Those who take on the global industry that traps research behind paywalls are heroes, not thievesNever underestimate the power of one determined person. What Carole Cadwalladr has done to Facebook and big data, and Edward Snowden has done to the state security complex, Alexandra Elbakyan has done to the multibillion-dollar industry that traps knowledge behind paywalls. Sci-Hub, her pirate web scraper service, has done more than any government to tackle one of the biggest rip-offs of the modern era: the capture of publicly funded research that should belong to us all. Everyone should be free to learn; knowledge should be disseminated as widely as possible. No one would publicly disagree with these sentiments. Yet governments and universities have allowed the big academic publishers to deny these rights. Academic publishing might sound like an obscure and fusty affair, but it uses one of the most ruthless and profitable business models of any industry.The model was pioneered by the notorious conman Robert Maxwell. He realised that, because scientists need to be informed about all significant developments in their field, every journal that publishes academic papers can establish a monopoly and charge outrageous fees for the transmission of knowledge. He called his discovery “a perpetual financing machine”. He also realised that he could capture other people’s labour and resources for nothing. Governments funded the research published by his company, Pergamon, while... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2018-09-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with:
#alexandra elbakyan
#modern era
#academic publishing
#significant developments
#technical term
Through the award, five schools in Britain and Ireland will receive funds for their libraries. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#receive funds
Nathaniel Marunas has been named publisher of the U.S. division of British publisher Quercus, and David Shelley has been named as the successor to Ursula Mackenzie at Little, Brown U.K., with MacKenzie set to retire. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#named publisher
#david shelley
#ursula mackenzie
Scandals, shake-ups, sticky scholars, and best books—here are the top ten religion stories of 2014 from publishersweekly.com. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Our monthly selection from BlueInk Review, a service which reviews self-published books, uncovers a superb memoir of a WWII concentration camp in Indonesia. The post January 2015: Top Reviews of Self-Published Books from BlueInk Review appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-01-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#top reviews
#self-published books
#blueink review
#monthly selection
Author James Patterson is donating £50,000 to a new prize that will fund school libraries. The World Book Day Award, launched today (9th January), offers schools in the UK and Ireland the chance to win money to buy books from local bookshops to stock their libraries. Six lump sums are on up for... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#buy books
Liu Ruilin discusses her innovative Beijing-based publishing house Imaginist Press and shares her views on design, culture and China's publishing future. The post Liu Ruilin on Imaginist Press and China’s Publishing Future appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#publishing future
Successful publishing campaigns on Kickstarter raised nearly $22 million in 2014, despite a change that removed journalism projects from the publishing category. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#$22 million
#publishing category
The Frankfurt Book Fair is taking St.Gallen International Publishing Management Course, a 10-day executive training program, to Singapore in August. The post Frankfurt Book Fair Takes Publishing Course to Singapore appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#singapore appeared
'The End of Power' – a respected, though modestly-selling, nonfiction book – has now been launched to a global audience thanks to Mark Zuckerberg. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#mark zuckerberg
#nonfiction book
#global audience
Penguin has acquired the memoir of young transgender activist Paris Lees. The book, which is as yet untitled, is “an original literary endeavour throwing light on feminism, sexuality, upbringing and class”, said the publisher. Helen Conford, publishing director at Penguin Press, acquired the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#penguin press
#helen conford
#united agents
#long time
#release date
The French Publishers Association (Syndicat National de l’Edition, SNE) said in a statement this afternoon that it was “deeply upset” by today's terror attack against publication Charlie Hebdo and “freedom of the press, expression and right to publish, the foundations of democracy.” Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#terror attack
A reinforced police guard has been installed at the offices of Flammarion, publisher of Michel Houellebecq's latest novel Soumission (Submission), according to the website of French daily Le Parisien. The novel, published in France today (7th January), is set in 2022 and tells of a new Muslim... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#french publisher
#michel houellebecq
#soumission submission
Little, Brown Book Group has hired Maddie West as the new deputy publisher for its Sphere Fiction imprint, replacing Rebecca Saunders. West, who is currently editorial director at Atlantic imprint Corvus, will focus on publishing commercial women’s fiction for the list. Saunders, previously... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#sphere fiction
#deputy publisher
#2nd february
Arab publishers have joined those from France and from the international publishing community in voicing condemnation of today's terror attack on the offices of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, which saw 12 people lose their lives with a further 11 wounded. Author Salman Rushdie... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#terror attack
#arab publishers
The 10 most popular stories about graphic novel and comics published on publishersweekly.com in 2014. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#popular stories
#comics published
Oklahoma's former Poet Laureate Nathan Brown discusses how his career was transformed by his decision to transition into self-publishing, tripling sales. The post Nathan L. Brown: The Self-Publishing Poet Laureate appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-01-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Declared ‘extremist’ by repressive regime, Ihar Lohvinau faces heavy fine and the closure of shop described as ‘vital hub for the country’s fragile literary community’An award-winning publisher in Belarus who angered the country’s government by publishing a book containing an image of police... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-01-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#police brutality
#ihar lohvinau
Publishing projects launched on crowd-sourcing website Kickstarter raised $21.8m (£15m) internationally in 2014, according to the company’s end-of-year round-up. Last year, 22,252 Kickstarter projects reached their funding goals thanks to $529m of pledges from 3.3m backers. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#funding goals
The decision means that the case is headed back to the district court, although the publishers could to the Supreme Court. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#decision means
#headed back
#district court
#supreme court