Dr. Thomas Dailey in the Department of Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries is editor of the National Quail Symposium Proceedings (NQSP) and has had a role with the publication since 1993. He and his fellow editors noticed that the proceedings, published as books, were not getting high citation counts.

Dailey asked the University Libraries how to increase the visibility of this valuable research on nonmigratory birds. In consultation with Scholars’ Collaborative librarian Rachel Caldwell, NQSP is now an online serial, similar to an e-journal, hosted by the Libraries. With digitized backfiles and a new issue about to be published, it is also an open access publication, making it findable — and citable — by researchers and policymakers everywhere.

NQSP papers are gaining worldwide readership in the three months since they were made available online. From the eastern United States to France to South Korea, several papers have already been downloaded over 30 times. Research shows a positive correlation between downloads and future citations (see, for example, Brody, Harnad & Carr, 2006).

The University Libraries currently hosts 13 peer-reviewed journals, edited or founded by UT researchers. See the online NQSP.

For more information, contact Rachel Caldwell, Scholarly Communication Librarian at the UT Libraries (rachelcaldwell@utk.edu or 865-974-6107).