OCLC: Indispensable Database Collaborative or Social Media Prelude?
Despite OCLC’s legal woes, and no matter how the court of law decides, the court of user opinion may be the determining factor in OCLC’s future.
The Old Spice Guy Celebrates Libraries and the Words They Contain
The over-preening Old Spice Guy likes libraries, and celebrates them in a short, funny video. Too bad a parody from BYU is even better.
Stage Five Book Publishing — How to Go Beyond “Sustainability” and Into “Viability”
Book publishing is evolving in stages, and when we get to Stage Five, where books are sold on a subscription basis, the fortunes of scholarly publishers will improve dramatically.
The Latest “Library as Purchaser” Crisis: Are We Fighting the Wrong Battle?
More flames on the site licensing frontier, and why these battles are a sign of a fundamentally flawed — and possibly soon-to-be irrelevant — arrangement.
STM Association Spring Conference: Are Publishers Listening?
The first day of the Spring STM Conference in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was filled with ideas, different perspectives, and an interactive crowd.
Passive-Aggressive (or Maybe Just Aggressive) Library Signs Reveal the Vagaries of Patrons
A collection of 20 library signs says a lot about the trials and tribulations of librarians. Patrons do the strangest things!
One Report, Two Findings: Library Roles Changing, Open Access Not Compelling
Ithaka S+R has published a report on libraries and open access. Libraries are still important in the lives of scholars, but the trends are not in their favor. Open access doesn’t seem to be meeting scholars’ needs.
What is “Library Bypass”?
Publishers are seeking new markets by finding ways to bypass libraries and selling directly to end-users. Do we need new approaches here?
Horns of a Dilemma: Open Access or Academic Freedom
Librarians must choose between fiscal irresponsibility and a conflict with academic freedom when establishing open access publication funds.
Cornell’s Open Access Author Fund
$50K is more than enough money for an author OA fund claims Cornell Library Board.
Dark Secrets: Open Access and Author Processing Charges
Transparency and accountability are at the heart of Open Access. If only library advocates would walk the talk.
Paying for Open Access Publication Charges
New report outlines guidelines for establishing central publication funds. Success of these funds may spell failure for libraries.
The COUNTER House
Project COUNTER releases its third Code of Practice for the counting and reporting of usage data. Is COUNTER also promoting overconfidence in its products?