The Problem With Facebook
A look at how Facebook increasingly filters the content you see, and how its business model is at odds with the needs of its users.
Who Can Rival Amazon?
Amazon is now the most important participant in the business of scholarly books, but it faces few threats. This post hypothesizes about where challenges to Amazon could come from.
Crowdsourcing Copyright Law in Europe
The European Union sets up a public consultation on copyright policies.
Not As Advertised — Why an Academic Analysis of Medical Journal Advertising Is Fatally Flawed
A study of journal advertising support in large, multi-specialty journals fails on many key fronts.
From USGS Library to ProQuest: an Interview with Richard Huffine on the US Public Access Program
Richard Huffine, former Director of Libraries for the US Geological Survey (USGS) and current Senior Director, U.S. Federal Government Market, at ProQuest speaks about public access policies.
Publishing Viewed from Santa's Crystal Ball
Some predictions about the future of scholarly publishing, which acknowledges the continuing central role of the major STM publishers.
History as Caution — When Paid Scientific Articles Were Legally Considered "Advertisements"
A strange trip down memory lane, when scientific articles funded by page charges were considered advertisements. Are we entering another era of “articles as advertising,” only this time without any limitations?
Indirect Economic Impacts of Public Access Policies for Journals
What happens to non-subscription revenue streams under funding agency public access policies? Will broadening access to articles result in higher subscription prices?
Estimating the Adverse Economic Impact of Imposed Embargoes
This is a research report, based on a grant from the American Society of Civil Engineers to explore the potential for adverse economic impact on journals from imposed public access embargoes
Announcing a University Press Research Project
This is an announcement of a university press research project, which includes a link to a survey we hope every book publisher will fill out. The project is sponsored by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The focus is on how university presses can sell books, both print and digital, directly from their Web sites. The project report will cover current practices and recommend courses of action.
A Brighter Future for the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences?
Journals in the arts, humanities and social sciences are often seen as the poor relations compared with their counterparts in science, technology, and medicine – but perhaps that is starting to change.
PubMed Central Revealed — Reviewing and Interpreting the Findings of a Surprising 2013
As requested, here is a summary of all the things found so far through the FOIA requests regarding PubMed Central — from eLife to BMC to JMLA to conflicts of interest to coverups. It’s quite a fetch.
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?
Getting Open Access Embargoes Right: Rational Policy Must Be Evidence-Based
A new study, out today, takes a broad look at the usage lives of scholarly journal articles. The information it contains is vital for achieving the balance necessary for Green OA policies to work.
What is Kudos? An Interview with David Sommer, Co-Founder
If there was a word of the year competition for Scholarly Publishing, #Altmetrics would be a favorite to win. David Sommer, co-founder and Director of Kudos discusses how this new service could offer usable measurements of the array of article promotion and influencing activities undertaken by scholars.