The Half-life of Print
Popular discussion of the enduring popularity of print often obfuscate the business issues of managing a company that is transitioning from print to digital.
Emerging from the STM Meeting: 2015 Top Tech Trends
Each sector of the information community is aware of the likelihood that their role in the scholarly ecosystem will change over the next three to five years. Each sector’s perspective is just a bit different. Content providers in the STM world see the future unfolding this way.
Ethnography: A Scientist Discovers the Value of the Social Sciences
What do we mean by ethnographic research? In essence we are talking about a rich, multi-factorial descriptive approach. While quantitative research uses pre-existing categories in its analysis, qualitative research is open to new ways of categorizing data. We take a look at how we can use this technique to delve into the subtleties of online user behavior – a must for publishers and societies involved in new product development
Guest Post: Lettie Conrad on Understanding the Researcher Experience
Lettie Conrad discusses the emerging picture of how researchers work with the literature.
Version Control; or, What does it Mean to “Publish?”
The Oxford English Dictionary’s overarching definition of the transitive verb “publish” is “to make public.” An early use, dating to 1382 is “to prepare and issue copies of (a book, newspaper, piece of music, etc.).” This is probably how most […]
The Enduring Mystery of the Academic Book Market
New research on book publishing shows that ebook usage is growing and that the academic and professional segment is maturing, while still growing at a steady pace.
The Value in Attending Editorial Board Meetings
It is now conference season, which for me means lots and lots of editorial board meetings. The next swing comes in the fall when the fiscal year comes to a close. With 35 journals in the American Society of Civil […]
5 Million Public Domain Ebooks in HathiTrust: What Does This Mean?
The HathiTrust archive now contains 5 million digitized books that are in the public domain and are freely available to all. Do we recognize how significant that is?
Discovery Versus Filtering and Other Questions Raised by Data-driven Services
As we explore the new world of data-driven discovery tools, we must also examine their utility, their trustworthiness and what impact they may have on the creative process.
The Ubiquitous Bookstore
There is much discussion now about creating new online bookstores, especially for academic publishers. Some of these discussions, however, are not aligned with overarching trends on the Internet and risk creating something that appears to be out of date the moment it is launched.
Personalizing Discovery without Sacrificing Serendipity
A researcher’s core interests may be in a specific set of areas, but effective discovery also helps that researcher to stay aware of adjacent areas of interest or even potential areas of unknown interest. Personalized approaches to discovery can improve research efficiency without sacrificing serendipity.
Ask The Chefs: How Can We Improve the Article Review and Submission Process?
What’s wrong with peer review and article submission processes? What can publishers, authors, and reviewers do to improve the status quo?
SXSW Interactive 2015: More Relevant Than Ever
SXSW Interactive 2015. It may be over but its impact is not. Highlights from SX and reasons why Interactive is beneficial to everyone in publishing and communication.
Are We at a Tipping Point for Open Data?
The number of funding agencies asking researchers to make their data available is increasing and more than half of researchers globally are already doing so. With enforceable mandates finally starting to arrive, how long can we continue to think of the jury still being out on open data?
Copyright and Open Textbooks: The Case of Boundless
Boundless Textbooks used to offer free alternatives to popular and expensive college texts, using information available on the open Web. Then came the inevitable lawsuit, and an out-of-court settlement. What does the Boundless program look like now?