Airplane Boarding: The Fastest Way to Get on Your Way
What’s the fastest way to load passengers on an airplane?
Back to Basics: When in Doubt, Get Fundamental
Flashy new technologies come and go, but getting back to basics is a reminder that the “killer app” is high-quality content, composed in accordance with established standards for discoverability and accessibility.
A Rare Shared Cultural Experience and the Value of Inconvenience
When was the last time everyone you knew experienced the same piece of culture at the same time? Is the age of shared cultural experiences over?
Why are Librarians Concerned about GetFTR?
Some were surprised GetFTR wasn’t immediately welcomed by the library community. @lisalibrarian analyzes why.
Publishers Announce a Major New Service to Plug Leakage
Today, a group of leading publishers is announcing a major new service to plug leakage, improve discovery and access, fight piracy, compete with ResearchGate, and position their platform for the OA ecosystem. This new service shows that publishers are finally beginning to address digital strategy in an environment that has steadily eroded their ability to monetize the value they create. Does it go far enough to reset the competitive environment?
Questioning Our Assumptions in Publishing Innovations: Inspiration from the Story of Indigital
Mikaela Jade and the Indigital app inspire us to question our privileged assumptions of “the user” in information design.
Guest Post — Crossref at a Crossroads: All Roads Lead to Crossref
Amy Brand from MIT Press and the Crossref Board of Directors offers her thought on this crucial moment in the evolution of Crossref and the scholarly communications infrastructure.
Thinking about the Art and Science of Image Description: An Interview with textBOX Founders
If a picture is worth a thousand words, the folks at textBOX can help publishers present that descriptive text (“alt-text”) to the online world, meeting key accessibility and discoverability demands.
UC Davis Experiments with a New Textbook Model: An Interview with Jason Lorgan
An interview with Jason Lorgan, executive director of campus stores at @UCDavis, about the university’s innovative new textbook-affordability program.
Articles Summaries that “Spoil” the Paper to Save Reader Time
As there is too little time to read all the papers, Paper Digest automatically lists out the key sentences of a paper.
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?