November 7, 2002

Books on the science of networks Wired has a list of books that are similar to Smart Mobs. Related books include: Digital Biology by Peter J. Bentley, 2001 Beyond Chaos by Mark Ward, 2001 Emergence by Steven Johnson, 2001* The Moment of Complexity by Mark Taylor, 2001 Linked by Albert-László Barabási, 2002* Nexus by Mark Buchanan, 2002 The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, 2000* Six Degrees by Duncan J. Watts, 2002 [Seb's Open Research] I've *ed the ones that Leddy Library carries. Which reminds me.. I should make an aboot page sometime quick. 1:43:25 PM     Two stories as two bookends This morning I read the following two stories that bookend a particular rift that is growing between libraries and publishers. The first I learned from the STS-L listserv : A GROUP OF SCHOLARLY PUBLISHERS will begin a public-relations campaign this month that is intended to improve publishers' image among librarians and academics. The campaign aims, in part, to quash a newfound enthusiasm among some librarians for self-publishing research results online. the second I learned from Seb's Open Research: Reinventing MCB University Press It is ironic: a journal publisher founded by dissatisfied academics is now targeted as one of the major causes of the rapid rise in the price of academic publications. This article tells the story of MCB University Press and how it became Emerald Fulltext. "'The outrage over what ... MCB did with New Library World still has not subsided,' wrote Hamaker, adding that the current subscription price for the journal (which had been $80 when Emerald acquired it) is $5,799 for 12 'issues' and 7 'dispatches.'" As a result, Emerald has alienated its readership base. "It seems reasonable to assume that the increased profits are as a direct result of charging more for what's essentially the same product." Yes, but also: the service created by academics continues to be supported by academics, writers who do not know or do not care how much the journals are charging for their contributions. By Richard Poynder, Information Today, September, 2002 [OLDaily] 11:41:04 AM

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