Researcher to Reader (R2R) Debate: Is Sci-Hub Good or Bad for Scholarly Communication?
Transcript of a debate held at the 2019 Researcher to Reader Conference, on the resolution “Sci-Hub Does More Good Than Harm to Scholarly Communication.”
Guest Post — The Dissertation Publication Requirement: It’s Time for Reexamination
Guest author Rob Schlesinger encourages a rethink of the common requirement that graduate students publish their dissertations.
Guest Post — Low Cost Textbook Alternatives: Worth the Effort?
When a University of Utah professor grew frustrated with the slim textbook offerings available to students of Arabic, she turned to the library for help. The result was the collaborative creation of a new and radically cheaper text — that got much higher ratings from students than the old one had. How did we do it?
Isn’t Leakage Good for Libraries?
Leakage has strengthened libraries’ negotiating position with respect to content providers. The emerging syndication model syndication offers libraries the opportunity to provide dramatically improve the research experience for their users — with a number of risks as well, including the prospect of substantially reducing their leverage at the negotiating table.
Strategic and Non-strategic Society Publishing
Many society publishers, concerned about the disruptive implications, of Plan S, are nervously considering selling off their publishing assets.
Revisiting: Governance and the Not-for-profit Publisher
How can not-for-profit organizations outcompete their commercial rivals? Revisiting Joe Esposito’s 2011 post that lays out a blueprint for success.
Content Platform Migrations Cause Headaches. Can We Avoid Some of the Pain?
Libraries and individual subscribers to journals have seen the problems that can occur when a publication moved or was sold from one publisher to another. Perhaps there would be an editorial change, leading to delayed issues. Perhaps all the subscription […]
Building an Effective Board
Ever felt frustrated with your governing board? Although the board may not be of your design, there’s still much you can do to shape an effective board that truly adds value to execution of your business strategy and mission. Read on to find out how!
Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Baffling Funder Mandate
Famed detective Sherlock Holmes does his best to help his friend Dr. Watson figure out how best to comply with the requirements of Plan S.
The Double-bind Theory of Scholarly Publishing
What the public wants is better science, not open science. Plan S has put those two forces in conflict, and it is driving everybody crazy.
Poor Financials Pushes PLOS To Ponder Future Prospects
PLOS’ latest financial report depicts an organization trying to reinvent itself, focusing less on disruption and innovation and more on efficiency and collaboration.
An Introduction to Branding
What do we mean by “branding”? Ten quick tips.
Guest Post — The Academic Market in China: An Overview
Consultant Tao Tao offers an overview of the Chinese academic market. Where should you be concentrating your efforts?
Upstreaming: The Migration of Economic Value in Scholarly Publishing
As publishers increasingly lose control of the final stage of the publishing process, they are looking elsewhere to extract economic value. They are finding it upstream, in the various linked processes that lead to the (erstwhile) final document.
The Coming Wave of Affordable Textbooks
At the Charleston conference this year, a panel on the library’s role in providing affordable textbooks showed the way to great savings and innovation in instructional materials.