The Race to the Bottom — Short-term Bargains versus Long-term Vitality
Haggling for cheaper content today will certainly have hidden and unpleasant costs — large and small — down the road.
FBI Indicts Nine Iranians in a Massive Scheme to Target Academic Credentials and Steal Content
At a press conference on Friday last week, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) unsealed indictments of nine Iranian citizens. This sentence is an odd way to start a Scholarly Kitchen post, admittedly. What makes this case interesting to […]
Consolidation in Academic Publishing Has a New Target
Research publishers may acquire textbook publishers in order to increase market share in libraries with inclusive access programs
Guest Post: Institutional Alignment: The University Press Redux
A conference at the British Library provides ample evidence of the breadth of the university press sector and the absolute necessity of a clear institutional mission.
Myth Busting: Five Commonly Held Misconceptions About RA21 (and One Rumor Confirmed)
RA21 aims to promote a modern, standards-based access management system that preserves patron privacy & control. It is important to dispel some myths about RA21 so we can move on from the outdated world of IP-authentication.
Focusing on Value — 102 Things Journal Publishers Do (2018 Update)
In this update, the focus shifts to the value journal publishers offer, and who benefits.
Fixing Instead of Breaking, Part Two — The Subscription Model
Business models that exploit vulnerabilities are unfair. Can a model that aligns producer and consumers help fix the Internet?
The Varieties of Lock-in in Scholarly Communications
There are various ways that customers get locked in to services in scholarly communications. These methods are longed for by publishers and disliked by customers, but they naturally emerge as a part of the economy.
What Will You Do When They Come for Your Proxy Server?
RA21 aims to replace IP address authentication (and proxy servers) with federated identity authentication – but have we thought through the implications?
Why Elsevier is a Library’s Best Friend
Elsevier is often thought to the be enemy of libraries, but Elsevier’s practices have in fact improved libraries’ situation, including lowering the prices for scientific article.
Discovery Should Be Delivery: User-Centric Principles for Discovery as a Service
Library discovery can only succeed in reaching a high market share if it is intensely user-centered. Articulating user-centric principles for discovery has enabled the University Library to Illinois to evolve a discovery environment that meets the needs of its community of users.
Guest Post — Does ResearchGate Emerge Unscathed, or Even Strengthened?
Librarian Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe offers thoughts on where the ongoing clash between scholarly publishers and ResearchGate may end up.
Retirement Wave To Hit Academic Librarianship
Like other greying professions, demographic data for ARL libraries warn us of a breaking wave of retirements but may paint an unrealistic picture of what the beach will look like after the surf has settled.
Knowledge Unlatched Announces Transformation: An Interview with Sven Fund
Knowledge Unlatched has announced its “transformation into a central open access platform.” What does that mean, exactly? An interview with Managing Director Sven Fund.
Publishing the 23andMe Way, Part Two: The New Data Publishing Business
23andMe presents an interesting model for STM publishers on how to enter a new and lucrative market for data publishing.