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‘Big deals’ overtaking single subscriptions, says ALPSP survey of librarians - 09 Oct 2009
The Association of Learning and Professional Society Publishing (ALPSP) has announced that, according to its recent survey of librarians, the average number of journals being made available by libraries more than doubled between 2000 and 2009. However, librarians are predicting that they will provide access to around the same number of journals in 2010 as they did in 2009, with more journals purchased as part of 'big deals' and fewer as single subscriptions. This will be of concern to smaller publishers who are unable to offer their content as part of a 'big deal' and those that are launching new subscription journals. ALPSP undertook the survey in mid-2009 to inform a panel discussion at the ALPSP International Conference 2009. It conducted the survey against the backdrop of the global economic downturn that began in the second half of 2008, and the impact that this had on public finances and on the volatility of the world's major currencies. The survey was designed by Richard Gedye, Research Director, Oxford University Press and Chair of the conference panel session, and Ian Russell, Chief Executive, ALPSP, with input and advice from the four librarians involved in the conference panel session: Rick Anderson (University of Utah), Colin Storey (Chinese University of Hong Kong), Jill Taylor-Roe (Newcastle University), and Nol Verhagen (Amsterdam University). A significant proportion of librarians responding to the survey state that they would prefer to purchase content from non-profit publishers. However, the profit status of the publisher is not an important factor in any of the purchasing decisions surveyed. There is a strong demand from library customers to move more journals to electronic only. Three of the four most important barriers are within the control of publishers who may wish to consider what more can be done regarding electronic only offerings, licensing terms and post cancellation access to facilitate this move. Librarians generally understand and value the role that academic publishers play in the dissemination and communication of scholarship. However, there is room for a better understanding of the inflationary pressures on journal prices and better communication regarding this from the scholarly publishing industry generally. Librarians look for the most advantageous cost / benefit ratio when making their purchasing decisions. Usage statistics, both overall use and cost per use, are very important tools used in determining whether to renew or cancel journal content. Publishers should therefore continue to make every effort to maximise the usage of their version of the article, says the survey. Faculty continue to play a very important role in all purchasing decisions relating to single subscriptions, and end user marketing will therefore remain a priority for journal publishers who primarily sell their content as single subscriptions. Librarians responding to the survey are knowledgeable of open access publishing business models. However, more work needs to be done to minimise the burden of administrating open access publishing and to ensure that expenditure is predictable, the survey findings indicate. Search for more such industry reports in K-Store Discuss this NEWS
Case Studies/Industry study reports > Library Information - Management
Semantic Wiki website launched for AcaWiki users - 09 Oct 2009
Representatives of nonprofit project AcaWiki have announced the opening of a new semantic-Wiki based website (http://acawiki.org) that allows scholars, students and bloggers to easily post summaries and discuss academic papers online. All content posted to the site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence. AcaWiki seeks to make academic research more accessible and interactive by creating a ‘Wikipedia for academic research’. It enables users to easily post and discuss human-readable summaries of academic papers and literature reviews online. Also, it helps users to share and organise summaries through the use of tags and RSS feeds. The initiative follows on the work of open access publishers such as the Public Library of Science, as well as on the tradition of using new media to create public dialogue with science. Scholars can post summaries of their or others research online as long as they are not copying verbatim beyond what fair-use laws permit. AcaWiki’s website is built using Semantic MediaWiki, which seeks to combine the sophistication of the semantic web with the ease-of-use of a Wiki. The site enables comments, discussion, user profiles and tagging. Visitors can also import and export from other reference-management tools, such as Endnote and Zotero, via the BibTeX standard. Search for more such services in K-Store Discuss this NEWS
Reference Tools > Scientific information - Academic Papers
JISC Collections to acquire Content Complete Ltd - 09 Oct 2009
JISC Collections, an organisation that manages the acquisition and provision of digital resources for universities and colleges in the UK, has reached an agreement to acquire Oxfordshire-based Content Complete Ltd, effective January 1, 2010. Library clients, publishers and content providers are expected to benefit from this more joined-up approach that will come with the merged company. For the last six years, Content Complete has been JISC Collections’ negotiation agent for NESLi2, the UK’s online journal initiative for the higher education and research communities. The company has also worked closely with JISC Collections on a range of projects and activities in this area including archiving, usage data, online journal business models and, more recently, e-textbooks. JISC Collections is the national centre of excellence for procurement and licensing of digital content to support education and research. Its mission is to negotiate affordable agreements for relevant digital content under licensing terms that maximise adoption and use. Content Complete seeks to support organisations involved in licensing scholarly online content. The company provides an outsourced service, representing clients in direct negotiations with publishers on pricing and licensing issues. Search for more such services in K-Store Discuss this NEWS
Digital Asset Management Platform
World Scientific and SCPG to jointly launch the English translation of the ‘Developing China’ series - 09 Oct 2009
Scientific publisher World Scientific Publishing Company (WSPC), Singapore, and Shanghai Century Publishing Group (SCPG) will jointly launch the English translation of the ‘Developing China’ series with its first volume entitled China's Economy - Rural Reform and Agricultural Development, at the forthcoming Frankfurt Book Fair. Professor Deng Zhenglai, Dean of Fudan Institute of Advanced Study in Social Sciences (IAS-Fudan), will serve as the editor of the book series. Originally written in Mandarin Chinese, the ‘Developing China’ series is a collection of articles written by prominent native Chinese scholars of Humanities and Social Sciences in the last 30 years. Its first volume, China's Economy, focuses on the importance of countryside agriculture and the role of its peasants in China's land reforms, covering various issues including property rights, food trade structures, township and village enterprises, nonagricultural employment, mobility of labor force, land distribution, taxation and savings behaviour. World Scientific Publishing publishes about 500 books annually and more than 120 journals in various fields. It collaborates with prestigious organisations like the Nobel Foundation, US National Academies Press and its subsidiary, Imperial College Press amongst others, to bring high quality academic and professional content to researchers and academics worldwide. Search for more such reference tools in K-Store Discuss this NEWS
Reference Tools > Scientific information - Agriculture
Publishing Technology launches new ICE Virtual Library for the Institution of Civil Engineers - 09 Oct 2009
Publishing-specific software solutions provider Publishing Technology plc, UK, recently launched a new and expanded ICE Virtual Library for the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) and its publishing subsidiary Thomas Telford. The platform provides the first consolidated home for journal and book archives that date back to 1836, alongside ICE’s professional book list, the ICE manuals series and its new collection of e-books. The Library is supported by Publishing Technology’s pub2web technology platform, and represents one of the world’s largest online civil engineering resource. Innovative features of the ICE Virtual Library include chapter-by-chapter purchasing; realtime integration with Thomas Telford’s existing software systems and membership database to carry out authentication and synchronise customer information; integration of print ordering alongside online access to break down traditional barriers between fulfilment options and increase customer choice; and microsites within the main site to reflect different content subsets while retaining overall consistency of user experience. The Publishing Technology group enables publishers to focus on their core competences by providing a single, trusted partner for both technology requirements and business development services. Capabilities cover editorial & production, product information, billing & fulfillment, content conversion & hosting, website development, marketing programs, information commerce, customer relationship management, rights & royalties and business intelligence. All application modules can be configured independently to meet specific publishers' needs and to allow flexible integration with existing systems. Associated sales and marketing services include consultancy and research, sales representation and telemarketing. Search for more such reference tools in K-Store Discuss this NEWS
Reference Tools > Technical Information - Civil Engineering
American Physical Society selects Rightslink to automate author services programme - 09 Oct 2009
Copyright licensing solutions provider Copyright Clearance Center (CCC), US, has announced that the American Physical Society (APS) has selected Rightslink to power its expanded author services programme. Rightslink is an online service from CCC that provides a content licensing solution for publishers. APS has been producing journals since 1913, when they took over the operation of the Physical Review (founded in Cornell University in 1893). The Society currently publishes over 18,000 articles per year in nine different journals, covering all disciplines of physics and areas of study. APS has chosen Rightslink to automate their author services programme. This will enable APS to provide their authors with optimum service through the ability to easily order reprints and manage publication fees, while providing APS with better management control. APS and CCC have established a close collaboration while implementing a robust Application Program Interface (API) between their systems that enables APS to remain in control of their business rules and the ability to rapidly introduce new services offered by Rightslink. APS joins a number of other publishers who have chosen Rightslink to manage, systematise and better monetise their author services programmes. Rightslink is a proven solution used by publishers around the world to easily license and sell their content online to authors and other customers of all types. Earlier last month, STM publisher Springer expanded its implementation of Rightslink on the Springer online platform, springerlink.com. The global publisher has been using Rightslink successfully since 2007 to instantly license customer requests to reuse content from its 2,000 journals. Search for more such Rights and Licensing services in K-Store Discuss this NEWS
Rights and Licensing service
Future Medicine launches new journal - Epigenomics - 09 Oct 2009
Future Medicine, part of Future Science Group, UK, has announced the launch of Epigenomics - a new journal addressing the key technological advances that elucidate the inner working of the genome. The editorial direction of the journal is the responsibility of Senior Editors Dr James G. Herman of the John Hopkins Oncology Center, Baltimore, and Dr Jörg Tost of the Centre National de Génotypage, France. They will be supported by a team of three Associate Editors, together with an Advisory Panel of more than thirty international experts. A bimonthly publication, Epigenomics provides a critical overview of the latest and most significant advances as they unfold and explores how these impact our understanding of human development and disease. The journal publishes reviews, original research, perspectives, commentary and news & views for the interdisciplinary epigenomics community. Epigenomics articles are resented in highly accessible formats. The journal further complements Future Medicine's post-genomic portfolio, which includes Pharmacogenomics, Biomarkers in Medicine, Regenerative Medicine and Personalized Medicine. All articles submitted to the journal are subject to peer review by three, or more, independent assessors. The launch issue is currently available online at http://www.futuremedicine.com/loi/epi. Search for more such medical books/journals in K-Store Discuss this NEWS
Genetics
Dear Subscriber - 09 Oct 2009
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