School Library Journal throws down the gauntlet in ALA’s direction

Posted in access | Monday, September 1st, 2008 | 2 Comments »
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I did some email back and forth with Brian Kenny from School Library Journal last month when I was trying ot find back issues of their content online. I incorrectly assumed that because I couldn’t find it, it wasn’t there. He took the time to set me straight. Now he’s written an editorial for SLJ asking ALA why more of their content isn’t freely available online, drawing the same conclusion I have “[L]ibrarians are the most vocal advocates for open access to journal content—except, apparently, when it’s their own publications.”

Open Access to Ranganathan

Posted in access, librarians | Monday, July 10th, 2006 | 6 Comments »
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I know, I know, I’m like a Ranganathan fangirl. “The library is a growing organism! blah blah blah” But this is Ranganathan news that is current! And cool! The Digital Library of Information Science & Technology Classics Project has gotten permission from the Sarada Ranganathan Endowment for Library Science to provide open access to many of Ranganathan’s works. There is some preliminary material scanned from the Five Laws of Library Science available already.

three gathering storms that could cause collateral damage to open access

Posted in access | Monday, March 6th, 2006 | 1 Comment »
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Peter Suber’s Open Access newsletter and related blog should be required reading for librarians who care about free access to information. This month he discusses three large proposed shifts in the way the Internet works that could have long-lasting implications for open access: the webcasting treaty, network neutrality debates and the end of free email. Heavily footnoted and clearly explained, these ideas should be read and understood by people concerned with equality of access.

If companies like AT&T and Verizon have their way, there will be two tiers of internet service: fast and expensive and slow and cheap (or cheaper). We unwealthy users –students, scholars, universities, and small publishers– wouldn’t be forced offline, just forced into the slow lane.

directory of open access journals

Posted in access | Thursday, September 29th, 2005 | 1 Comment »
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The Directory of Open Access Journals. Free. Full text. Scholarly and quality controlled. Multilingual. Of particular note to librarians are the 49 journals in library and information science. Which ones are on my reading list for today? IT&Society’s issues about the Digital Divide including A Multifaceted Model of the Digital Divide and An Overview: Approaches for ther Development of Basic IT Skills from The Journal of Issues in Informing Science and Information Technology.