Slow Food, Slow Publishing: The Beauty of Not Being First
Robert Harington reflects on our addiction to speed and advocates for slow scholarly publishing and the inherent beauty of not always being first.
Academic Freedom for the Win; Open Access Mandate in Germany Declared Unconstitutional
A German court ruled against a mandatory article deposit requirement under Germany’s “secondary publication right” (SPR). Whatever the intentions, SPR is mainly going to contribute to the degradation of the record of science.
Seven Questions about CC Signals
With CC Signals, Creative Commons wants to help authors put rules on use of their licensed content for AI training. The problem is, one of the licenses already permits free and unlimited reuse of that content, for any and all purposes. And the licenses are irrevocable.
Off for the US Holiday — 10,000 Musical Memories Archived
We are out of office for the US holiday. In the meantime, maybe peruse a phenomenal new live music archive….
Scholarly Society Sustainability in an Unstable Publishing World: Reasons to be Cheerful, Parts 1, 2, and 3.
In this post, Robert attempts to embrace a gloomy optimism as he muses on the state of publishing at scholarly societies.
Economic Outlook for Scholarly Communications in 2026 — SSP Pulse Check Report
SSP’s second Pulse Check survey results paint a picture of an industry in defensive mode — cautious, structurally stressed, but not in freefall.
Guest Post — AI Isn’t Going to Pay for Content … At Least Not How You’re Hoping It Will
Today’s guest post is the first in a two-part series — we begin by facing up to the fact that AI will not become the content windfall the way many in the publishing industry hope.
In the Messy Middle: Observations from the Front Line at the UKSG Forum
The UKSG Forum is “an entire 2-3 day conference stripped back to bare essentials and completed in just one day”. Here are the key takeaways — changing priorities, from global to local; why it is getting harder to keep up and keep order; and the overriding importance of trusted relationships.
Revisiting: Years and Years of Creative Commons Confusion
Creative Commons licenses continue to confuse the communications community. Here we collect a decade-plus of articles looking to offer some clarity on their use.
Can a CC License Constrain Fair Use or Other Copyright Limitations or Exemptions?
Creative Commons (CC) licenses expand, not restrict, the permissible uses of copyrighted works.
Ask the Chefs: Who Owns Our Knowledge?
In honor of International OA Week, The Scholarly Kitchen Chefs ponder the theme: Who owns our knowledge?
Guest Post — Who Controls Knowledge in the Age of AI? Part 2, Recommendations for Stakeholders
The MIT Press surveyed book authors on attitudes towards LLM training practices. In Part 2 of this 2 part post, we discuss recommendations for stakeholders to avoid unintended harms and preserve core scientific and academic values.
Guest Post — Who Controls Knowledge in the Age of AI? Part 1
The MIT Press surveyed book authors on attitudes towards LLM training practices. In Part 1 of this 2 part post, we discuss the results: authors are not opposed to generative AI per se, but they are strongly opposed to unregulated, extractive practices and worry about the long-term impacts of unbridled generative AI development on the scholarly and scientific enterprise.
Guest Post — Fear, Learning, and Luddites: Opportunities to Lead the AI Revolution
Scholarly communications leaders have the opportunity to turn AI uncertainty into discovery.
Guest Post — Beyond Access: Untangling Copyright Confusion in Asian Open Access Journals
In Asia, open access adoption is accelerating, yet the legal and structural underpinnings of this openness remain fragile, with significant licensing and copyright confusion.