Future Publishing

We used to just tell stories. Then we had monks copy manuscripts by hand. Later, movable type made printing easy. That brings us up to about 15 years ago. Now, online dissemination is changing the way academic publishing works. Scientists, librarians, and publishers are all trying to figure out how to adapt.

Much of the backroom chatter of librarians and other interested parties is actually online and makes for very interesting reading (academic samizdat, RIAA-style takedown notices, and protests). Here are a few links to get you started:

Book of Trogool – From a librarian’s perspective.
Open and Shut? – From freelance journalist Richard Poynder.
In The Dark – From an academic in Cardiff.
Embargo Watch (intro) – Do we need press embargoes? Are they relevant in the age of blogging? If we want to keep them, how should they be designed?
Springer’s 2011 Price List – To get an idea of the prices.

BTW, as discussed previously, you can typically release your own paper to an open access resource, even if you published it in a major, closed journal.