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On Collaboration in Scholarly Communication: Opportunities to Normalize Open Access,” by Allyson Rodriguez

On Collaboration in Scholarly Communication: Opportunities to Normalize Open Access,” by Allyson Rodriguez

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Librarians play a key role in the scholarly communication cycle. In “Collaboration in Scholarly Communication: Opportunities to Normalize Open Access,” Allyson Rodriguez details how librarians can promote an open access agenda and educate faculty members about scholarly communication practices and pragmatics. Rodriguez suggests that there are three main areas where librarians can promote open access: through outreach and education, highlighting and celebrating, and acquisitions. As Rodriguez writes, “Open access must become a ‘normal’ part of the academic lifestyle,” and in…

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On “Sustaining Scholarly Infrastructures through Collective Action: The Lessons that Olson Can Teach Us,” by Cameron Neylon

On “Sustaining Scholarly Infrastructures through Collective Action: The Lessons that Olson Can Teach Us,” by Cameron Neylon

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In “Sustaining Scholarly Infrastructures through Collective Action: The Lessons that Olson Can Teach Us,” Cameron Neylon meditates on how best to enable sustainability for largescale scholarly communication infrastructure. Neylon’s goal is to explore “how we can sustain shared platform systems that support scholarly communities through the collection, storage, and transmission of shared resources” (n.p.), and he provides a number of examples of scholarly infrastructures their funding models. Based on political economy literature and by comparing these initiatives, Neylon comes to…

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On “Open Access Publishing and Scholarly Communication in Non-Scientific Disciplines,” by Martin Paul Eve

On “Open Access Publishing and Scholarly Communication in Non-Scientific Disciplines,” by Martin Paul Eve

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In “Open Access Publishing and Scholarly Communication in Non-Scientific Disciplines,” Martin Paul Eve considers why the humanities and social sciences have lagged behind the STEM disciplines in the widespread acceptance and implementation of open access. He argues that there are social and economic reasons for this gap in uptake. Eve provides the context for shifts in scholarly communication—namely the emergence of the “publish or perish” paradigm and the unsustainable serial subscription model—and suggests that it is a backdrop for both…

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On Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity, by Lawrence Lessig

On Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity, by Lawrence Lessig

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Lawrence Lessig is very concerned about big media’s influence on intellectual property laws in the United States. In Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity, Lessig details the history of intellectual property and “free culture” in America, and explains why current regulations are running counter to historic precedent in this regard. Lessig argues that big media is destroying the traditional freedom to create cultural material that builds on the output…

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On “The Impact Platform,” by Jefferson Pooley

On “The Impact Platform,” by Jefferson Pooley

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In “The Impact Plaform,” Jefferson Pooley weighs the pros and cons of the recent development of websites like The Conversation, which showcases scholarly pieces written for a non-specialist audience. Pooley argues that “The impact platform is flawed and problematic, but also a real gain for open scholarship” (n.p.). This sort of publication venue is “flawed and problematic” for Pooley because it encourages the data-driven reliance on quantitative metrics to judge the value of academic work. Many feel as though this…

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On “Scholarly Communications Shouldn’t Just Be Open, but Non-Profit Too,” by Jefferson Pooley

On “Scholarly Communications Shouldn’t Just Be Open, but Non-Profit Too,” by Jefferson Pooley

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Jefferson Pooley argues in “Scholarly Communications Shouldn’t Just Be Open, but Non-Profit Too” that we are at a crossroads when it comes to scholarly communication. There are now two factions working to develop an open science system: for-profit commercial companies and conglomerates, and non-profit presses, journals, and universities. Pooley outlines the major players on both sides, as well as their stakes in scholarly communication. He comes down, decidedly, on the side of non-profit open access publishing. “A publishing ecosystem centred…

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On “The Monograph: Keep on Keepin’ On,” by Robert Fisher (Parts 1 & 2)

On “The Monograph: Keep on Keepin’ On,” by Robert Fisher (Parts 1 & 2)

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In this two-part blog post on The Scholarly Kitchen titled “The Monograph: Keep on Keepin’ On,” Richard Fisher takes on the argument that the monograph is in decline. He argues that, in fact, the rhetoric around the death of the monograph is overblown, and that there is no lack of supply for monographs nor are the major commercial academic book publishers under threat. Fisher relies heavily on Geoffrey Crossick’s HEFCE report on the vitality of monograph publishing. As such, much…

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On “Understanding How Twitter Is Used to Spread Scientific Messages,” by Julie Letierce et al.

On “Understanding How Twitter Is Used to Spread Scientific Messages,” by Julie Letierce et al.

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In “Understanding How Twitter Is Used to Spread Scientific Messages,” Julie Letierce, Alexandre Passant, John Breslin, and Stefan Decker aim to understand how Twitter is used for spreading academic knowledge, especially at conferences. To do so, they harvested and studied tweets from three different conferences, as well conducted interviews with colleagues who are active on social media. Although Letierce et al. state that “Twitter has this potential to help the erosion of boundaries between researchers and broader audiences” (1), their…

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On “Activism, Legitimation, or Record: Towards a New Tripartite Typology of Academic Journals,” by Casey Brienza

On “Activism, Legitimation, or Record: Towards a New Tripartite Typology of Academic Journals,” by Casey Brienza

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In “Activism, Legitimation, or Record: Towards a New Tripartite Typology of Academic Journals,” Casey Brienza aims to typologize academic journals based on their social or professional purpose. To do so, she reviews and critiques previous typologies of journals, and develops her own typology in response. Brienza argues that there are 3 types of journals: journals of professional legitimation, journals of record, and journals of transformational activism. She suggests that publishers “would do best to focus on playing a mutualistic role…

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On “Against Capital,” by Stuart Lawson

On “Against Capital,” by Stuart Lawson

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In the talk “Against Capital,” Stuart Lawson takes aim at the rhetoric of disruption and newness in scholarly communication. They argue that as long as we continue to subscribe to a capitalist and neoliberal higher education system, we will not achieve true progress in democratizing knowledge or reasserting control over the means of academic production. Lawson goes on to demonstrate how neoliberalism manifests in various elements of higher education. They write, “Neoliberalism in education is not just about the overtly…

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