Edwin Mellen Press Ends Its Lawsuit Against Librarian
The last remaining lawsuit brought by Edwin Mellen Press founder Herbert Richardson against librarian Dale Askey has now reportedly been settled.
Our Surveillance Society: If Only We'd Listened to Jim Rockford
James Garner’s television detective warned us about Google and Facebook way back in 1978. If only we’d listened…
Ask The Chefs: What Do You Think Will Have The Biggest Impact On Scholarly Publishing In 2015?
2015 has already started with a bang and we think there’s more to come, as you’ll see from the Chef’s responses to the question: What do you think will have the biggest impact on scholarly publishing in 2015?
When Is a Feature a Product, and a Product a Business?
Publishers have to distinguish between features, products, and businesses. Not all features can become full-fledged businesses. Sometimes the best business case for a feature is to link it to an established business, where it adds value to assets that are already in place.
Going APE — Thoughts and Insights with a European Perspective
The Academic Publishing in Europe (APE) meeting in Europe is 10 years old, but feels as fresh and frisky as some of the meetings in the US used to. This report touches on some of the most interesting threads of two days’ worth of interesting presentations and conversations.
Big Sister: Some Beneficial Aspects of Collecting User Data
The collection of end-user data is going to become more important for all publishers and may serve to describe those publishers that will be most successful in the coming years. Although data-collection is often thought to be a malignant instance of “Big Brotherism,” it may in fact be benign when implemented thoughtfully.
University of California Press Introduces New Open Access Publishing Programs
The University of California Press has announced two new open access publishing initiatives, one a monographs program and the other an OA mega journal. Here UCP director Alison Mudditt answers some questions posed by the Kitchen about these new initiatives.
Macmillan + Springer: Some Lessons to Learn, Some Twists to Watch
The merger of Macmillan and Springer holds many lessons and some interesting twists. More than anything, it indicates a future in which scale continues to confer advantages.
The New Cluetrain — A Barometer for What Has Changed in the Last 15 Years
Fifteen years later, the authors of the “Cluetrain Manifesto” attempt a relevant update, with 112 new “clues.” Yet, they miss the biggest clue of all — the Internet is no longer sacred and its users know it.
Birds Do It, Bees Do It
We are likely to see increased mergers and acquisitions activity in the publishing world this year, and scholarly publishing is not exempt from this. There are many reasons for this, including such fundamental factors as low interest rates, but one reason is the growth of open access mandates from funding agencies, which is disrupting the way many organizations do business.
Is Google Now a Publisher Offering Other Publishers an Inadequate Deal?
A Spanish court’s decision around Google News suggests that the barter arrangement with Google and other general search engines — in which they pay nothing to license our content — may have a more viable financial future.
Making a Case for Open Access
Some professional societies need to be persuaded that open access publishing may be in their interest. The best way to do this is to provide data on the publishing ecosystem, including such things as the number of articles of interest to a society that appear in other venues and the practical implications of not having an OA option for prospective authors.
The Incubator Game: A Conversation with Timo Hannay – Managing Director of Digital Science
In this article we take a look at the start-up incubation business of Digital Science. Robert Harington acts as your unreliable narrator through a revealing conversation with Timo Hannay, Managing Director of Digital Science.
Cyberwar and Cyberterror — New and Unwelcome Companions in Publishing and Culture
The emerging spectre of cyberwar and cyberterror has real implications for academic and scientific publishers, who already deal with the side effects and may become targets in the future.
Stick To Your Ribs: A Library Card Under the Christmas Tree
Revisiting a holiday classic: ‘Twas the month before Christmas, and by listening hard, you can hear Joe Esposito yearn for a library card. The reasons are simple, yet give publishers pause. No wonder Joe’s only hope is with Santa Claus.