More Review Costs More — The Dynamics of a Complex and Varied Expense for Journals
Can peer review systems be run less expensively? Sure, if you eliminate major levels and elements of peer review.
You Won't Believe What People Are Doing With Their Pants at Kmart!
Kmart = hip? Of course, as they demonstrate taboos, when combined properly, can be funny and memorable.
Stick to Your Ribs: The Library With No Books In It
Editor’s Note: This post is being republished to coincide with the launch of the Digital Public Library.
Wolves and Sheep — What To Do Now That Venture Capitalists Are Stalking Scientific Publishing
The recent sale of Mendeley exposed surprisingly naive perspectives on the company’s clear and inherent goals. Other venture capital plays are afoot in scientific publishing and academia. When will we stop being the prey?
Stick to Your Ribs: Going Legit: The Difficult Path from Piracy to Partnership
Though social networking websites continue to proliferate, turning them into sustainable, revenue-generating businesses is still a difficult prospect. For sites based on the illegal distribution of copyrighted material, the process is even more difficult. Is it possible for a pirate to become a respected member of the business community?
Splitting the Difference — Does an Editorial Mutiny at a Journal Do Much Long-term Damage?
Editorial boycotts and declarations of independence generate a lot of heat, but what do the data say about the actual success of the new journals compared to the journals that were overthrown.
Look What Happens When Censorship Comes to a Familiar Street
When two innocents are censored inappropriately, hilarity ensues.
SSP Board Decides to Reinstate Removed Posts
The Board of the Society for Scholarly Publishing votes to restore disputed posts in order to stand for the organization’s core principles of discussion, freedom of expression, and welcoming all perspectives.
Librarians and Societies and Publishers – Oh My!
A meeting between librarians, publishers, and society leaders reveals common concerns and the ways in which roles are overlapping and mingling.
The Lens We Look Through — Are We All About Containers or What Goes Into Them?
An analysis of publishing costs continues the theme of accountability and transparency, but perhaps focuses too much on the containers of information rather than how and why the containers are filled in the first place.
Library Group Reveals Failed Plans for Free Romance Site — eLove
A library group reveals that its plans to launch an open access romance portal have fallen through.
Posts Removed Because We've Received Letters From Edwin Mellen Press' Attorney
We have received letters from the attorney for Edwin Mellen Press, and have removed two posts as a result. We have reproduced the letters here.
Another Door Opens (Quietly) for MOOCs
Recent initiatives around MOOCs, if successful, may open a completely new chapter in the history of colleges and universities. It’s hard to see what serious roadblocks remain.
"By Scientists, For Scientists" — Deconstructing a Misguided, Misleading, and Thoughtless Cliché
A common marketing cliche turns out to be empty of anything but rhetorical power when examined more carefully.
Federal Research Funding and the Unwillingness to Cut Bait
Recent austerity measures have shone a light on the need to make choices. Can professionals in academia discriminate between more valuable and less valuable activities in the same manner?