We All Know What We Mean, Can We Just Put It In The Policy?
Funder guidance is too vague when it comes to identifiers and metadata. It needs to get specific to be effective.
Smorgasbord: A Better Metaphor for Publishing, Twitter/Musk, Equitable Access, and Those Vexing OACA Experimental Controls
A new type of post from us today, offering a smorgasbord of opinions on topics including the ongoing Twitter/Elon Musk saga, just what “equitable access” to the literature means, the ongoing lack of experimental controls in one area of bibliometric analysis, and whether journals are more like a gate or a sewer.
The Failure of the US Government to Fund Science Infrastructure is Causing Things to Literally Collapse
The Arecibo Observatory collapsed, laying bare the problems of funding science infrastructure.
Myth Busting: Five Commonly Held Misconceptions About RA21 (and One Rumor Confirmed)
RA21 aims to promote a modern, standards-based access management system that preserves patron privacy & control. It is important to dispel some myths about RA21 so we can move on from the outdated world of IP-authentication.
Have We Been Hacked By Sci-Hub?
Recent announcements from the creator of Sci-Hub raise the distinct possibility that Scholarly Publishers have been systematically compromised
Publishing in a Time of Information Warfare — A Wakeup Call
The information war requires changes — new research priorities, new personal and professional boundaries, higher editorial hurdles, and a hardened infrastructure.
Why Technology Will Not Get Cheaper
The long-desired hope that digital publishing will be cheaper gets more cold water, as infrastructure and personnel costs continue to rise, with no real end in sight.
Can You Coko? An Interview with Kristen Ratan of the Collaborative Knowledge Foundation
If you haven’t already heard of the Collaborative Knowledge Foundation (CKF or Coko for short), chances are you soon will. Find out more in this interview with co-founder Kristen Ratan.
Layers Upon Layers — Taking Advantage of the Great Infrastructure Build-Out of the Twenty Aughts
The infrastructure layers that are emerging specifically for scholarly publishers, authors, and readers are yielding new services and even more layers. What’s next? And what’s missing?
The Race to the Bottom — Data, Pertussis, Roads, Fires, and Scholarly Publishing
The culture of cheap has consequences, often expensive ones. Our culture of austerity economics has embraced it, to disastrous effect. Should scholarly publishing be on guard?