Guest Post — A Look at the User-Centric Future of Academic Research Software — And Why It Matters, Part 1: Trends
Part 1 of a two-part look at the rapidly evolving research software space and how it is changing scholarly communication.
Why Scholarly Societies Are Vitally Important to the Academic Ecosystem
Robert Harington suggests that despite the critical role of scholarly societies in publishing and academia, the sad reality is it is the big corporate publishers who win.
The Research Data Sharing Business Landscape
Sharing research data is increasingly becoming a real business. Today, we provide an overview this landscape and highlight several recent announcements that may indicate future strategic prospects.
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.
What Do Statements of Support for California Tell Us About the Big Deal?
What do statements of support for UC reveal about open access publishing, institutional priorities, and the role of library-publisher contracts?
Guest Post: Cost per Use Overvalues Journal Subscriptions
Curtis Kendrick, Dean of Libraries at Binghamton University, raises questions about whether cost-per-use is the appropriate metric for measuring the comparative value of library subscriptions.
UC Davis Experiments with a New Textbook Model: An Interview with Jason Lorgan
An interview with Jason Lorgan, executive director of campus stores at @UCDavis, about the university’s innovative new textbook-affordability program.
Will Libraries Help Publishers Prop Up the Value of the Big Deal?
The value of the big deal has declined. Will libraries drive down its price — or help publishers prop up its value?
Ask The Chefs: Competition And Cooperation
How does scholarly communications benefit from coopetition, the cooperation of competitors? Come see what the Chefs said and tell us your thoughts!
Where is the Publication Puck Going? Making Research Available “Upstream” of Publication
Could scholarly publishers’ skills and capacity be re-positioned to serve researchers at earlier stages in the research process, “upstream” of publication? Charlie Rapple shares findings from a survey of the communications needs of almost 10,000 researchers.
Two New Initiatives at eLife To Start the Eisen Era
Michael Eisen’s bold visions for eLife emerge on Twitter. We consider two of his proposed initiatives.
Open Source for Scholarly Publishing: An Inventory and Analysis
Today, the MIT Press is issuing a new research report, Mind the Gap: A Landscape Analysis of Open Source Publishing Tools and Platforms. It provides an inventory of some 52 ongoing open source publishing initiatives and a thoughtful analysis of the open source community in publishing — tracking its development without shying away from its struggles.
Scholarly E-Books and University Presses – Part Two
The second of two posts on the roles of e-books in scholarly publishing, focused on how e-books fit into the mission and the business model of university presses and what that might mean for authors and readers.
A Case for Popularization: A Review of Rockonomics
Bringing the authority of the academy to a broad audience should be second only to original research itself, especially if the research community hopes to retain or even increase the public’s support for the esoteric work that goes on behind the laboratory walls.
Building for the Long Term: Why Business Strategies are Needed for Community-Owned Infrastructure
As community-owned and -led efforts to build scholarly communications infrastructure gain momentum, what can be done to help them achieve long term sustainability?