MyCopy allows a library’s registered patrons to order soft cover copies, for their personal use, of those Springer eBooks that the library has previously purchased. Initially, 16 selected libraries and research institutions in the USA and Canada take part in the pilot project with more test partners set to join in early 2009.
The MyCopy Pilot is progressing splendidly in the US and Canada. Currently, there are 16 Development Partners enrolled in the program, and 13 additional Development Partners will join the Pilot in January 2009, spanning academic, government, and corporate institutions. MyCopy now boasts close to 11,500 eBooks that can be ordered Print-On-Demand. The market response has been very positive, as can be seen from the testimonial below. Provided that the great success of the Pilot continues, MyCopy will most likely be launched in the US in the 2nd quarter of 2009.
“This project represents a very innovative way in which to look at both publisher and library services for electronic content in the future, and MyCopy is a great value-add to our site license for these eBooks.” ~Wendy Allen Shelburne, Assistant professor, Acquisitions (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign)
See Frequently Asked Questions about MyCopy, for more information.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Renting Keys to Walled Gardens
http://acrlog.org/2008/12/14/renting-keys-to-walled-gardens/
The Pew Internet and American Life Project has just issued its third annual forecast of “The Future of the Internet.” It’s well worth a read. Among predictions:
–The mobile phone (or its descendant) will be the primary access point to the Internet by 2020.–Social networking won’t increase tolerance. It might even polarize people into less tolerant camps.–The original architecture of the Internet will not be replaced, but will be enhanced by research.–Attempts to control access to content will continue to be challenged in an ongoing battle between intellectual property owners and users.
The Pew Internet and American Life Project has just issued its third annual forecast of “The Future of the Internet.” It’s well worth a read. Among predictions:
–The mobile phone (or its descendant) will be the primary access point to the Internet by 2020.–Social networking won’t increase tolerance. It might even polarize people into less tolerant camps.–The original architecture of the Internet will not be replaced, but will be enhanced by research.–Attempts to control access to content will continue to be challenged in an ongoing battle between intellectual property owners and users.
Faculty Involvement Makes All The Difference
http://acrlog.org/2009/02/24/faculty-involvement-makes-all-the-difference/
From the ACRLog(blog for research and academic librarians)
"In a previous post I expressed my vision for the future of information literacy - and in that vision it’s not the librarians teaching students the skills needed to be wise consumers of information - it’s the faculty. That’s why this Wired Campus post caught my attention. It’s about two faculty members who wrote a research guide for students, and who integrate some elements of information literacy (evaluating content) into their courses."......
From the ACRLog(blog for research and academic librarians)
"In a previous post I expressed my vision for the future of information literacy - and in that vision it’s not the librarians teaching students the skills needed to be wise consumers of information - it’s the faculty. That’s why this Wired Campus post caught my attention. It’s about two faculty members who wrote a research guide for students, and who integrate some elements of information literacy (evaluating content) into their courses."......
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Google & the Future of Books
Interesting article in the New York Review of Books
"How can we navigate through the information landscape that is only beginning to come into view? The question is more urgent than ever following the recent settlement between Google and the authors and publishers who were suing it for alleged breach of copyright. For the last four years, Google has been digitizing millions of books, including many covered by copyright, from the collections of major research libraries, and making the texts searchable online. The authors and publishers objected that digitizing constituted a violation of their copyrights. After lengthy negotiations, the plaintiffs and Google agreed on a settlement, which will have a profound effect on the way books reach readers for the foreseeable future. What will that future be?".........
Monday, March 2, 2009
Open-access publishing brings cost savings
"Research institutions could make surprisingly big savings if their researchers paid to publish their articles with an open-access model rather than using the traditional subscription model. And the savings could be even bigger if they simply self-archived their work in an institutional repository.These conclusions come from a new study into scholarly publishing in the UK led by John Houghton from the Centre of Strategic Economic Studies at Melbourne’s Victoria University, Australia and Charles Oppenheim at Loughborough University, UK. In addition to looking at the costs and savings of different models, the study also examined the additional cost-benefits that might arise from enhanced access to research findings...."
Last UK research council mandates open access
The Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) has decided to mandate open-access publication of the research that it funds. However, it says that academics should be able to choose whether they use the so-called green option (ie, self-archiving in an on-line repository) or to use the gold option (ie, pay-to-publish in an open access journal).
This decision, which was made at the EPSRC council's December meeting, follows a consultation by Research Councils UK, in collaboration with the Research Information Network and the Department of Trade and Industry.
ESPRC was the only one of the seven Research Councils UK, which hadn't already adopted an open-access mandate; the others having announced theirs back in 2006. ESPRC will publish further details of its policy later in the spring.
(from Research Information)
This decision, which was made at the EPSRC council's December meeting, follows a consultation by Research Councils UK, in collaboration with the Research Information Network and the Department of Trade and Industry.
ESPRC was the only one of the seven Research Councils UK, which hadn't already adopted an open-access mandate; the others having announced theirs back in 2006. ESPRC will publish further details of its policy later in the spring.
(from Research Information)
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