Legal Battles Over E-Book Rights to Older Books
(nytimes.com): Backlist titles, which continue to be reprinted long after their initial release, are crucial to publishing houses because of their promise of lucrative revenue year after year. But authors and agents are particularly concerned that traditional publishers are not offering sufficient royalties on e-book editions, which they point out… Read More
Data about safety, efficacy of top drugs is tough to access
(theday.com): Information from regulators about the safety and effectiveness of more than a third of America's top-selling drugs is not readily accessible to doctors or the general public, according to a report released Friday by the nonpartisan Sunlight Foundation. In all, basic information about nine out of the top 25… Read More
2020 Vision: Publishing Predictions for the Next Decade
(publishingperspectives.com): top management in book publishing corporations, indeed in any corporation, are largely interested in personal survival. As most recently elaborated in The Curse of the Mogul, most media companies are run by managers who operate in their own interests, not on behalf of shareholders. (And who could blame them… Read More
Neurosurgical journals influence neurosurgeons and their patients
(news-medical.net): A compendium of articles in the Journal of Neurosurgery (JNS) provides evidence that specialty medical journals are not only an invaluable resource to physicians and researchers, but to the media and public. Clinical and basic science papers do not have to be published in large, high-impact publications to garner… Read More
US publishers seek new digital model with Apple
(thebookseller.com): Top US publishers are in 'secret' negotiations with Apple for the launch of the expected Apple Tablet/Slate/Pad later this month, with reports suggesting that they are seeking greater control over pricing and supply of digital material. Publishers Marketplace reports that Apple representatives are in New York for meetings this… Read More
Information Subscriptions Continue to Evolve and Thrive — Why Are Publishers Slow to Adapt?
(scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org): How high a priority is the subscription model in your organization’s commercial strategy? Because of this framework or something like it, are we even equipped to detect the subscription’s proper place as a user preferences? If individual subscriptions aren’t a priority, how can we find the new sweet spot?… Read More
Local Scientists Pay More Attention To Documenting Research Tactics
(memphisdailynews.com): Almost as fast as word got out in November that climate scientists had been cherry picking data and massaging results to support the contention of global warming, online message boards lit up. The issue quickly became known as Climategate, and while the details of it were debated worldwide, scientists… Read More
Purdue cuts in libraries’ periodicals painful for researchers
The libraries of Purdue University are feeling the economic pinch. As administrators grapple with finding millions in savings across the campus, the library system is expecting another year of price increases from print and electronic journal publishers. Already, library shelves have been pruned by $800,000 this academic year through canceling… Read More
26,000 journals at risk of vanishing
(trinitynews.ie): Access to over 26000 electronic journals is under threat following the expiry of funding agreements. The Irish Research eLibrary, which provides digital access to 18000 journals in the humanities and social sciences and 6000 in science, medicine and technology is funded jointly by the Higher Education Authority and Science… Read More
China to surpass US and Japan in scientific R&D too
(247wallst.com): The FT has determined that the growth of China’s scientific research has been greater than that of any other nation in the world over the last three decades. And, China could pass the US as the largest provider of “research knowledge” by the end of this decade. The paper… Read More
