INDIANAPOLIS and NOTRE DAME, Ind.—The Private Academic Library Network of Indiana is pleased to award a $15,000 Library Innovation Grant to Saint Mary’s College. This grant will support Cushwa-Leighton Library’s project, “Open Questions: Scholarship in the Age of Open Access,” which will help faculty navigate Open Access publishing and build a sustainable culture of open scholarship.
Open to all 23 PALNI-supported institutions, the Library Innovation Grant funds proposed initiatives that align with PALNI strategic priorities and support deep collaboration throughout the consortium. Grant proposals are evaluated and selected for funding based on their creativity, clearly defined and measurable objectives, replicability by other PALNI institutions, and long-term sustainability. The projects are supported for up to one year, with recipients expected to present their results and share ideas for further collaboration and innovation across PALNI.
“Open Questions” responds to questions faculty regularly raise about Open Access publishing models, authors’ rights, repository policies, Article Processing Charges, and the role of artificial intelligence in scholarly dissemination. Over the 2026–2027 academic year, the project will appoint two Faculty Fellows, deliver three faculty workshops, and grow participation in the college’s Academic Repository.
"Many faculty members are interested in open scholarship but have questions about where to start or how open access publishing fits within their disciplines," says Sue Wiegand, Saint Mary’s Scholarly Communications Librarian and project lead. "Through faculty fellowships, workshops, and engagement with our Academic Repository, this project will help faculty explore those questions, connect with colleagues, and develop strategies for sharing their work more broadly."
The project features three primary components:
The Open Questions project is designed as a one-year pilot that other PALNI institutions can adapt. By placing faculty in leadership roles and connecting them through workshops and a Community of Practice, the project aims to normalize voluntary, informed participation in Open Scholarship and to position the library as a hub for research visibility on campus. Workshop materials, facilitator notes, and a reusable Open Scholarship toolkit will be shared with PALNI institutions under a Creative Commons Attribution license, allowing libraries across the consortium to replicate the model.
"One of the strengths of the Library Innovation Grant program is its ability to support local innovation that can be adapted and scaled by others," says Molly Reed, PALNI Strategic Communications Director. "The Open Questions project combines faculty leadership, scholarly communications expertise, and openly licensed resources in a way that will benefit Saint Mary's while also providing valuable tools and insights for institutions across PALNI."
To learn more about Cushwa-Leighton Library at Saint Mary’s College, visit them online.
For more information about PALNI, visit the consortium website.
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Saint Mary’s College is a welcoming community of approximately 1,600 students, talented professors, and dedicated staff. The College is fully accredited through the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association, and ranks among the top 100 Best National Liberal Arts Colleges published by U.S. News. Saint Mary’s has six nationally accredited academic programs: social work, art, music, teacher education, chemistry, and nursing.
The College has practiced its core values of learning, community, faith, spirituality, and justice for more than 170 years, and continues to grow and prosper, with approximately 20,000 living alumnae. Saint Mary’s tradition of empowering women with excellent academic programs and spiritual support began with their founding in 1844 by the Sisters of the Holy Cross. Visit Saint Mary’s online for more information.
The Private Academic Library Network of Indiana (PALNI) is a non-profit organization that supports collaboration for library and information services for 23 colleges, universities and seminaries throughout the state. From its inception in 1992, the PALNI collaboration has been a key avenue for its supported institutions to contain costs while providing more effective library services. More recently, PALNI has adopted a model of deep collaboration that pools resources and people as a tool to expand services while containing costs. Simultaneously, PALNI is expanding collaboration within its institutions and with external library partners to address challenges and build cost-effective services. Visit the PALNI website for more information.
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