News: Academic Publishing Weekly, 9/18/23 – 9/22/23
Publishing lawsuits galore, book bans continue, and the perks of open monographs
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Posted on December 19, 2022 in Blog
To celebrate The Authority File reaching 300 episodes, the Choice team put together several lists highlighting key episodes and topics. First up, we have the most listened to episodes by our listeners. These picks range from primary source literacy and archives to open science, the commercialization of the space industry, and the changing role of the academic library. Enjoy!
Primary source research no longer requires pulling scrolls from basement-stored archives. Thanks to modern database technology, students can easily access and interact with digital primary sources throughout their academic careers. But access doesn’t necessarily equate to expertise. Read more and listen here.
COVID-19 forever altered the academic library. Classes moved online. Quick fixes like mailing services or web chat emerged. Librarians poured their budgets into digital resources—ebooks, audio content, streaming video—and even began to invest in textbooks to alleviate student costs. Now, libraries face a strange intermediacy. Read more and listen here.
“Queer evangelist,” “socialist clergy,” and “honest politician” are not phrases you typically see thrown together. Cheri DiNovo, former member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and current United Church of Canada minister, embraces all three. Read more and listen here.
On July 20th, 2021, Blue Origin—the aerospace company founded by multi-billionaire Jeff Bezos—launched a space flight with four passengers, including the founder himself. This 10-minute flight to the borders of outer space sparked new discussions surrounding commercial investments in the space economy. How has space exploration evolved from a government-sanctioned space race to an industry rife with privately-funded business ventures? Read more and listen here.
For Nduka Otiono, associate professor of African Studies and English at Carleton University, and Peter Midgley, an independent scholar and editor, their friendship was inevitable. Meeting at the University of Alberta, they crossed paths within a community of writers and quickly bonded over a shared interest in oral and African literature. Read more and listen here.
Supporting diverse students doesn’t end when they leave the classroom. In fact, our guests on this four-part series demonstrate that meaningful, valuable, and equitable support should begin before a student steps on campus and extend past graduation—even if they make their way outside of academia. Read more and listen here.
Open access (OA)—initiatives that push for free, publicly-available research—has faced an uphill battle. But despite OA’s initial lack of funding and government support, authors, organizations, and publishers have now begun to adopt open policies around the globe. Looking ahead, where will open access go from here? Read more and listen here.
Monographs are an integral part of the Humanities, an area of academia known for its slower shift into the open access world. While journals and ebooks have adjusted to OA models with relative ease, publishers have struggled to do the same with monographs. What can be done? Read more and listen here.
Whether a local youth choir, a drum circle, or a musical ensemble, community music can take many forms. Perhaps because of this malleability, the subject area has attracted a devoted following in academic study and continues to grow into its own beside and within the more traditional field of music education. Read more and listen here.
Starting in March 2020, widespread changes to work life prompted declarations of a “new normal.” The implementation of remote work, reliance on video conferencing, and shift in balance between home and work life appeared to signal a “transformed workplace.” But will these adaptions remain permanent? Read more and listen here.
Publishing lawsuits galore, book bans continue, and the perks of open monographs
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AI detection tool shortcomings, pitfalls of specialist language, and book awards announcements
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Last month's episodes spotlighted referencing tips and a collection of Shakespeare's First Folio.
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International publishing deals, the Baillie Gifford Prize Longlist, and mixed views on higher education
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