The Scholarly Kitchen
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Talking Sense — The Myth of “Job Creators,” and Why Taxing the Rich Helps Everyone, Including the Rich
The limits of tax breaks for the rich and the myth of “job creators” are examined in this excellent TED Talk. Continue reading
Signal Distortion — Why the Scholarly Communication Economy Is So Weird
Incomplete signals in the scholarly publishing marketplace create problems for every participant. What is the path forward? Continue reading
Turbulence at PLoS — Two Key Executives Leave in Apparent Haste, Chairman of eLife Named New CEO
More on the shake-up at PLoS — how rare these types of departures are, why a board might make such a move, and how unsatisfactory every scenario but the most obvious becomes once you begin to run scenarios. Continue reading
Redundant and Expensive – How F1000 Research’s Model Reveals the Root Problems of PubMed Central
More internal PubMed Central emails show quite clearly that PMC is wasting taxpayers’ money solving problems publishers have already solved. Continue reading
PLoS, Stakeholders, and Shareholders
PLoS has announced the departure of both its CEO and CFO, but has provided no explanation of what led to the management change. PLoS should explain the situation to all its shareholders. Continue reading
The Inexorable Path of the Professional Society Publisher
There is a predictable path for society publishers as they explore their options. Their programs may be under pressure today, leading many of them to seek alliances with large commercial firms, though many societies are unhappy to do so. Continue reading
It’s Not 1995 Again — Why the Threats from the New Big Players May Be Much More Significant This Time
Eighteen years ago, Mosaic ushered in the potential for a sea-change in publishing based on technological prowess and scale. Today, the “open” label covers a set of disparate incentives under a single blanket, one that funders, government, and technology companies are all under, each for its own reason. Continue reading
Fighting on Three Fronts — A Presentation to the Council of Scientific Society Presidents
A summary with slides of a presentation for the Council of Scientific Society Presidents (CSSP). The argument is that professional societies are now fighting on three fronts: with the new open access mandates, with the large commercial competitors, and sometimes internally when governance is an issue. Continue reading
Wolves and Sheep — What To Do Now That Venture Capitalists Are Stalking Scientific Publishing
The recent sale of Mendeley exposed surprisingly naive perspectives on the company’s clear and inherent goals. Other venture capital plays are afoot in scientific publishing and academia. When will we stop being the prey? Continue reading
Disruption Ain’t What It Used to Be
The journals business has not been disrupted and does not appear likely to be disrupted for some time. Journals publishers continue to dominate the institutional market and are seeking to coopt Gold OA services. Continue reading
Authors
The mission of the Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP) is "[t]o advance scholarly publishing and communication, and the professional development of its members through education, collaboration, and networking." SSP established The Scholarly Kitchen blog in February 2008 to keep SSP members and interested parties aware of new developments in publishing.
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The Scholarly Kitchen is a moderated and independent blog. Opinions on The Scholarly Kitchen are those of the authors. They are not necessarily those held by the Society for Scholarly Publishing nor by their respective employers.
