Scholarly Communication — Can We Have Our Name Back?
How did “scholarly communication” become equated with open access advocacy? Is its misuse ultimately self-defeating?
The New Economics of the University Press — A Report from the AAUP
A report by the AAUP outlines the business models available to university presses and makes a case for ongoing subsidies by parent institutions.
The Upcoming Must-See Documentary — Bad Writing
How can you make a movie about why some writing is good, some bad? This trailer makes it seem not only possible, but interesting.
Prices, Models, and Fairness: A (Partly) Imaginary Phone Conversation
[Phone rings.] Librarian: Hello? Sales Rep: Hello! Robert from Acme Scholarly Journals here. As you know, for the past year we’ve been working on a new pricing model for our journal package, and now that it’s ready my boss and […]
The Digitized Book Corpus and the Cracking Dam
A new report from OCLC underscores how much water is already over, and how fragile the foundation has become.
Smarter Metadata — Aiding Discovery in Next Generation E-book and E-journal Gateways
For scholars to excel in the information age, technology needs to learn to learn. Perhaps highly specialized humans can help.
Gladwell Tackles College Rankings: The Perils of Comprehensive Heterogeneous Systems
Why do smart people continue to seek simple rank-order listings of inherently complex phenomena?
How Many Spaces After a Period?
What do you do? (a poll)
Wikipedia Turns 10 — Let's Celebrate It!
Wikipedia’s 10th anniversary must be acknowledged, and its seismic, worldwide redefinition of the reference work recognized.
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.
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 […]
A Concise Guide to Giving a Great PowerPoint Presentation
What better way to show how to make a great PowerPoint than with PowerPoint examples?
Britain Has Sneezed: Will the U.S. Catch a Cold?
Britain’s response to economic hard times might infect the US higher education system, and lead to major cuts in the humanities and social sciences.
Science Cheerleaders Break Down Stereotypes
When watching football on Thanksgiving, remember that those cheerleaders might have more to offer than pulchritude.