Will the Hybrid Journal Be Transformed by Plan S?
Plan S proposes criteria for the “transformative journal” – how are publishers responding?
Politics and Open Access
Robert Harington explores rumors circulating in recent weeks of an impending US Executive Order focusing on public access to federally funded research and open data.
Guest Post — The Emergence of Chinese STM Publishers: Threat or Opportunity? An Interview with Matthias Wahls
A look at the recent acquisition of EDP by Science Press, and the larger implications it holds for the future of Chinese science publishing.
Guest Post — Transparency: What Can One Learn from a Trove of Invoices?
A new dataset from the Gates Foundation offers insights into author choices and APC pricing.
What Do Researchers Want from Publishers? An Interview with Dr Milka Kostic
Former scientist, turned publisher, turned research program director, Milka Kostic is uniquely placed to look at publishing from a researcher and a publisher perspective. In this interview with Alice Meadows, she shares her thoughts on both.
Guest Post — The Future of Open Access Business Models: APCs Are Not the Only Way
Highwire’s Byron Russell reports on this year’s OASPA Conference, and future paths to sustainable open access business models.
Two Competing Visions for Research Data Sharing
New today: In a crowded and confusing landscape for research data preservation and sharing, two fundamentally competing visions are emerging. Which will win?
Why Scholarly Societies Are Vitally Important to the Academic Ecosystem
Robert Harington suggests that despite the critical role of scholarly societies in publishing and academia, the sad reality is it is the big corporate publishers who win.
Ramifications of the Downward Pressure on Pricing
Publishers of subscription and open access scholarly content are facing downward pressures on pricing. Angela Cochran explores some of the hidden costs associated with a professional publishing operation and asks whether some of the tasks currently done by publishers should be absorbed elsewhere.
Repairing an Institutional Reputation Tarnished by Fraudulent Publishing
Given the reality of fraudulent publishers and their deceptive practices, will institutions consider more strongly guiding author choice of publishing venue in order to protect institutional reputation?
SSP’s New Directions in Scholarly Publishing Seminar
A preview of next week’s SSP New Directions Seminar.
Ask The Chefs: Peer Review Quality
Quality means different things to different people. How do you think different stakeholders would define quality in peer review?
Guest Post — Pinot Noir, Australia, and Peer Review
On the eve of a peer review seminar in Australia, Alex Christopher interviews CSIRO’s Andrew Stammer and Publons’ Tiago Barros on the current state of peer review.
Guest Post: Cost per Use Overvalues Journal Subscriptions
Curtis Kendrick, Dean of Libraries at Binghamton University, raises questions about whether cost-per-use is the appropriate metric for measuring the comparative value of library subscriptions.
Will Libraries Help Publishers Prop Up the Value of the Big Deal?
The value of the big deal has declined. Will libraries drive down its price — or help publishers prop up its value?