Oxford Commas to Perform at ALA Meeting
Something to look forward to at this year’s ALA meeting.
CC-BY, Copyright, and Stolen Advocacy
Even with the protections of traditional copyright, an author may lose control of his original work and see it misappropriated and used for hateful ends. So is it any wonder that many authors have concerns about being required to publish under CC-BY?
What Library Directors Are Thinking: An Ithaka S+R Survey Report
Ithaka S+R has just published the latest in its ongoing series of triennial library director surveys, and its findings are interesting and, in some ways, sobering.
Rick Anderson at the Smithsonian: "Is a Rational Discussion of Open Access Possible?"
A video of Rick Anderson’s recent talk at the Smithsonian, on why it’s so hard to have conversations about open access that don’t devolve into shouting matches and accusations of bad faith
Occam's Reader: An Interview
Interlibrary loan is a complex and difficult issue in the realm of ebooks. A new tool called Occam’s Reader hopes to simplify the process for libraries, provide better service to users, and reassure publishers worried about rights management.
The Scam, the Sting, and the Reaction: Labbé, Bohannon, Sokal
Editors keep allowing nonsense and gibberish to be published in their journals and conference proceedings. How many exposés and sting operations will it take before scholarly publishing begins effectively to police itself?
Errors and Misinformation in the ROARMAP Open Access Registry
A particularly pervasive type of error in the ROARMAP registry seems designed to give the impression that many institutional OA policies are more mandatory than they really are. What purpose does this serve?
Open Access Mandates and Open Access "Mandates"
When does it make sense to call an Open Access policy a “mandate” — and when does it constitute unhelpful exaggeration?
Crowdsourcing Copyright Law in Europe
The European Union sets up a public consultation on copyright policies.
The Future (?) of the Scholarly (?) Monograph (?)
As the scholarly communication environment changes, so does the monograph–and the nature of scholarship itself. A few years from now, what will these terms even mean?
Whose Dissertation Is It, Anyway?
Another association of historians has recommended that students be allowed to impose limited embargoes on their dissertations. And so the question arises again: whose work is the dissertation, and who should control it?
An Anonymous Challenge to the Copyright Clearance Center
A somewhat strange anonymous letter raises questions, both intentional and unintentional, about the Copyright Clearance Center.
Google Books Lawsuit Dismissed: "All Society Benefits," Says Judge Chin
In a decision that may have deep and wide-ranging implications for the publishing industry and for future applications of the fair use doctrine, Judge Denny Chin has dismissed the Authors Guild’s eight-year-old lawsuit against Google over its Google Books project.
MOOCs and the Cycle of Hype
Thoughts on the future of the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC).
Online Information, Ebooks, and Moral Panic
Why do ebooks—and e-information generally—cause such teeth-grinding rage and rhetorical hysteria in some people?