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.
The Scam, the Sting, and the Reaction: Labbé, Bohannon, Sokal
Editors keep allowing nonsense and gibberish to be published in their journals and conference proceedings. How many exposés and sting operations will it take before scholarly publishing begins effectively to police itself?
Book Review — "David and Goliath" by Malcolm Gladwell
Despite the feeling that the factory has turned out just another from the same template, Gladwell’s new book turns out to be refreshing, surprising, and thought-provoking.
Intellectual Sprawl — The Importance of Constraints on Authors and Other Creators
A contemplation of constraints — how some have vanished, how others are needed, how new ones are emerging, and the benefits constraints deliver.
Taking Stock In the Kitchen: A Look Back at 2013
A look back at 2013 in The Scholarly Kitchen.
The Future (?) of the Scholarly (?) Monograph (?)
As the scholarly communication environment changes, so does the monograph–and the nature of scholarship itself. A few years from now, what will these terms even mean?
Whose Dissertation Is It, Anyway?
Another association of historians has recommended that students be allowed to impose limited embargoes on their dissertations. And so the question arises again: whose work is the dissertation, and who should control it?
Stage Five Book Publishing: A Guide for University Presses
The five stages of book publishing outlined here describe the arc as publishers move from the traditional model (where print books were sold mostly in bookstores and to libraries) through a range of developments using online media, culminating in new forms of subscription marketing.
The Evolution of Digital Publishing and its Formats
A video detailing the evolution of digital publishing, and the enduring popularity of the PDF.
Copyright in a Digital Era: The Rise and Rise of CCC
What is the role of the Copyright Clearance Center in a digital age?
Tell Us About the Old Days Grandpa: Video Rental Stores
A nostalgic look back in the wake of the shutdown of Blockbuster Video.
The Making of a Book, 1925
A set of short films illustrating the state of the art in publishing technology, circa 1925.