Join the thousands of professionals that read The Brief, our monthly newsletter covering professional and scholarly communication. The Brief is a free service – to receive it each month in your inbox, just sign-up below.

Tipping Point

Issue 17 • November 2019

Open access tipping point? Like “print will be dead” predictions, the future of OA is taking many turns. India isn’t joining the Plan S coalition. Lackluster reception of Plan S and logistical complications of geowalling. MIT’s framework for publishing contracts.

Coercion

Issue 16 • October 2019

Coercive citation in academic publishing. The Journal Blacklist now includes 12,000+ titles. GSW acquires Lithosphere, the evolution of open access megajournals, personalized research discovery tools, and much more.

Another DEAL

Issue 15 • September 2019

Projekt DEAL and Springer Nature’s Publish and Read deal. Researchers spend as much time searching for articles as they do reading them. Current state of library negotiations with larger commercial publishers. MIT Media Lab’s director departs amid ties to Epstein. And much more.

Guardrails

Issue 14 • July 2019

medRxiv has launched. European Big Deals Survey Reports has been released, and OA topics are centerstage. Marshall Breeding’s library system report also has been released. Plus more in Higher Education, Technology, and From Our Own Pens.

Not Broken

Issue 13 • May 2019

Get a sneak peek of the ASH report on peer review attitudes and perspectives. bioRxiv shows strong growth, particularly in neuroscience and bioinformatics. Scientists develop first-ever image of a black hole. Plus much more in Publishing, Higher Education, Technology, and From Our Own Pens.

Two for One

Issue 12 • April 2019

Elsevier’s contract with Norway lapses, continuing global pressure for publish and read deals. Drinking and reading, the Boston Public Library is serving literary-themed cocktails. Duke University settles its research fraud lawsuit with the federal government, paying $112.5 million; the whistle-blower’s payment – about $33 million. Proposed science funding cuts, and more in Higher Education, Technology, and From Our Own Pens.

A New DEAL

Issue 11 • March 2019

Wiley and Projekt DEAL “publish and read” deal publicly released. UC terminates deal with Elsevier. EU finalizes its copyright directive. Opportunity, the Mars rover, sends its final transmission. Plus more.

APE 2019: Fireworks

Issue 10 • February 2019

APE 2019 and Plan S, too many updates to summarize. Deal between Wiley and Projekt DEAL, still awaiting updates. Textbook rentals, AI and autonomous vehicles, and climate change policies.

Respite

Issue 9 • January 2019

US and Canada won’t sign onto Plan S. Publishing work of a scientific villain. Gibran, Hemingway, Frost – new creative works in the public domain. Plus much more in Higher Education, Technology, and From Our Own Pens.

Momentum

Issue 8 • November 2018

Wellcome Trust and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation align OA policies with Plan S. US government reviewing current OA policies. Scientists pushing back on Plan S. One-third of all journals are now predatory OA titles. Plus more in Higher Education, Technology, and From Our Own Pens.