Connecting by Reading: A Selection of Books About Race and Racism, Part 1
Today’s post features several guest authors reviewing books on racism and anti-racism. When we read, we learn.
What Will We Learn About Scholarly Publishing as a Result of COVID-19?
In the coming months and years, we will have an opportunity to study the affects of the COVID pandemic on scholarly publishing. Angela Cochran explores questions related to the participation of women in scholarship, funding changes, resource issues, and the future of research enterprises.
Parenting School Aged Children Through a Pandemic
A group of Chefs reflects the struggles we are facing, and the lessons we are learning, about parenting during the pandemic.
Making a Plan When Planning Is Impossible
Travel bans, office closures, and conference cancellations have publishers and societies thinking about how best to ensure that scholarly content continues to be reviewed and distributed. This post by Angela Cochran looks at some of the impacts and questions whether this is the new normal.
Chefs’ Selections: The Best Books Read During 2019 Part 2
The beginning of the holiday season means it’s time for our annual list of our favorite books read during the year. Today brings Part 2 of the list.
Ramifications of the Downward Pressure on Pricing
Publishers of subscription and open access scholarly content are facing downward pressures on pricing. Angela Cochran explores some of the hidden costs associated with a professional publishing operation and asks whether some of the tasks currently done by publishers should be absorbed elsewhere.
Balancing Author Satisfaction with Reviewer Needs
Authors want their papers published quickly while also expecting high-quality reviews. Reviewers want reasonable deadlines. These two groups come from the same communities so why the disconnect? This post by Angela Cochran looks at the numbers and offers suggestions for closing the gap.
Editing is at the Heart of Scholarly Publishing
Invisible to most readers of scholarly content is the editing process. In this post, Angela Cochran and Karin Wulf explore the role and processes for journal editors from two very different disciplines– History and Civil Engineering.
Data Transparency and Civil Engineers
Civil Engineers rely on data from a multitude of sources. Angela Cochran shares what ASCE has learned in the process of setting up Data Availability Statements as well as insights from a recent Ithaka S+R study on the subject.
Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace
If ever there was a time for society publishers to start advocating for themselves, that time is now. In this post, Angela Cochran challenges society publishers to find their voice in affecting policy decisions that relate to their programs.
Plan S: A Mandate for Gold OA with Lots of Strings Attached
Plan S, Science Europe’s plan to accelerate open access, includes strict technical requirements that may be too costly or practical for some OA journals, platforms, and repositories. Chef Angela Cochran reviews the challenges of the requirements and posits that the plan is really about Gold OA.
Chefs’ Selections: The Best Books Read During 2018 Part 2
The beginning of the holiday season means it’s time for our annual list of our favorite books read during the year. Today brings Part 2 of the list.
Are Mirror Journals a Better Path to the Open Access Flip?
Mixing subscription content and open access content in hybrid journals has done little to accelerate the flip from subscription to OA. Angela Cochran explores the creation of mirror journals to comply with new OA mandates and supply a more sustainable model for moving toward OA.
Clowns to the Left of Me… Jokers to the Right: The Independent Publisher in an Age of Mergers and Acquisitions
With the news last week that Elsevier made another strategic purchase with the acquisition of Aries System, owner of Editorial Manager submission and peer review systems, Angela Cochran looks at what happens to societies and smaller publishers when the big competing publishers buy up the previously publisher agnostic service providers.
Paper Accepted…Unless the Letter Was Forged
A new kind of predator is taking advantage of unsuspecting authors. In this post, Angela Cochran discusses the forged acceptance letters received and what publishers can do to help authors avoid this costly and embarrassing pitfall.