Transitions: scholarly communications news for the UI community | February 2007

February 2007
Issue 1.07

Welcome to the February issue of Transitions.

The purpose of this irregular electronic newsletter is to bring to readers’ attention some of the many new projects and developments affecting the current system of scholarly communication, with emphasis on new products and programs, the open access movement and other alternative publishing models. Scholarly communication refers to the full range of formal and informal means by which scholars and researchers communicate, from email discussion lists to peer-reviewed publication. In general authors are seeking to document and share new discoveries with their colleagues, while readers–researchers, students, librarians and others–want access to all the literature relevant to their work.

While the system of scholarly communication exists for the benefit of the world’s research and educational community and the public at large, it faces a multitude of challenges and is undergoing rapid change brought on by technology. To help interested members of the UI community keep up on these challenges and changes we plan to put out 6-8 issues per year of this newsletter.

This newsletter aims to reflect the interests of its readers so please forward comments, suggestions and entries to include to karen-fischer@uiowa.edu. Also, read the health sciences counterpart to Transitions: Hardin Scholarly Communication News.

Table of Contents

For Oxford University Press, Online Venture Breathes New Life into the Monograph
Publishers’ Group Reportedly Hires P.R. Firm to Counter Push for Free Access to Research Results
Google’s Moon Shot: The Quest for the Universal Library
University of California Libraries Announce Pursuit of Value-based Journal Prices
U. of Michigan Press, Library, Scholarly Publishing Office Launch Digital Studies Imprint, Web Site
Major Society Publisher Announces Support for Public Access to Scientific Literature
Wiley Completes Acquisition of Blackwell
Scholarpedia Launches
American Mathematical Society Journals to be Preserved in Portico
Open Access to Research Is in the Public Interest – PLoS Biology Editorial
A Lesson in Viral Video
Web 2.0 … The Machine is Us/ing Us
SPARC at Ten: A Decade Later, Organization Still Aims to Be Part of The Solution
BioOne Announces Return of Systematic Botany
Invitation to Sign Petition for Open Access