The Authority File Round-Up – March 2022

A quick overview of last month, in case you missed it

Posted on April 14, 2022 in Blog

Transitioning monographs from traditional print publishing to digital and open has been an uphill battle. While the sciences have experienced a relatively eager shift to digital, the humanities have been left behind, prompting new discussions on their role in academia. Luckily, publishers have begun to innovate in the past decade, introducing new publishing models, technology, and collaborations. What’s next for e-publishing?

Last month ITHAKA’S John Lenahan looked back at ten years of ITHAKA’S Books at JSTOR. In the past decade, the program has worked to make materials more discoverable and accessible—key components of adapting resources to fit changing times and needs. In the discussion, John underscored the significance of digital resources for today’s students and how to keep innovating for future use in all disciplines.

Here’s a quick round-up, in case you missed it. We hope you enjoy the episodes. Thanks for listening!

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Ten Years of Books at JSTOR: An Interview with ITHAKA’s John Lenahan

Last month, John Lenahan, ITHAKA Associate Vice President of Published Content, joined The Authority File to discuss ITHAKA’s 10th anniversary of offering ebooks on JSTOR. In the episode, John reflects on the progress of the Books at JSTOR program: DRM-free access for ebooks, chapter-level metadata, and increased discoverability, to name a few. In addition, John highlights the rise of e-content in the past decade and the future of the program and its existing access models.

Listen to the episode here.

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In addition to this special episode, we’re highlighting a few of our favorite past series of The Authority File. Happy listening!

What We Can Learn from a COVID-19 Spring

• In December 2020, the editors of Vulnerable: The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19 discussed the Canadian and global response to COVID-19. The first two episodes look at Canadian federalism, accountability, and civil liberties, while the third and fourth tackle the equity and vulnerabilities of government response to COVID. Listen to the series here.

Purposeful or Indulgent?

• In this October 2020 series, Conor Kelly of Marquette University delves into the genesis and thesis behind his title The Fullness of Free Time. Exploring the intersection of moral theology and theological ethics, Conor underscores the importance of free time in achieving a meaningful, fulfilling, and ethical life. Listen to the series here.

Constructing the Black Prairie Archives

• In May 2020, Dr. Karina Vernon of the University of Toronto Scarborough shared the process of collecting and sifting through the works that make up The Black Prairie Archives: An Anthology. Karina walks through the inclusivity of the anthology, her personal connection to the title, and how The Black Prairie Archives can expand the narrative of the prairies. Listen to the series here.

The COVID-19 Fall Semester

• In November 2020, Sarah Shippy Copeland of the University of Tennessee Chattanooga and Lauren Magnuson of California State University San Marcos shared how each institution handled the fall 2020 semester. Through the conversation, Sarah and Lauren discussed the similarities and differences in their COVID responses, touching on reopening plans, e-content use, and staff management. Listen to the series here.

What is a scholarly podcast?

• This August 2020 series asks: How do you define “scholarly”? Hannah McGregor and Siobhan McMenemy discuss Hannah’s scholarly podcast Secret Feminist Agenda—Wilfrid Laurier University Press’s introduction to merging academia and media. Hannah and Siobhan explore the generative nature of podcasts, the merits of academic editors in podcasting, and the process of applying a peer review process to audio content. Listen to the series here.

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Missed February’s episodes? We’ve got you covered.

In February, founder of Subway Book Review Uli Beutter Cohen discussed the project’s development and her new book, Between the Lines: Stories from the Underground. Uli chats about the cultural practice of reading, reading trends of the past decade, and the current rise in book banning. You can find the episode here.

What’s Coming Up in April

This month we have two fantastic series. Our first features Michelle Porter, author of Scratching River, which weaves together her Métis ancestry, family interviews, and past trauma. She discusses her writing, research, and the impact of Métis traditions on the two. You can first the first episode here.

Our second series takes a look at the past year of MIT Press’s library collective action model Direct to Open (D2O). Emily Farrell of MIT Press and Curtis Brundy of Iowa State University dive into D2O’s development in the year post-launch and the current open publishing landscape. You can find the first episode here.

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You can find more episodes of the Authority File here on our website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Thanks for listening! See you next month.

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