Why Is It So Expensive to Read Academic Research?

The aphorism “information wants to be free,” coined by entrepreneur Stewart Brand in 1984 at the inaugural Hackers Conference, has come to serve as a shorthand justification for an ideology that would remove all unjust barriers to information access. And information has rarely been more accessible than it is on the controversial website Sci-Hub, which offers completely free access to pretty much any academic journal article ever published. The site does this through what is commonly termed “content piracy” and has been in the news lately because academic publishers are trying very hard to shut the website down. Continue reading at 'Slate'

[ Slate | 2016-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #academic publishers

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Why Is It So Expensive to Read Academic Research?'


Haven’t Finished Reading that Bestseller? You’re Not Alone

Kobo has released data about how many people finish ebook bestsellers and data indicates that purchasing a book is no indication of willingness to read it. The post Haven’t Finished Reading that Bestseller? You’re Not Alone appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-12-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #finished reading


Kobo reveals its UK bestsellers and 'most read'

Romance is the main genre which Kobo platform users in the UK read all the way to the end, an inaugural Kobo Book Report on e-reading trends in the UK has found. Kobo has revealed both its top purchases, and which books readers actually completed. It found that romance was the most thoroughly... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #uk bestsellers #kobo platform


SAGE debates value of Research Excellence Framework

The Research Excellence Framework, the process which assesses the quality of university research and drives funding,  is an "enormously costly" system which does not pay its way and is "a key driver of inequality in institutions", a debate at the Institute of Contemporary Arts heard yesterday... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #key driver


China closing in on Silicon Valley as home of internet giants, research shows

Tencent and Baidu are only non-US digital media companies in top 10 by revenue, but country has four of top 10 fastest-growing firms, report saysChina is eroding Silicon Valley’s pre-eminent position as the home of the world’s largest internet businesses, with two companies making the top 10 by... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-12-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #silicon valley #internet giants #pre-eminent position #companies making #survey published


Venning joins TRA in new impact research role

Laura Venning joining The Reading Agency in the newly created role of impact research manager. Venning will lead on developing a framework to help the charity assess the impact of reading for pleasure and reading for information, in a post funded by the Peter Sowerby Foundation. Venning comes... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #reading agency


Nature.com research papers made freely shareable

Articles from 49 subscription journals on nature.com - including from Nature, the world's most cited scientific publication - can now be shared freely between subscribers and non–subscribers around the world. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #shared freely


Children's socioeconomic status 'affects digital reading preference'

Print books are more popular with three to five-year-olds than reading on devices, but children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds spend more time reading on devices than their wealthier peers, according to a new report from the National Reading Trust (NLT) and Pearson. For the report... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #time reading #annual survey #children aged #print books #age group


Kinew Named New Host of Canada Reads Competition

Wab Kinew will be the new host of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s annual battle-of-the-books competition, Canada Reads, replacing Jian Ghomeshi. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Pelican’s new browser-based reading website takes flight with grace

With subtle interactive features and simple, bold design, Penguin’s resurrected non-fiction imprint places the focus on the reading experienceAfter reading Economics: The User’s Guide by Ha-Joon Chang, published by Pelican Books, I feel confident enough to explain the word “disintermediation”.... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-11-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #supply chain #modern publishing #started thinking


Harvill Secker holds Murakami reading event

Actor Julian Rhind-Tutt (pictured) will read the entirety of Haruki Murakami’s 88-page The Strange Library (Harvill Secker) at an event to celebrate the book’s launch. The Strange Library will be released in English for the first time on 2nd December, and to celebrate Harvill Secker has... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #haruki murakami #strange library #2nd december


To 'read' this fashion magazine, you'll need a smartphone app

Persona is one of the latest fashion magazines in Tokyo. It’s printed on heavy stock paper and is full of photos of models and clothing. The only thing missing is text.You “read” Persona with a smartphone camera.An app recognizes the images, queries a cloud database and then downloads related... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2014-11-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fashion magazine #quarterly magazine #print version


Summer Reading Challenge participation up 3.6%

The Reading Agency said that 839,622 children took part in the 2014 Summer Reading Challenge, a 3.6% increase compared to 2013. Sue Wilkinson, chief executive of The Reading Agency, said she was pleased that the numbers were up despite cuts to library services. “Library budgets are very tight... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #reading agency #sue wilkinson #library services #library budgets #local authorities #save money


This Comic Book Makes Important, Boring Data Fun To Read

Terms of Service ingeniously harnesses the power of comics to keep readers engaged.Terms of Service is a newly published digital graphic novel from Al Jazeera that explores the turbulent relationship technology users today have with services provided by big data companies.Read Full Story Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2014-11-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #al jazeera


Random House Kids Acquires Now I’m Reading! Platform

Random House Children's Books has acquired Now I’m Reading! a step-by-step series that guides beginning readers through to independent reading. The post Random House Kids Acquires Now I’m Reading! Platform appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-11-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #platform appeared


C&W holds competition for 'must-read' novels

Literary agency Conville and Walsh has launched a competition to find new novels "that people just can't stop talking about". The agency is offering a prize of £1,000 and possible representation to an unpublished work in its new Word of Mouth competition, which will be judged by author Matt... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #conville walsh #stop talking #unpublished work #joint head #translation rights #alexandra mcnicoll #sophie lambert #longtime reader


The ebook industry needs to make reading more social

The music, film and TV industries have all undergone radical transformations over the last fifteen years. In contrast, the publishing industry is only now feeling the full force of technological change. Ebooks and ereaders are changing consumers' reading habits and throwing up serious questions... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2014-11-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #reading habits #major players #embracing change #business models #subscription services #emerging markets


Pan Macmillan buys “enchanting” fantasy read

Pan Macmillan is to publish Uprooted, the new novel from fantasy writer Naomi Novik. Editorial director Julie Crisp acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Del Rey, part of Penguin Random House in the US. Novik is the author of the Temeraire series, published in the UK by Harper Voyager. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #pan macmillan #del rey #harper voyager


How Facebook Could End Up Controlling Everything You Watch and Read Online

Given that links appear to be more clickable when shared on Facebook, online publishers have scrambled to become savvy gamers of Facebook’s News Feed, seeking to divine the secret rules that push some stories higher than others. But all this genuflection at the altar of Facebook’s algorithms may... Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2014-10-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #read online #online publishers #fundamental shift #consumed online


A Stellar New Fantasy Novel and 4 Other Books We’re Reading This Month

This month, we’re balancing some quick reads---a Jonathan Franzen-blessed debut and a slim companion volume from one of our favorite new(-ish) fantasy writers---with Walter Isaacson’s latest blockbuster on the history of technological innovation, along with a few other selections. Attention,... Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2014-10-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #month appeared #walter isaacson


Reversal of Fortunes: What a Recent Appeals Court Ruling Holds for Academic Fair Use

On October 17, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and remanded a key fair-use ruling in a long-running case over digital course readings on college campuses. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #circuit court #long-running case #college campuses