Darnton, Coppola, and the Impossibility of Free Information
“Free” is an illusion and an insult. All information we want costs money, and we as creators want it to cost money.
How Many Spaces After a Period?
What do you do? (a poll)
So You Want to Be An Academic Librarian? A Parody
The CHE features some of the parody videos about academic life, including this one about academic librarians.
When Fraud Hits Medical Science: The Decade of the Vaccine-Autism Scandal
Now that the vaccine-autism link has been shown to be based on a fraud, will ego continue to trump humility in the face of evidence?
Low-Hanging Fruit and the Re-Ordering of the Value Chain
As new business models emerge and funding sources change, can professional societies and not-for-profits respond? Or will they keep their heads buried in the sand?
Ben Goldacre: A Gift to Skepticism
An interesting and entertaining debunking of some obvious fluffs in medical science, with a chilling reminder of how libel laws in some countries can kill scientific discourse.
Nature's Foray Into Full Open Access Journals
When Nature goes head-to-head with PLoS, will non-profit society publishers take the hit?
Morality and Economics: Is a Trapdoor Opening Beneath Open Access?
With the economic benefits of open access open to reinterpretation, will the moral benefits prove sufficient to withstand the coming scrutiny? And will it all begin a race to the bottom?
Poor Comparison Leaves Darnton's Journal Price Jeremiad in Jambles
It’s time to abandon the library-as-victim narrative and write a new story.
Responding to One of Darnton's Three Jeremiads — the Google Books Settlement
An essay in the New York Review of Books about the Google Books Settlement is based on flawed reasoning. Here’s why.
The Decline Effect Postulate Fails to Find Its Theory
The truth isn’t disintegrating, but perhaps weaker or ad hoc theoretical frameworks are dissolving more quickly these days.
Michael's Pick for 2010: The Disruption (or Not) of Scientific Publishing
Why hasn’t scientific publishing been disrupted? The question created one of the year’s most-read posts.
Open Access Repositories Lack Trust — But Is Trust Really Necessary?
Should institutional open access repositories be run like journals?
Alix's Pick for 2010: Higher Education — Turning a Painful Reality Into a Thriving Digital Business
Image via Wikipedia Rather than choosing a “best” of my own posts, I’ve taken a step back to examine what I’ve written this year, in search of an article or theme upon which to expand. Surveying my 2010 contributions, main […]
Trouble Recruiting Peer-Reviewers? Blame Spam!
A problem in recruiting competent peer-reviewers may be the fault of email spam blockers, not the unwillingness of academics to review.