The Humanities as Canary: Understanding this Crisis Now
The Humanities have always been the canary in the coal mine of the full knowledge industry. What information can help us understand this crisis and its implications?
Indirect Costs (Facilities and Administration Cost) Explainer
The US government is looking to drastically reduce the amount paid in “indirect costs” in federal grants. Just what are “indirect costs”?
Defending the “Walled Garden”: Yes, Academic Libraries Actually Should Focus on the Needs of Their Host Institutions
Academic libraries’ first and most fundamental obligation is to support the work of their host institutions. This doesn’t preclude global engagement, but may put constraints upon it.
NIH Cuts ICR – Implications for Research Institutions and Scholarly Publishing
What are the implications of last Friday’s NIH ICR budget cut? @lisalibrarian offers an early analysis.
Guest Post: College Closures and the Implications for Libraries and Vendors
College closures are increasing across the U.S, and the impacts on libraries, publishers, vendors, and library consortia are intensifying.
Oxford Administrators Want OA Policy Removed from REF 2029. I Have an Even Better Idea.
Three Oxford administrators want to lower the cost of mandatory open access by shifting the responsibility for enforcement to funding agencies. But that doesn’t lower costs at all; it only shifts them. To truly lower costs, stop trying to make open access mandatory.
Guest Post: Navigating a New Virtual Experience at the 2024 SSP Annual Meeting
The SSP Annual Meeting Planning Committee has put together a unique and strong program for virtual attendees to the SSP 2024 Annual Meeting.
Mental Health Awareness Mondays — Building a Supportive Workplace: Reflections on Mental Health Initiatives and Adaptation
Mental health is all around us and affects everyone. Instead of focusing on labeling it, we should strive for understanding, compassion, and support for every individual’s unique mental well-being journey.
Guest Post — Speak Finance: Gain University Support for Open Scholarship
The federal government is mandating that the knowledge and data produced from federal grants be widely available for our collective good. Libraries remain under-resourced to make this happen. Let’s add some new metrics and language to this narrative to help articulate the value of libraries.
Library Licensing Strategies
Libraries are accelerating engagement with transformative and pure publish agreements, balancing contract-based publishing support with an APC fund, and investing in the scholarly communications ecosystem.
Humanities and Jobs Data: What’s the Real Story?
Escalating attacks on the humanities often cite the problem of employment for humanities majors; a new report shows otherwise.
The Open Access Fund at Edinburgh University Press: An Interview with Nicola Ramsey
An interview with Nicola Ramsey of Edinburgh University Press about the Press’s new Open Access Fund.
From a “Ghost Library” to a “Window on the Big World”: The Story of Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui, Wellington Central Library
What do you do when the building standards governing the safety of your workplace are deemed inadequate?
Is the Library Responsible for Open Access Compliance?
In this moment of success for open access advocacy, Roger C. Schonfeld proposes that the academic library not take responsibility for implementing open access mandates. The first of several scenarios we will consider.
Chefs de Cuisine: Perspectives from Publishing’s Top Table — Ziyad Marar
Robert Harington talks to Ziyad Marar, President of Global Publishing at SAGE, and author of “Happiness Paradox” and “Intimacy”, and most recently “Judged: The Value of Being Misunderstood”