The Death of the Book has Been Greatly Exaggerated
(technologyreview.in): Tech pundits recently moved up the date for the death of the book, to sometime around 2015, inspired largely by the rapid adoption of the iPad and the success of Amazon's Kindle e-reader. But in their rush to christen a new era of media consumption, have the pundits overreached? Read More
UC Libraries eBook Survey
(cdlib.org): The UC Libraries charged the Springer eBook Task Force to create a survey to collect the opinions of UC faculty, staff, and students about their preferences for print, ebooks, etextbooks and their experiences using the Springer eBook pilot collection. Information on the Springer eBook pilot can be found at… Read More
Big Pharma hired ghostwriters to distort truth about hormone replacement therapy drugs
(naturalnews.com): When medical journals and journal supplements publish scientific information about drug research, you know the information has been carefully reviewed and is accurate and factual. But, it has now been documented that Big Pharma has literally paid writers to twist the truth about bad outcomes and to sneak distorted… Read More
Why There Can Never Be A Competitor to Google Books
(technologyreview.com): Publishers are about to grant Google monopolistic pricing power and permanent exclusivity over countless "orphaned" works. Here's one more way Google is the new Microsoft: the U.S. Department of Justice thinks Google is a monopolist, at least when it comes to Google Books. Read More
Cloud Computing, Mobile Apps Among Top 10 Strategic Technologies for 2011
(phoneplusmag.com): Gartner has identified what it believes will be the top 10 technologies that will impact the way we live and work over the next few years. The research firm recently released its annual list of Top 10 strategic technologies, which it defines as technology with the potential for significant… Read More
New agreement with publishers gets more on line in libraries
(publicnet.co.uk): MLA has brokered an agreement between publishers and library services which allows extended use of free or low cost reference materials. Ten new online resources have been licensed for English public libraries and local authority museums and archives to help build their collections and offer improved information to the… Read More
B2B Publishers See Growing Investor Affection
(paidcontent.org): Is the ever digitising face of publishing an opportunity or a threat to business-to-business (B2B) publishing firms? B2B publishers are reportedly still suffering from weak subscription renewal rates, whilst other core revenue streams such as advertising, promotions and events continue to stabilise. Read More
Remote library ebook downloads under threat
(computeractive.co.uk): The Publishers Association has set out guidelines placing restrictions on ebook lending that puts this service under threat. Many libraries around the UK currently operate an e-lending service. Members are given a passcode and can log on to their library site to download a title wherever they have an… Read More
Hyperlinks thread that binds the web, Supreme Court told
(vancouversun.com): Canada would be offside with other English-speaking countries if legal restrictions were imposed on the exploding practice of linking to online postings, the Supreme Court of Canada was told. The court reserved judgment after a three-hour hearing, in which several lawyers warned that hyperlinks are what make the Internet… Read More
Is the Cloud Too Weak to Support What Paper Can?
(scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org): Opinions of Wikileaks in the wake of its publication of tens of thousands of classified US diplomatic cables certainly varies. Some have noted that it’s hard to claim the cables were terribly secret since 2-3 million government employees have clearance to see this level of “secret” document, and 500,0000… Read More
