The “M” in STM Publishing
A new report from Simba Information analyzes the medical publishing segment, identifying the key companies and industry trends.
The Conversations We're Not Having — Overcoming Uncertainty, Chilling Effects, and Open Access Complacency
While open access remains a hot topic in our industry, we may not be discussing the most difficult aspects. Worse, OA proponents themselves may not be answering some of the questions that are now arising as a broader swath of academics, scientists, and administrators become aware of OA.
Are US Taxpayers the Primary Beneficiaries of the NIH Public Access Policy?
New evidence suggests that US taxpayers are not the major beneficiaries of the NIH Public Access Policy, and that even within the NIH, there has been some unease about the situation.
Scholarly Kitchen Podcast: Carol Tenopir on Time, Value, and Trust in Scholarly Communication
A conversation with information scientist Carol Tenopir.
Stick to Your Ribs: Science and Web 2.0: Talking About Science vs. Doing Science
Revisiting the subject of social media and scientific research–have we made much progress in the last few years?
Spoilers, Social Media Feeding Frenzies and the Need to Connect
Back in 2009, I wrote a post about the death of the television schedule. In the post, I discussed shelf life versus participation value for content, highlighting the rare entertainment events like sports that continue to offer a semblance of […]
Book Review — "The Entrepreneurial State: Debunking Public vs. Private Sector Myths"
A new book about the role of governments in long-term R&D and market-creation functions should send shockwaves through the political system over the coming decades. Fortunately, you can read it now.
The Kids Guide to the Internet
From 1997, everything you need to know about the internet.
Have We Forgotten Readers in Our Worries Over Access?
A long-term observation among physicians and their relationship with the scientific literature leads to thoughts about the risks we run with our increasing focus on authors and funders — the producers, not the consumers.
An Industry Pining for Bookstores
Publishing does not take place in a vacuum but in an ecosystem. The book business is changing not because of a preference for digital books but because physical bookstores are being removed from the ecosystem.
Antisocial in a Social World
Do we as publishers, societies and libraries understand how to grapple with the needs of academics with such a range of cultures?
For Libraries the Future Is a Foreign Country
A new essay by Rick Anderson proposes that libraries begin to focus more strongly on special collections and migrate away from the collection of commodity content. This would have a dramatic impact on the structure of the marketplace for scholarly materials and would be more disruptive than anything currently being bandied about. That may not be a bad thing.
Scholarly Kitchen Podcast: Scholarly Societies and the Search for Relevance
Scholarly Kitchen chef Alice Meadows discusses the challenges, and opportunities, for scientific societies in an Internet era.
Jaron Lanier Discusses Power Laws, Centralized Publishing, and the Social Perils of Free Information
An interview in IEEE Spectrum with Jaron Lanier touches on the perils of free information, including shrinking the information economy, creating a few powerful players, and providing the government free tools of power.
Dissertation Embargoes and the Rights of Scholars: AHA Smacks the Hornet's Nest
A recent statement by the American Historical Association is generating heated debate about the rights and best interests of junior scholars, the market dynamics for scholarly monographs, and the competing needs of publishers, libraries, authors, and readers.