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 ]
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Jeff Kinney, author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, has filed a trademark lawsuit against... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Good Muslim, The Marriage Plot and Go the F**k to Sleep are among the books literary... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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#publishers pick
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Faber is to publish a "definitive" biography of entertainment mogul Simon Cowell by... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Three Twin Cities literary presses already renowned for collaborating in unconventional ways to promote books and authors are partnering with a Wisconsin literacy group and a Minneapolis museum to promote literacy, publicize the mission of each of the nonprofit organizations involved, and sell... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-12-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It's been 18 months since News Corp erected paywalls around The Sunday Times and The Times. Mike Fletcher assesses whether the paywall model is the future for online publishing and talks exclusively with News International to discover a shift in strategic thinking. Continue reading at Media Week
[ Media Week | 2011-12-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bounce! Sales & Marketing Ltd is to expand the number of publishers it represents following... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mainstream has bought a book aimed at guiding modern single girls on their search for love, to be... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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#single life
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Semi-Homemade, the magazine of Food Network celebrity chef Sandra Lee, will no longer be published by Birmingham, Alabama-based Hoffman Media following its January/February 2012 issue. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins and Canongate have backed Fabers Stephen Pages calls for a new... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple's entry into the ebook business hasn't been a huge success, but it has still registered with European antitrust regulators. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2011-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Poet Alice Oswald has withdrawn her book Memorial (Faber) from the T S Eliot prize because of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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More than a third of publishers internationally believe that digital formats will account for at... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dan Shannon, publisher of North Carolina city titles Chapel Hill and Durham Magazines, has spotted a hole in the current news publishing model. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Usborne is focusing on series and younger readers to help grow its fiction sales in the coming... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Even in tense times, there is far more that unites publishers and libraries than divides them. And if one needs proof that librarians and publishers share common goals and can work together to mutual benefit, they need look no further than the career of Marcia Purcell, Random Houses v-p of... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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#academic marketing
San Francisco, California-based CompareNetworks, which operates online b-to-b marketplaces for the scientific and healthcare industries, has acquired Indianapolis, Indiana-based Russell Publishing, LLC, publisher of titles American Pharmaceutical Review, Pharmaceutical Outsourcing and... Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-12-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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American author Jack Kerouac's first ever novel, which was thought to be lost, has been published 40 years after his death. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2011-11-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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InStyle magazine, the IPC Southbank-owned fashion and beauty title, has named Rita Lewis as its new publishing director, effective 3 January 2012. Continue reading at Media Week
[ Media Week | 2011-11-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Martini Media, which serves a network of 1,000 publisher sites in lifestyle and business, is launching a series of multimedia advertising programs including bringing rich media to niche sites. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-11-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New York - At the MinDay Digital Summit today (presented by FOLIO: sister publication min), publishers and technology providers are on hand to commiserate about trials and victories in the digital space. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-11-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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