dual bachelor’s degrees in neuroscience and psychology from Oberlin College, as well as an MLIS with a specialization in medical librarianship from the University of Pittsburgh. Prior to her current position, she served as the biology and neuroscience and behavioral biology librarian at Emory University, and she has recently presented on the subject of altmetrics and academic libraries at several national-level venues, including the Charleston Conference and ALA Midwinter.

References

Jason Priem (@jasonpriem), message to Twitter, September 28, 2010, https://twitter.com/jasonpriem/status/25844968813.

Jason Priem, Dario Taraborelli, Paul Groth, and Cameron Neylon, “Altmetrics: A Manifesto,” Altmetrics.org, last modified September 28, 2011, http://altmetrics.org/manifesto.

“Read the Budapest Open Access Initiative,” Budapest Open Access Initiative website, February 14, 2002, www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read.

Based on data released for September 2014. See “Company Info,” Facebook Newsroom, accessed December 19, 2014, http://newsroom.fb.com/company-info.

Jeffrey Beall, “Article-Level Metrics: An Ill-Conceived and Meretricious Idea,” Scholarly Open Access (blog), August 1, 2013, http://scholarlyoa.com/2013/08/01/article-level-metrics.

Stacy Konkiel, “What Jeffrey Beall Gets Wrong about Altmetrics,” Impactstory Blog, September 9, 2014, http://blog.impactstory.org/beall-altmetrics.

Martin Fenner, “Altmetrics Have Come of Age,” Information Standards Quarterly 25, no. 2 (Summer 2013): 3, www.niso.org/apps/group_public/download.php/11270/Fenner_Editor_Letter_isqv25no2.pdf.

“Altmetric for Scopus,” Elsevier Author’s Update, last modified September 1, 2012, www.elsevier.com/authors-update/story/impact-metrics/altmetric-for-scopus.

Graham Woodward, “Altmetric is Now On Board for All Wiley Journals,” Wiley Exchanges Blog, last modified July 8, 2014, http://exchanges.wiley.com/blog/2014/07/08/altmetric-is-now-on-board-for-all-wiley-journals/.

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Published

2015-07-02

Issue

Vol. 51 No. 5 (2015): July

Section

Chapters