U of U authors are prolific and the library strives to support U of U book authors by ensuring their works are in the collection. We also want every book to find its reader. This blog post series highlights some of the new books written or created by U of U authors this year. All are available from Marriott Library.

This time we’re highlighting Developing Authorship and Copyright Ownership Policies: Best Practices by librarian Allyson Mower. What follows is an interview with her highlighting her experiences as both a reader and an author.

Briefly introduce yourself and your work (how long have you been at the U of U, what do you study, etc?)

My name is Allyson Mower, I am a librarian at Marriott Library. I have worked at the U of U for 20 years. I study the ethics of authorship, copyright ownership and reuse, and am interested in the connections between information access, reading, and how they inspire new works of authorship and creativity.

What inspires you to write?

Such a good question! I’ve always loved the classic children’s book “Ferdinand the Bull” and often dreamed of being like Ferdinand sitting under the cork tree and watching the world around me. I think I have a penchant for solitude and a need to express and create, which is such a human activity. Those elements of my personality inspire me most to write and I also like the idea of reaching people through writing, conveying complex ideas in a succinct way.

What is your book about?

My latest book–Developing Authorship and Copyright Ownership Policies–is about bringing together the rules of copyright ownership with the ethics of authorship, especially group authorship. Team-based research and writing is on the rise and it has become too easy to either gift authorship to those who are not truly authors and also too common to ghost authors when they are legitimate authors. I wanted to provide practical, straightforward solutions to research groups, researchers, administrators, and publishers on how authorship works so we can have a more fair and just world of scholarship.

What’s it like to be an author at the U of U?

It’s great to be an author at the University of Utah! I have excellent resources (such as the library and a laptop with great software) and have the freedom and flexibility to schedule dedicated research and writing time. I hope everyone has similar experiences and opportunities at the U of U when it comes to writing and authorship.