Call for Nominations for CRKN’s Scholars Portal Journals Committee (SPJC)
CRKN is seeking qualified candidates to join the Scholars Portal Journals Committee (SPJC).
The SPJC is reporting to CRKN’s Board of Directors and is responsible for providing oversight of the continued successful functioning of Scholars Portal Journals. It sets strategic priorities and actions, advises CRKN and University of Toronto Libraries on new initiatives and developments, and makes decisions on operations of SPJ as needed.
The SPJC is established by the Board of Directors as a Standing Committee of the Board, pursuant to section 6.9 of the Corporation’s By-Laws. Nominations shall be reviewed and approved by the CRKN Executive Committee. The appointments will be for a three-year term that is once renewable at the discretion of the Executive Committee for a maximum of six years.
The SPJC is responsible for:
- Strategic direction-setting on overall evolution of Scholars Portal Journals TDR
- Provide strategic oversight of technical operations; e.g. new platform features, redevelopment of interface
- Collection development; inclusion/exclusion of content, expansion to non-CRKN licensed resources and other file types
- Fill an advisory role with respect to decisions around potential partnerships, collaborations, and emerging uses of the SPJ TDR and its hosted content
- Budget oversight and development; budget principles revisited annually
- Policy approval
- Management of the TDR audit or re-certification process
- Approval of work plan/priorities
- Advocacy and promotion
- Provide updates on progress to CRKN Members
- Seeking and respond to Member feedback
- As requested by the Content Strategy Committee, provide input to negotiations with publishers
- Regular review and revision of terms of current MOU/agreements with the Service Provider
We are seeking candidates from the CRKN community to fill up to six (6) positions on the Scholars Portal Journals Committee:
- One (1) representative from a CRKN member library from each of the following four regions:
- Western Canada
- Ontario
- Québec
- Atlantic Canada
- One (1) representative from the Content Strategy Committee to align with negotiations with vendors and publishers
- One (1) optional representative from the Preservation and Access Committee to align preservation and TDR practices
Preference/priority will be given to representatives who collectively possess experience in the following areas:
- Accessibility
- Digital preservation standards and practices
- E-Resource licensing and negotiations
- Finance and budgeting
- Scholarly communications, copyright, and open access
- Text and data mining
The Committee will meet virtually three to five (3-5) times throughout the year, with additional meetings as agreed to by the voting members.
For more information on the SPJC, please see the attached Terms of Reference.
It is estimated that the annual time commitment for serving on the sub-committee will be:
| 5 teleconferences (1-2 hours each) | 5 - 10 hours |
| 1 hour prep time per meeting | 5 - 10 hours |
| Individual work and communication with CRKN staff | 10 - 20 hours |
| Total Annual Commitment | 20 - 40 hours |
Interested parties are welcome to nominate themselves or other candidates, using the attached nomination form which includes the items identified below. Please send your completed nomination forms to CRKN, to the attention of Tamana Ariapor (tariapor@crkn.ca) by January 16, 2026.
- Contact information
- Brief biographical details and relevant work experience to illustrate expertise in and enthusiasm for the work of the committee
- Assurance that nominees have support from their organization for this role
CRKN welcomes and encourages nominations for all qualified individuals, including but not limited to women, members of Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities; Two-Spirit, non-binary, trans, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer people; people with disabilities; and members of other equity-deserving groups.