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Techniques to Understand the Changing Needs of Library Users This paper demonstrates a set of techniques development by the River Campus Libraries at the University of Rochester (USA) which have facilitated a tight alignment between the services, collections, facilities, and digital presence of the Libraries with the academic needs of the undergraduate students, graduate students and faculty at the University of Rochester. The focus and study of academic work practices has been achieved through the adoption and adaptation of methods from anthropological and ethnography, which are then applied to the study of segments of a university community.     Click here

Open Access Threatens Academic Publishers (seekingalpha.com): One of the worlds best business model is about to be 'disintermediated.' Academic publishing has been very lucrative for a very long time, but we might be close to the tipping point where that becomes increasingly problematic.     Click here

Is there a future for dedicated eReaders? (techpinions.com): When Amazon introduced their first Kindle eReader, there were a lot of articles that suggested that this device represented the future of books. Many wrote that thanks to the Kindle, eBooks would go mainstream and be the most popular way people would read a book in the future. To some degree, there was a lot of logic and truth in this idea.     Click here

The system of subscription publishing is unsustainable: a 'mega-journal' with low article processing fees and peer review (blogs.lse.ac.uk): Taking inspiration from the changes that Apple's iPod had on the music industry Dan Scott hopes that a combination of low article processing fees and peer review could make 'mega-journals' part of the future of academic publishing. The social sciences have a need for a new way of doing things that addresses the many contradictions and issues facing academia and scholarly publishing.     Click here

Libraries adapt, change with advances in technology (kccommunitynews.com): The evolution of technology does not mean the extinction of libraries. Patrons want our help with purchase recommendations for the popular eReaders, using the gadgets (straight out of the box), and accessing free books. They have their eReaders and now want their eLibraries.     Click here