The Joy of Search: A Review
Users need training in the complexities of online search. A new book by Daniel Russell from MIT Press offers solid instruction in how to think about the search process.
Yes, We Can Provide Single Sign On and Protect Privacy at the Same Time — RA21 Moves to a Beta Phase
How can an authentication system be granular and protect privacy? @TAC_NISO describes RA21 and attribute release for single sign on systems and how it supports privacy.
Agile isn’t Always Cheaper, But it Should Mitigate Risk
A lot of people talk about Agile project management and how effective it can be. They also talk about how hard it is to get executive buy-in. The disconnect is caused by a lack of understanding of how Agile reduces risk.
Open Access Monographs: Building Better Infrastructure
Experimentation is key in supporting open access monographs. We’ve done the research and now it’s time to build a better user experience.
Guest Post — Low Cost Textbook Alternatives: Worth the Effort?
When a University of Utah professor grew frustrated with the slim textbook offerings available to students of Arabic, she turned to the library for help. The result was the collaborative creation of a new and radically cheaper text — that got much higher ratings from students than the old one had. How did we do it?
Isn’t Leakage Good for Libraries?
Leakage has strengthened libraries’ negotiating position with respect to content providers. The emerging syndication model syndication offers libraries the opportunity to provide dramatically improve the research experience for their users — with a number of risks as well, including the prospect of substantially reducing their leverage at the negotiating table.
Of Paywalls and Proxies: The Buzz about Access at ER&L 2019
This year’s ER&L conference was abuzz with the threats and solutions for digital access in libraries.
Content Platform Migrations Cause Headaches. Can We Avoid Some of the Pain?
Libraries and individual subscribers to journals have seen the problems that can occur when a publication moved or was sold from one publisher to another. Perhaps there would be an editorial change, leading to delayed issues. Perhaps all the subscription […]
Will Publishers Have Platforms?
Publishers are losing online traffic on their own platforms. What does this mean for the future of the publisher site and the hosted platform companies?
Ask The Chefs: The Future Form Of Scholarly Communication
With the changes afoot in scholarly communications practices, sentiment, and business models, the Chefs consider: What are we aiming for?
Mixed Realities, Virtual Reality, and Augmented Reality in Scholarly Publishing: An Interview with Markus Kaindl and Martijn Roelandse
Augmented reality is increasingly being used in scholarly publishing — in expected and unexpected ways. Learn how Springer Nature has been experimenting with it in this interview with their Senior Manager of Semantic Data, Markus Kaindl, and Head of Innovation, Martijn Roelandse.
Guest Post: Transforming the Research Paper into a Functional Tool
Code Ocean’s Pierre Montagano talks about expanding our concept of what the research article can offer.
Affordable Learning Requires a Diverse Approach, Part 1: Playing the Short Game (and the Long One) to Secure Savings for Students
The executive director of OhioLINK shares that consortium’s experience instituting a statewide “inclusive access” textbook program–and with the criticism that has come their way as a result. (Part 1 of 2.)
Will Publishers Syndicate Their Content?
Last week’s STM news raises questions about whether scholarly publishers are prepared to radically improve content distribution. Is content syndication the end game?
From Paywall to Datawall
Now, of course copyright owners of “free” resources have the right to set the terms of access. They can put up a datawall that demands the exchange of personal information (and thus enables data tracking, reporting, and maybe even aggregation with other datasets) for the otherwise free article. I wonder how far we will see this extend.