Building a 21st Century Library
Another look at the fascinating evolution of the library.
The Size of the Open Access Market
A report from Simba Information tallies the total value of the open access marketplace, putting OA at 2.3% of the total market for STM journals. It documents as well, without comment, that more and more OA activity is the business of for-profit companies.
1,000 Years of Popular Music
A bit of underappreciated scholarship for your Friday entertainment.
Surprise, Surprise — The Web Turns Out to Be Too Persistent
The recent “right to be forgotten” case raises a corollary issue for scholarly publishers — are you managing your archives so that users have been given the “right to ignore”?
Quality and Relevance: A Matrix Model for Thinking about Scholarly Books and Libraries
Libraries do not have the luxury (or the mission) of selecting books solely based on their intrinsic quality. In order to do their work, the students and scholars served by the library need access to books that are highly relevant to their interests. How do the variables of quality and relevance interact with each other when it comes to library book purchasing?
The Editor — A Vital Role We Barely Talk About Anymore
An alien landing in the scholarly and scientific publishing world today, reading all the opinions about how to make things more efficient and effective, might be forgiven for thinking there are only authors, readers, librarians, and reviewers. After all, those […]
Coping With New Technology: Medieval Help Desk
Struggling to come to grips with the new Apple Watch or the latest Kindles? You’re not alone, and in fact, there’s a historical precedent.
Meet the New Economy of Letters, Same As the Old Economy of Letters
Last fall in the New Yorker, Jill Lapore bemoaned the current relationship between intellectuals and the general public, which she feels is “more vexed than ever” — in part because of a system that rewards academics for outrageousness and for lousy writing. Does she have a point?
Well, Blow Me Down — A Tale of Spinach, Citations, Nutrition, Epistemology, and Cognitive Ease
More and more studies are emerging showing how misdirecting and expanding citations can lead to long-term misconceptions and mistaken belief systems in the sciences.
Back to the Future with EPIC: The Evolving Personalized Information Construct
In 2004, two journalists imagined the impact of social participation would have on the news media.
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.