Revisiting: Theory of the E-book

Joe Esposito revisits his 2012 post on the unstated theory of the e-book, which assumes that a book consists only of its text and can be manipulated without regard to the nature and circumstances of its creation. This is only one theory of many, but it is now the prevailing one.

Popularizing Cosmology: The Example of Katie Mack

It also can be something of a trap for a well-intentioned academic who wants to write for this audience, as writing for the lay person is often contemptuously dismissed as “popularization.” Woe to the academic who puts an article from The Atlantic or a book from Simon & Schuster into her tenure portfolio! It takes courage. My view is that these brave souls should be called out and celebrated. They are my heroes.

Publishers Still Don’t Prioritize Researchers

The digital services provided by scholarly publishers and academic libraries still do not meet researchers’ needs. Roger Schonfeld notes that doing so would require far more profound change, not just at the level of user experience but in terms of rethinking existing businesses and organizational models.