An increasing number of bookstores in Japan are leasing out their shelves to book lovers to allow them to sell the works they want to recommend, fostering communities of such “shelf owners.” https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/27/japan/society/japan-bookstore-shelves-lease/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #books #publishers #literature #jinbocho
Jess Mahler
boosted
This year's FediBookFair will be 1st/2nd November.
FediBookFair is a chance for #authors and #publishers to post about their books using the #FediBookFair hashtag.
#Readers can watch or follow the hashtag to find #books to read and authors to follow. It's an excellent chance to find #Christmas gifts.
Full details at https://AuthorHelp.uk/FediBookFair/
Boosts appreciated.
#author #WritersOfMastodon #writing #WritingCommunity #bookstodon
This year's FediBookFair will be 1st/2nd November.
FediBookFair is a chance for #authors and #publishers to post about their books using the #FediBookFair hashtag.
#Readers can watch or follow the hashtag to find #books to read and authors to follow. It's an excellent chance to find #Christmas gifts.
Full details at https://AuthorHelp.uk/FediBookFair/
Boosts appreciated.
#author #WritersOfMastodon #writing #WritingCommunity #bookstodon
I trust #InternetArchive with government documents more than I do the government! (Or #AI for that matter...)
Internet Archive is now an official #USGovernment document #library
by Steve Dent
Fri, July 25, 2025
"The US Senate has granted the Internet Archive federal depository status, making it officially part of an 1,100-library network that gives the public access to government documents, #KQED reported. The designation was made official in a letter from California Senator Alex Padilla to the Government Publishing Office that oversees the network. 'The Archive's digital-first approach makes it the perfect fit for a modern #FederalDepositoryLibrary, expanding access to federal government publications amid an increasingly digital landscape,' he wrote.
"Established by Congress in 1813, the Federal Depository Library Program is designed to help the public access government records. Each congressional member can designate up to two libraries, which include government information like budgets, a code of federal regulations, presidential documents, economic reports and census data.
"With its new status, the Internet Archive will be gain improved access to government materials, founder Brewster Kahle said in a statement. 'By being part of the program itself, it just gets us closer to the source of where the materials are coming from, so that it’s more reliably delivered to the Internet Archive, to then be made available to the patrons of the Internet Archive or partner libraries.' The Archive could also help other #libraries move toward #DigitalPreservation, given its experience in that area.
"It's some good news for the site which has faced legal battles of late. It was sued by major #publishers over loans of #DigitalBooks during the #Coronavirus epidemic and was forced by a federal court in 2023 to remove more than half a million titles. And more recently, major music labels filed lawsuits over its #Great78Project that strove to preserve #78RPM records. If it loses that case it could owe more than $700 million damages and possibly be forced to shut down.
"The new designation likely won't aid its legal problems, but it does affirm the site's importance to the public. 'In October, the Internet Archive will hit a milestone of 1 trillion pages,' Kahle wrote. 'And that 1 trillion is not just a testament to what libraries are able to do, but actually the sharing that people and governments have to try and create an #EducatedPopulace.' "
https://tech.yahoo.com/general/articles/internet-archive-now-official-us-123036550.html
#BigPublishing#Archives#BigMusic#CulturalPreservation#DigitalPreservation#WaybackMachine #Archiving#FairUse#Archives#Capitalism#Corporatism#FightForTheFuture #EmpoweringLibraries
Generative AI assistants are cutting into traditional online search traffic, depriving news sites of visitors and impacting the ad revenue they desperately need, in a blow to an industry already fighting for survival. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/08/04/tech/ai-search-media-ecosystem/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #tech #chatgpt #ai #fakenews #misinformation #media #journalism #pressfreedom #censorship #newspapers #magazines #internet #publishers
alcinnz
boosted
Kudos to the #Connecticut legislature for passing a new law on digital books and following the 2020 model legislation from #LibraryFutures.( @libraryfutures).
https://www.libraryfutures.net/post/connecticut-ebook-bill
"After the governor signs, #publishers will no longer be able to
* Prohibit #libraries from #lending #ebooks on their own terms,, including via interlibrary loan (#ILL)
* Restrict #license terms or checkout limits during the term of a license without offering agreements on “commercially reasonable terms” that align with the library mission
* Limit when libraries can buy an ebook license or how many licenses they can buy
* Prohibit libraries from making #preservation #copies
* Require libraries to violate patron confidentiality."
Update. Laws like the one in #Connecticut are under consideration in #Hawaii, #Massachusetts, and #NewJersey. Big #publishers and the #AuthorsGuild are lobbying against them.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/16/books/libraries-e-books-licensing.html
From Alan Inouye (@alansinouye), former director of public policy for the American Library Association (@alalibrary): “It’s really sad [that opposition limits libraries] to what we had [in the age of print]. In effect, we’re excluding the possibility of being better in the digital world.”
Nicolas Fressengeas
boosted
The #NIH just announced that it will "cap how much #publishers can charge NIH-supported scientists to make their research findings publicly accessible."
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-crack-down-excessive-publisher-fees-publicly-funded-research
We don't yet know the cap or how NIH will calculate or enforce it.
#APCs#DefendResearch#GoldOA#OpenAccess#ScholComm #Trump #TrumpVResearch#USPol#USPolitics
The #NIH just announced that it will "cap how much #publishers can charge NIH-supported scientists to make their research findings publicly accessible."
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-crack-down-excessive-publisher-fees-publicly-funded-research
We don't yet know the cap or how NIH will calculate or enforce it.
#APCs#DefendResearch#GoldOA#OpenAccess#ScholComm #Trump #TrumpVResearch#USPol#USPolitics
Alex Akselrod
and 2 others
boosted
"Springer Nature book on machine learning is full of made-up citations."
https://retractionwatch.com/2025/06/30/springer-nature-book-on-machine-learning-is-full-of-made-up-citations/
PS: Will this kind of slipshod practice decline on its own? Or does it require publicity and public shaming? I don't know. But I'm grateful to @retractionwatch for turning on its spotlight.
#AI#Hallucinations#Proofreading#Publishers#ScholComm #SpringerNature#SubtractedValue
"Springer Nature book on machine learning is full of made-up citations."
https://retractionwatch.com/2025/06/30/springer-nature-book-on-machine-learning-is-full-of-made-up-citations/
PS: Will this kind of slipshod practice decline on its own? Or does it require publicity and public shaming? I don't know. But I'm grateful to @retractionwatch for turning on its spotlight.
#AI#Hallucinations#Proofreading#Publishers#ScholComm #SpringerNature#SubtractedValue
Tim Chambers
boosted
Many thanks to @AuthorsAlliance for launching this form to collect author experiences under the new federal #OpenAccess policies, including the #NIH policy.
https://www.authorsalliance.org/fedpublicaccess/
"We are particularly interested in learning about:
* Challenges with #publishers whose policies may disallow their uploading of articles to agency-designated #repositories;
* Common questions or points of confusion expressed by grantees;
* Confusion or questions about agency guidance;
* Other technical, legal, or practical barriers to depositing articles."
Note to #librarians: When you encounter authors facing any kind of problem with a fed OA policy (understanding, compliance, publishing), please refer them to this form. The more we document the problems, the more we can facilitate solutions.
Many thanks to @AuthorsAlliance for launching this form to collect author experiences under the new federal #OpenAccess policies, including the #NIH policy.
https://www.authorsalliance.org/fedpublicaccess/
"We are particularly interested in learning about:
* Challenges with #publishers whose policies may disallow their uploading of articles to agency-designated #repositories;
* Common questions or points of confusion expressed by grantees;
* Confusion or questions about agency guidance;
* Other technical, legal, or practical barriers to depositing articles."
Note to #librarians: When you encounter authors facing any kind of problem with a fed OA policy (understanding, compliance, publishing), please refer them to this form. The more we document the problems, the more we can facilitate solutions.
Update. "Since 2017, the #UK has mandated organisations employing more than 250 people to publicly report their annual #gender#PayGap…Every science publisher pays men more than women. In 2024, the lowest median pay gap favouring men was 9.5% ( #SpringerNature), followed by #Sage (13.3%), #Wiley (17.7%), and #Informa (formerly Taylor & Francis) (22.7%). #Elsevier remains an outlier in the magnitude of its gender pay gap and in the lack of progress. Eight years ago Elsevier stood out among publishers, with a median pay gap in 2017 of 40.4% in favour of men over women in its UK business…Elsevier’s median pay gap for 2024 is 32.8%, maintaining its position as worst performer among peers over all eight years of mandatory reporting."
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0004673
Kudos to the #Connecticut legislature for passing a new law on digital books and following the 2020 model legislation from #LibraryFutures.( @libraryfutures).
https://www.libraryfutures.net/post/connecticut-ebook-bill
"After the governor signs, #publishers will no longer be able to
* Prohibit #libraries from #lending #ebooks on their own terms,, including via interlibrary loan (#ILL)
* Restrict #license terms or checkout limits during the term of a license without offering agreements on “commercially reasonable terms” that align with the library mission
* Limit when libraries can buy an ebook license or how many licenses they can buy
* Prohibit libraries from making #preservation #copies
* Require libraries to violate patron confidentiality."
More evidence catching #publishers at gaming their journal impact factor (#JIF).
https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.03771
"Sneaked references are references registered in the metadata of publications without being listed in reference section or in the full text of the actual publications where they ought to be found. We document here 80,205 references sneaked in metadata of the International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology (#IJISRT). These sneaked references are registered with Crossref and all cite -- thus benefit -- this same journal."