Michael Jubb at the Research Information Network blogs about the new journal version standards released by the NISO/ALPSP JAV Technical Working Group (seriously?). I'm all for standards, even if they appear a bit late, and slightly anachronistic.
I'm not sure how long we, as a society, will continue saying something is finished, especially items like "journal" articles. The standards presume a publication date, even if they've changed the terminology:
"Journal articles record the 'minutes of science' and are intended as a fixed record
of a body of work at a moment in time chosen by the scholar. This leads us to the Version of Record as a useful definition for formalizing academic achievement."
I'm disappointed to see that they dropped concepts, such as "siblings" (related papers on the same subject, probably using the same research), which could have made some review much easier. I also think it has limited the long-term use of the terms given the relatively rapid pace at which the means of dissemination of knowledge is changing, esp. compared to the length of time it took them to come up with the standards.
The report definitely deserves more than the quick reading I've given it. The current version is less than 27 pages, and still manages to introduce the terms, their definitions, and includes some of the formal discussions that took place during the process.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
New Release to Watch from OUP
Cheryl Laguardia, a blogger at LibraryJournal.com, has taken a look at a new collection of digitized 19th-century materials from Oxford called "Electronic Enlightenment." Cheryl writes,
"They present this as a community resource, and are inviting researchers to contribute to the file by adding information about previously unknown correspondents and materials from the period."
It’s heavily gated, and doesn’t appear to have a teaser/free side without registration. I don't really like registering for items that I won't use (I really don't even like registering most of the time when I will use them). So, I'll be watching for user responses and commentary. I'm interested to see how it will compare with the Labyrinth, a "free" resourse on Medieval studies that has been around since the mid-1990s. Several years ago I used it on a research project for a local museum. It functioned more like a cross between an academic Wiki and a host for classroom lectures, etc. The Labyrinth has "recently" (since last I used it) added a tree/search structure, but otherwise looks the same.V ery useful, if not as pretty as OUP's product.
"They present this as a community resource, and are inviting researchers to contribute to the file by adding information about previously unknown correspondents and materials from the period."
It’s heavily gated, and doesn’t appear to have a teaser/free side without registration. I don't really like registering for items that I won't use (I really don't even like registering most of the time when I will use them). So, I'll be watching for user responses and commentary. I'm interested to see how it will compare with the Labyrinth, a "free" resourse on Medieval studies that has been around since the mid-1990s. Several years ago I used it on a research project for a local museum. It functioned more like a cross between an academic Wiki and a host for classroom lectures, etc. The Labyrinth has "recently" (since last I used it) added a tree/search structure, but otherwise looks the same.V ery useful, if not as pretty as OUP's product.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Papertech
Today's NYTimes.com heralds a forthcoming "tech-savvy" Esquire cover complete with battery pack and lit cover.
I have to admire Esquire for their attempts at marketing and survival. My initial reaction was to wonder how in the world they think something like this could possibly herald a different type of magazine experience. The Kindle, sure. Everyone knows that "the future of print" means the demise of most individual print products in favor of hyperlinked, interactive product online.
Then I thought--wait a minute. This is a society that gives away calculators in $12.99 purses. I know that it isn't exactly the same thing, but "adding machines" were still the size and heft of large bricks 30 years ago. What's to say that a "disposable" paper-like medium, hopefully run on flexible solar panels, won't hold the 500+ page content of the August 2023 Vogue, complete with scent-clouds to annoy your seat mate on the train?
I have to admire Esquire for their attempts at marketing and survival. My initial reaction was to wonder how in the world they think something like this could possibly herald a different type of magazine experience. The Kindle, sure. Everyone knows that "the future of print" means the demise of most individual print products in favor of hyperlinked, interactive product online.
Then I thought--wait a minute. This is a society that gives away calculators in $12.99 purses. I know that it isn't exactly the same thing, but "adding machines" were still the size and heft of large bricks 30 years ago. What's to say that a "disposable" paper-like medium, hopefully run on flexible solar panels, won't hold the 500+ page content of the August 2023 Vogue, complete with scent-clouds to annoy your seat mate on the train?
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Results vs. Innovation?
In The Chronicle Review's Note Bene today, "Lights, Camera, Publishing?," by NINA C. AYOUB.
It sounds like video, when it works, works wonderfully. I would love to try audio and video casts to add value to our text books. What could be better for promotion than listening or seeing the book being used in a classroom setting?
It sounds like video, when it works, works wonderfully. I would love to try audio and video casts to add value to our text books. What could be better for promotion than listening or seeing the book being used in a classroom setting?
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
New-to-me, unaccessible tool
I knew there was software that made writing review and proofing easier for those involved than constant emailing or copying of files (pretty much every wiki software is made for that). I didn't know this company existed: http://www.scholarone.com/products_manuscriptcentral_aboutMC.shtml.
It looks so cool, it makes me want to submit a paper just to see it in action.
It looks so cool, it makes me want to submit a paper just to see it in action.
Monday, June 30, 2008
PoGo: The New Polaroid
The Chicago Tribune features a review of the PoGo, the new portable, pocket-sized digital photo print maker from Polaroid, From Camera to Prints in a Matter of Minutes.
It sounds like Polaroid updated their iconic instant-photo product, and very well. One thing it might be missing that the original Polaroid provided was a true un-duplicatable-snapshot, reliable as a recording of an instant in time and space in a way that no digitally-produced image can be.
It sounds like Polaroid updated their iconic instant-photo product, and very well. One thing it might be missing that the original Polaroid provided was a true un-duplicatable-snapshot, reliable as a recording of an instant in time and space in a way that no digitally-produced image can be.
DELOS (The Digital Library Association of the EU)
Seven months after its inception (the group it is based on is ten years old) this association already has 59 members, http://www.diglib.org/. It looks comparable to the Digital Library Federation of the U.S., http://www.diglib.org/.
The program for the Spring Forum for the DLF has some papers that look good, especially Asset Actions Next Steps: Atom/OAI-ORE and Zotero, as well as presentations that cover open access mandates, propose social science data networks, user-centered design, ARTstor, and this presentationon UIScholarWords at Indiana University.
The program for the Spring Forum for the DLF has some papers that look good, especially Asset Actions Next Steps: Atom/OAI-ORE and Zotero, as well as presentations that cover open access mandates, propose social science data networks, user-centered design, ARTstor, and this presentationon UIScholarWords at Indiana University.
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