Book Review — Along Came Google: A History of Library Digitization
In 2014, Google created a disruption for both libraries (and publishers) with its digitization activities. Where do things stand now? What’s needed to move forward?
Revisiting: Theory of the E-book
Joe Esposito revisits his 2012 post on the unstated theory of the e-book, which assumes that a book consists only of its text and can be manipulated without regard to the nature and circumstances of its creation. This is only one theory of many, but it is now the prevailing one.
Popularizing Cosmology: The Example of Katie Mack
It also can be something of a trap for a well-intentioned academic who wants to write for this audience, as writing for the lay person is often contemptuously dismissed as “popularization.” Woe to the academic who puts an article from The Atlantic or a book from Simon & Schuster into her tenure portfolio! It takes courage. My view is that these brave souls should be called out and celebrated. They are my heroes.
Pearson Launches a Comprehensive Textbook Solution for Students. What Are Its Prospects?
Pearson is offering online access to its entire textbook collection for $15 a month. Will students go for it?
Book Wars: The Digital Revolution in Publishing
This substantive work from John B. Thompson provides a historical overview and analysis of technological and legal challenges to publishing practices in the 21st century.
Happy Birthday to the eBook!
On July 4, 1971 Michael Hart posted the first ebook file on the ARPANET and transformed content distribution.
A Media Empire for the (Public) Library? OverDrive Acquires Kanopy
Danielle Cooper and Roger Schonfeld analyze OverDrive’s purchase of the streaming video platform Kanopy.
Revisiting: Dear Reader, Are You Reading?
What does it actually mean to read digitally? Revisiting a 2018 post in light of the ongoing, pandemic-fueled drive to digital.
Guest Post — “Leave the Party While You’re Having Fun”: An Interview with Suzanne BeDell upon her Retirement
Simon Holt interviews Suzanne BeDell, Managing Director of Elsevier’s Education and Reference content, which encompasses Elsevier’s books business, upon her retirement.
Guest Post — Scaffolding a Shift to a Values-driven Open Books Ecosystem
Emily Farrell from MIT Press discusses how collective open book models offer a chance to help many stakeholders across academic publishing share expertise to make processes easier, costs lower, and access to knowledge more collaborative.
Guest Post — Library Vendor Platforms Need a Strategic Reboot to Meet Librarian Curriculum Development Needs
David Parker looks at platform strategy for supporting learning and curriculum development.
Guest Post — Building an Easier Path Toward Open Access Book Publishing: Support for Authors
Christina Emery presents an updated overview of the open access books landscape and examines the challenges of open access book publishing according to feedback from authors and researchers, plus what support is available to them.
The Super Bowl Ad We Really Wanted to See
Stephen Colbert offers a Super Bowl advertisement for a local independent bookstore.
Revisiting Nicholson Baker and Retention of Print
Scholars are anxious about what materials will be preserved and made accessible. Whose priorities come first?
Pandemic Perspectives: Updating Talking About — and Maybe Even Selling — Books in a Pandemic
What have we learned over the course of the COVID pandemic? Our authors revisit earlier posts with updates, now that we have a longer view. First, Karin Wulf revisits her post on selling books in a pandemic.