Stick To Your Ribs: The Impact Factor’s Greatest Hits (and Misses)
Yesterday saw the release of the 2013 Impact Factors for scholarly journals. We present a look back at some favorite posts examining the Impact Factor.
How Important Are University Press Books to the Library? One Case Study
How much of the book usage in a research library collection involves books from university presses? Findings from this case study suggests that the answers are complex and, to some degree, suprising.
The Importance of Funding Basic Science Research
FASEB’s Stand Up For Science competition winner brings perspective to the question of why we need to fund basic research.
2001 (Posts, and counting…)
The Scholarly Kitchen reaches a numerical milestone.
Stories of Tech Failure: The PicturePhone
A fascinating look at a failed technology from 1964, and what it might have become.
The Journal Redesign — More Complicated, More Costly, and More Strategic Than Ever
Journal redesigns seem to be occurring more frequently — and are certainly more complex — than in the past. What motivates a publisher and editor to undertake a redesign? And why is it so complex, costly, and strategic today?
How Important Are Library Sales to the University Press? One Case Study
A study of sales data for 2012 imprints from the University of Chicago Press offers tantalizing hints about the importance (or lack thereof) of library sales to university presses — particularly with regard to scholarly monographs.
This Just In from the 1990s — We’re Doomed, Doomed, Doomed, Sayeth the Editor of VentureBeat
A Silicon Valley journalist has seen open access and deemed it disruptive. He’s 15+ years and scads of evidence behind the times, as we enter the post-disruption era.
University Presses: "Under Fire" or Just Under the Gun (Like the Rest of Us)?
Are university presses really “under fire,” or are they simply experiencing the natural consequences of doing the wrong things at the wrong time in a marketplace that has evolved away from them?
Happy Anniversary: 50 Years of the Science Citation Index
This week marks the golden anniversary of the Science Citation Index, introduced by Eugene Garfield in 1964.
What Is A Photocopier?
A reenactment of a legal deposition transcript offers some absurdity for your Friday.
Balloons, Cleveland and Chaos
A visual treat for your Friday, plus a cautionary tale regarding unintended consequences.
You Are Old: Kids React to a Walkman
Who knew the changing face of technology could be so painful…
Public Access to Public Books: The Case of the National Trust
The UK’s National Trust owns 140 libraries containing hundreds of thousands of volumes, many of them in the public domain. What would it take to make those books available to the public that owns them?
What Library Directors Are Thinking: An Ithaka S+R Survey Report
Ithaka S+R has just published the latest in its ongoing series of triennial library director surveys, and its findings are interesting and, in some ways, sobering.