The Invisible World of Schlieren Photography
A primer on an imaging technique that lets us visualize the invisible forces that surround us.
I’m Pretty Sure I Remember That — False Memories
Do you remember when Darth Vader said, “Luke, I am your father”? Are you sure about that?
The World’s Largest Library
A quick tour of the Library of Congress’ collection of over 160 million items.
Continental Drift: The Power (and the Struggles) of an Outsider’s View in Science
A video highlighting the work of Alfred Wegener, an outsider to the world of geology, who discovered continental drift.
When the Wolf Finally Arrives: Big Deal Cancellations in North American Libraries
For years, we in libraries have been predicting the imminent demise of the manifestly-unsustainable Big Deal — and yet it has persisted. Now that may be changing.
The Woman Behind the World’s Oldest Library, and the Woman Who Led the Effort to Restore It
The world’s oldest library has been reopened, and this video explores the connection between its founder and the architect who restored it.
The Information Landscape — How Do We Tackle the Problems Caused by Silicon Valley?
Science’s historical progress can’t be assumed. It has to be reclaimed, re-established. That’s more difficult in a fragmented information space geared for extremism.
Sound Savings: The Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry
Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden walks us through this year’s entrants into the National Recording Registry.
The Velvet Underground & Nico: A Cultural Landmark Turns 50
Editor’s prerogative: the occasional piece of nostalgia to mark an important cultural anniversary, and so we celebrate 50 years of The Velvet Underground & Nico.
The Tyranny of Amusements — Science, Spectacle, and the Lowly PDF
Do scholarly and scientific publishers risk more than they realize when they embrace modern media spectacle and seek to marginalize the PDF?
The Origins of Numbers
A brief history of numbers.
Ancient (1992) Piece of Science Humor Discovered
One from the vaults — a well worn Xerox copy of the sort of humor scientists used to share back in the ancient days of the early 1990’s.
Monograph Output of American University Presses, 2009-2013
This is a report on the monograph output of American university presses. The report had the cooperation of 65 presses, which contributed their historical data to the project. The report shows the output of the presses and provides a more granular analysis by subject area and press size.
Journals and Politicians — A Marriage for Mutual Benefit? Or a Temporary Alignment of Interests?
President Obama has published three articles in six months in three of the world’s most prestigious scholarly journals. Is it appropriate? With these precedents, what happens when the politics of the President conflicts with the politics of science?
Welcome to the New Scholarly Kitchen
Welcome to our new website. Let us know what you think.