The Faculty's Role in Patron-driven Acquisitions
As patron-driven acquisitions (PDA) becomes more widespread, the question arises as to the role of faculty in developing these plans.
Experiments in Free Education: The Audacity of Udacity
A new education initiative seeks to shift students away from academia. Is this the shape of things to come?
Ask the Chefs: "How Do You See the Economy Factoring Into Publishing Decisions These Days?"
Economic pressures are driving change. The Chefs weigh in on the options, and clearly believe that while times are challenging, the best course is to keep moving ahead.
Grumpy Old Men — Franzen, Sendak, Permanence, Capitalists, and E-books
Authors sound off about e-books, revealing both a misunderstanding of publishing but also of how their interests and capitalist interests align.
Mysteries of the Elsevier Boycott
The Elsevier boycott puts a target on one company, but for no clear reason when you look harder at the facts, and the demands aren’t clear. Just what kind of boycott is this?
The Elsevier Boycott — Does It Make Sense?
The boycott of Elsevier may have unintended consequences for smaller not-for-profits, scientists in smaller domains, and accessibility overall. And examples of solutions don’t look like solutions once you understand them a bit better.
Apple and Textbooks: A Second Look
Apple’s move into the education market may be just a bare-knuckled move designed to sell more iPads. Does Apple truly support the education market? Or is it hoping the education market will support Apple?
Rediscovering Discovery — How We Find Things, and Its Implications
A recent ALA panel on discovery prompts some musings about the direction that local search will take and the likelihood that one vendor will control access to almost all library collections.
Chart of the Day: How Science Stacks Up in the US Budget
Chart of the Day: How Science Stacks Up in the US Budget — from an Atlantic article entitled, “The Innovation Nation vs. the Warfare-Welfare State“:
The End of the Salad Days — Where Is Google Headed Next?
Google once represented the spirit of Internet optimism distilled into a successful company. Now, with more cynical plays and shuttering experiments, what does Google’s new approach tell us about the Internet of tomorrow?
Why E-books Are Turning the Library and Publishing Worlds Upside Down
Old intersections of libraries and book publishers don’t work in the e-book era, and the rapid adoption of e-readers has shown that new bargains are inevitable. Whether libraries and publishers belong together in that future isn’t clear.
The Four-step Program to an Academic Web Site
Academic publishers that are seeking to enhance their consumer-facing Web sites should follow these four steps and be sure to anchor the site in the company’s strategy.
The Research Works Act: Is It Time For a Rally To Restore Sanity?
When it comes to discussions about access, the silent majority focused on doing science is presented with real choices, not all of which square with the scorched-earth rhetoric that too often dominates.
A First Take on Apple's New Education Tools
Some early thoughts on Apple’s recent announcement for tools for developing educational content. It’s not about the product; it’s a game of platform wars.
The Hidden Expense of Energy — Print Is Costly, Online Isn't Free
How many joules does it take to get a journal out? A small, quick study suggests that print consumes much more energy than online, but shows that online is far from free, with energy its main variable cost.