Good Data, Bad Data, You Know I’ve Had My Share: Library Book Acquisition Patterns
We have had assumptions about the academic book market that probably are just not true.
Hipster Antitrust and Structural Dominance — What Is a Monopoly Now?
Calling something a “monopoly” has been misleading in many cases, but the new economy may require a complete rethinking of the anti-competitiveness created by intermediaries at scale.
The Core vs. the Crowd — Why Barriers to Entry May Help Restore Trust
A history of the rise of coercive media suggests that raising barriers to entry may be a remedy. Could a business model shift do most of the work for us?
Counting the Holes in the Swiss Cheese: “Read and Publish” Discovers America
The read-and-publish business model has been introduced to the U.S. by MIT and the Royal Society of Chemistry. It has implications for publishers, however, that must be studied carefully.
Guest Post: GDPR Day Is Here – What Happens Next?
Organizations have been busy sending out opt-in notices and privacy policy updates, but how many will be “compliant”? Anne Stone discusses the consequences for innovation in scientific research, openness initiatives and data transparency.
Why Was Springer Nature’s IPO Withdrawn?
In Springer Nature’s “botched” IPO, did the market see it as one of the publishers at risk of being left behind by real innovation in scholarly communication and research workflow?
Guest Post: From Supermarkets to Marketplaces — The Evolution of the Open Access Ecosystem
Sven Fund from Knowledge Unlatched talks about new approaches needed to drive open access progress.
Publishing Continues to Outperform Perception
Publishers have shown themselves to be resourceful, navigating troubled waters to growth and profitability.
Recurring Dream — Organizations with Subscriptions Are More Valuable
Even Silicon Valley is finding that recurring revenues (aka, subscriptions) lead to more valuable businesses, while helping smaller companies thrive.
Is Copyright Piracy Morally Wrong or Merely Illegal? The Malum Prohibitum/Malum in Se Conundrum
Is copyright infringement malum prohibitum (wrong only because it’s prohibited) or malum in se (morally wrong in and of itself)? Interestingly, scholcomm commentators and legal reference materials often characterize it as the former–while both statute and case law treat it like the latter, classifying it as “property theft” and regularly awarding its victims both statutory and punitive damages.
Why Don’t Societies Simply Sell off Their Publishing Assets?
Society publishers resist the sale of their publications to bidders from the commercial world because they view the publications as a central component of the society itself.
The Race to the Bottom — Short-term Bargains versus Long-term Vitality
Haggling for cheaper content today will certainly have hidden and unpleasant costs — large and small — down the road.
Interview: Keith Marmer, AVP & ED for Technology & Venture Commercialization at the University of Utah
How can secrecy and openness most productively coexist when it comes to the intellectual property of universities and their research faculty? Some thoughts from the new vice president for technology and venture commercialization at a Tier 1 research university.
Can Blockchain Withstand Skepticism? An Inquiry
The buzz around blockchain is mounting. But does it fit with scholarly publishing’s incentives and practices?
Is #DeleteFacebook Going to Change Academic Life and Scholarly Publishing?
What might the recent backlash to revelations about how Facebook was exploited mean for the scholarly ecosystem?