Consolidation in Academic Publishing Has a New Target
Research publishers may acquire textbook publishers in order to increase market share in libraries with inclusive access programs
An Open Letter to the AAUP: Faculty Authors and “Full Freedom in Publication”
In 1940, the AAUP published a Statement on Academic Freedom. In 2018, it’s time for it to be updated–and some items clarified.
Fixing Instead of Breaking, Part Three — Blockchain, RA21, Privacy, and Trust
We continue to battle the tidal wave of data with a bucket brigade of individual privacy settings. Maybe it’s time to pause and consider a state-level solution, ala Estonia.
Evaluating Open Access Programs
It often seems that it is taken for granted that open access will accelerate scientific discovery, but how would we evaluate this? Do we even know that it is true?
Badges? We Don’t Need No Stinking Preprint Badges!
By incorporating post-publication validation badges into preprints, bioRxiv begins to transform itself from a preprint server into a publishing platform.
Breaking the Silence: the #MeToo Moment in Scholarly Communication
We have all been shocked and disgusted by painful stories of harassment over recent months, so why have we heard nothing from our own industry? As many can attest, sexual harassment is just as real and pervasive in scholarly communication as elsewhere. It’s time for us to own this and to begin working together to eradicate this behavior for the next generation of women.
Stage Two Disruption in Scholarly Communications
Popular opinion to the contrary, scholarly publishing has not been disrupted. But only superior management can navigate the many challenges ahead.
Fixing Instead of Breaking, Part Two — The Subscription Model
Business models that exploit vulnerabilities are unfair. Can a model that aligns producer and consumers help fix the Internet?
Fixing Instead of Breaking, Part One — Open Citations
With so much broken by the Internet, we may be moving into a mode of fixing things. Are open citations part of the solution, or more of the problem?
Algorithms Are Opinions Embedded in Code
Would an AI-driven peer review system improve objectivity? Cathy O’Neil, author of Weapons of Math Destruction explains the biases and subjectivity inherent in algorithms.
Countering the Über-Brands: The Case for the Megajournal
Many column inches – right here in the Scholarly Kitchen as well as elsewhere – have been expended on the megajournal and its successes and (perhaps more often), failures. But how might megajournals support the very real need for action to improve the transparency, reproducibility and efficiency of scientific research?
Book Review: “Technically Wrong,” by Sara Wachter-Boettcher
A new book explores how biases and broken systems get built into technology products and platforms.
Why Elsevier is a Library’s Best Friend
Elsevier is often thought to the be enemy of libraries, but Elsevier’s practices have in fact improved libraries’ situation, including lowering the prices for scientific article.
Napster vs. Record Labels, Sci-Hub vs. Publishers, Part 2: Differences
The challenges posed to record labels by Napster in the late 1990s and early 2000s resemble those posed by Sci-Hub to scholarly publishers today. But which of those resemblances are real, and which are misleading?
Napster vs. Record Labels, Sci-Hub vs. Publishers, Part 1: Parallels
The challenges posed to record labels by Napster in the late 1990s and early 2000s resemble those posed by Sci-Hub to scholarly publishers today. But which of those resemblances are real, and which are misleading?