SpringerLink now offers more than 50,000 eBooks
Springer has announced its 50,000th eBook, available on its online platform SpringerLink (www.springerlink.com). This milestone underscores Springer’s position as the largest eBook publisher and emphasizes SpringerLink’s dominance in offering the world’s most comprehensive online collection of science, technology and medicine (STM) journals, books and reference works.
In addition, as announced in October 2011, Springer will digitize nearly all books it has published since 1842. By adding the Springer Book Archives to SpringerLink by the end of 2012, the total number of titles will increase to well over 100,000 eBooks, including valuable historic research dating back to the 1840s.
Wouter van der Velde, eProduct Manager for eBooks at Springer, said, “This is a major milestone for Springer. Our eBook collections are widely used by researchers throughout the world. The high usage clearly shows that Springer is on the right track by providing researchers with quality content.”
Springer launched its eBook collection in 2006. For the fifth anniversary, the publishing house consulted leading librarians across the academic, corporate and government sectors to gain their perspective on the past, present and future of the eBook revolution.
Springer collected the best practices about library implementation, business models and the paper-to-electronic transition, and included these insights in a far-reaching white paper. This paper — written for librarian, publisher and aggregator audiences — explores the shared challenges and opportunities that eBooks present to key stakeholders. The white paper is now available on www.springer.com/ebooks and can also be picked up at the Springer booth at the ALA 2012 Midwinter Meeting in Dallas.*
Ray Colón, Director of eProduct Management at Springer, said: “Springer is fortunate to have a smart, forward-thinking library advisory community. Five years after we introduced the first STM eBooks offering, we wanted to get their take on how eBooks have changed the landscape and what challenges and opportunities lie ahead for all of us. We hope this white paper is part of the dialogue that moves us forward together over the next five years and beyond.”
Springer eBooks’ PDF and HTML documents are fully searchable, free of Digital Rights Management and can be downloaded, printed, and also loaded onto mobile devices such as tablets and mobile phones. In addition, once a library purchases Springer’s eBook Collection, they own the book content for their use in perpetuity. The Springer eBook Collection provides MARC 21 records, free of charge. In addition, OCLC MARC records for Springer eBooks are available free of charge to eBook customers.
Major Cancer Societies to Support New Wiley Open Access Journal
Wiley-Blackwell, today announced the launch of Cancer Medicine, a new Wiley Open Access journal. Cancer Medicine is a peer reviewed, open access, interdisciplinary journal providing rapid publication of cutting edge research from global biomedical and clinical researchers across all the oncologic specialties in cancer biology, clinical cancer research and cancer prevention. The journal’s promise of full global reach is reinforced by its editorial leadership and support from prestigious journals and societies. Cancer Medicine has unprecedented support from three major cancer societies: American Cancer Society (ACS), Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and Japanese Cancer Association (JCA).
Chris Graf, Publisher at Wiley-Blackwell for Cancer Medicine speaks about the societies’ involvement in the new journal, “We are thrilled that the ACS, the UICC, and the JCA are collaborating with us to launch our new open access journal, Cancer Medicine. This unique partnership of top-flight organizations reaches around the globe and is a great fit for Cancer Medicine’s truly global editorial ambitions.”
Jesper Konradsen, Journal Publishing Manager adds, “We believe that by supporting the journal these societies lead the way for others by showing that while publishing models may change, the core value of successful journals remain the same: to serve as the forums for what the research community considers the most significant current research.”
Cancer Medicine is steered by Editor-in-Chief Dr. Qingyi Wei, a highly published and cited author based at the world’s leading cancer research center in the United States. Dr. Wei’s previous editorial work includes a role as a Senior Editor on the American Association for Cancer Research’s journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. His research is aimed at identifying individuals at high risk of developing cancer.
Dr. Wei comments, “I am delighted to introduce Cancer Medicine, which will allow readers to have fast access to the most up to date global collaborations in cancer research and international approaches in practicing cancer medicine, as well as highlighting key achievements from the integration of basic, clinical and preventive research of cancer. In the years to come, I will work closely with the Wiley-Blackwell Cancer Medicine team to provide timely and impartial service to all contributors and readers, who will, without a doubt, make Cancer Medicine a success.”
The journal is open to submissions now and aims to publish its first content online in Spring 2012. Please visit the journal’s website www.cancermedicinejournal.com for further information and future updates.
Emerald launches Video Abstracts to showcase research
Emerald Group Publishing, a leading publisher of global research, has announced the launch of its Video Abstracts Showcase, an exciting new initiative that provides an engaging platform for researchers to connect with their audience. These short summaries of recently published Emerald articles are filmed by the authors themselves, providing an opportunity to present an overview and the motivation behind their piece of work. A selection of notable articles is now available at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/multimedia/abstracts.htm
Early contributions include videos from esteemed author Dr Christian Grönroos of the Hanken School of Economics in Finland, who discusses regaining customer management for marketing; and Professor Noha El-Bassiouny, in what is considered the world’s first empirical investigation of the relationship between ethics education and consumer behaviour in the “tweens” segment.
Emerald is committed to improving ways of delivering access to research and to facilitate how subject communities interact and communicate. This new media stream allows authors to go beyond the constraints of the written word, maximizing community engagement, interaction and visibility, and encourage the growing trend for content to be shared online through social media channels.
Alistair Craven, Digital Content Manager at Emerald, comments, “We are keen to explore this new channel with our communities. The Video Abstracts Showcase provides authors with a voice that enables them to introduce their research and place it in a wider context so as to maximize its impact.”
This new initiative is one of several recent technological developments Emerald has announced. In June 2011, Emerald introduced the EPUB format to enable users to access and download content via mobile devices. The Emerald App was launched in December 2011, providing access to almost 100,000 articles from Emerald journals. The app allows subscribers to synch their personal profiles for seamless research workflow and share results through social media for increased dissemination and impact.
For more information about the Emerald Video Abstracts Showcase, visit http://www.emeraldinsight.com/multimedia/abstracts.htm
WKH & the International Anesthesia Research Society Renew Partnership to Publish Anesthesia & Analgesia
Wolters Kluwer Health and the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS) are pleased to announce that they have signed an agreement to renew their partnership to publish Anesthesia & Analgesia (A&A), the official journal of the IARS. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW), part of Wolters Kluwer Health, is the publisher of A&A, which is distributed monthly and is available online and on mobile and iPad devices to members of the IARS and individual subscribers. Institutions have access to A&A through Ovid online, a global leader in information services which provides electronic content, research capabilities, and support services to students, professionals and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health and pharmacy worldwide.
“We are honored that the highly regarded International Anesthesia Research Society has chosen to continue its collaboration with Wolters Kluwer Health and LWW,” said Karen Abramson, President and CEO, Wolters Kluwer Health Medical Research. “We’re delighted to partner with the society and editorial team to continue to enhance the journal and develop new channels to engage and attract members to this specialty content – when and where they need access to the literature.”
The International Anesthesia Research Society is the oldest professional society for anesthesiologists and celebrates its 90th anniversary in 2012. The IARS is a nonpolitical, not-for-profit medical society that advances and supports scientific research and education related to anesthesia, and to improve patient care through basic research. The Society contributes nearly $1 million annually to fund anesthesia research; sponsors an annual meeting for anesthesiology leaders to share information and ideas; maintains a worldwide membership of more 16,000 physicians, physician residents, and others with doctoral degrees, as well as health professionals in anesthesia-related practice; sponsors the SmartTots initiative in conjunction with the FDA; and publishes the journalAnesthesia & Analgesia. Additional information about the society and the journal may be found at the IARS website.
“We are delighted to renew our publishing partnership with Wolters Kluwer Health and LWW,” stated James G. Ramsay, MD, Chair of the IARS Board of Trustees. “LWW has truly taken a leadership position in the medical publishing market. We believe that A&A and the IARS can significantly expand our global presence through our long-standing partnership with LWW, and we look forward to extending our agreement through the end of the decade.”
Steven L. Shafer, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Anesthesia & Analgesia, added: “LWW has been a technology leader in the medical journals field for many years. The recently launched iPad app for our journal is groundbreaking, and I expect a strong and positive response from our readers. We are delighted that LWW is leading the way for our growth in digital markets.”
Springer in book partnership with American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy
Springer has signed a co-development partnership with the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT) for the publication of books to be included in the Springer series Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology. The agreement is to publish four edited volumes per year in the field of gene and cell therapy.
ASGCT will hold editorial responsibility for the books and Springer will handle production, marketing, sales and distribution. The books will be available as eBooks on Springer’s online platform www.springerlink.com and in print-to-order (PTO) format.
Mary Dean, Executive Director of the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy, said, “The ASGCT leadership is excited to partner with Springer to further the educational missions of both organizations.”
Andrea Macaluso, Editorial Director Biomedicine at Springer, said, “Springer is delighted to collaborate with the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy on the launch of a book program that will highlight the research accomplishments of their members and encourage original investigation in gene and cell therapy. We look forward to a long and fruitful partnership.”
ASGCT’s mission is to advance knowledge, awareness, and education leading to the discovery and clinical application of genetic and cellular therapies. Society is a catalyst for bringing together scientists, physicians, patient advocates, and other stakeholders to transform the practice of medicine by incorporating the use of genetic and cellular therapies to control and cure human disease. If you’re interested in finding out more about this field, then learn more about Bio-Sharing and visit their website to learn more about their contributions to the society through their services.
Introducing Mendeley Institutional Edition powered by Swets
Swets, the world’s leading information service company, and Mendeley, creators of the revolutionary online reference management and academic social networking tool, are pleased to announce the launch of Mendeley Institutional Edition powered by Swets. Building on the existing Mendeleyfunctionalities, this multi-device solution provides librarians and institutions with a means to:
- Connect their collection directly to researchers and end users
- Support researchers within their own workflow
- Create pathways for collaboration and interaction among students, professors and their peers
- Monitor, support and facilitate the research undertaken within their institution
- Showcase the value of their institution to potential students and research staff
With over 1.4 million active users Mendeley has quickly established itself as a must-have research tool among academic students, professors and researchers around the globe. It contains the world’s largest crowd-sourced information library, with over 145 million documents. Although the software has opened up new pathways for collaboration and interaction between individual students and researchers in similar fields around the world, those researchers could still benefit from the knowledge, guidance and expertise of the traditional library. Mendeley Institutional Edition powered by Swetsaddresses this need, providing a unique operating place within the Mendeley platform from which librarians can guide, support and facilitate the research undertaken across their institution.
“The user-led working environment established by Mendeley has quickly transformed the way that research is undertaken among academic students and researchers,” said Frans van Ette, Business Development Director at Swets. “The Institutional Edition sees us reconnecting the knowledge, value and expertise of library staff to the researcher while simultaneously providing key information on usage trends and topics back to the institution.We’ve worked with librarians in various countries to be sure to meet their wishes.”
“Mendeley Institutional Edition powered by Swets enables librarians to support their researchers on a much more detailed and bespoke level than ever before,” said Dr. Victor Henning, CEO and Co-Founder of Mendeley “Users will be able to gain swifter access to the content they need, gain greater support from their institution overall and open upmore dynamic and collaborative ways of working, improving the valued research environment Mendeley already provides.”
Within their institutional profile, librarians can assist their users in a number of ways:
- Upload their A-Z list of titles
- Have teachers set up course packs to direct students to important content
- Utilize link resolvers to facilitate speedy access paths to information
- Increase the reach of researchers by helping them share their content
- Discover peers in similar research fields
- Create the library’s own citation style, or adopt a standard
Mendeley Institutional Edition powered by Swets also offers unique benefits for the institution;
- Increase the institution’s reputation by showcasing the readership of the library
- Browse the profiles and activities of institution members
- Create an interface in which users can browse its members’ publications
- Quickly determine how many users are using which journals
- Identify research trends among users and use the data to inform collection development decisions.
A free demonstration of the premium version of Mendeley Institutional Edition powered by Swets can be requested at www.swets.com/mendeley
Copyright Alliances welcomes US bill overturning free access to publicly funded research
“The Copyright Alliance praises U.S. Representatives Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) for their bipartisan introduction of H.R. 3699, the Research Works Act. The proposal would overturn an unprecedented federal government taking of copyrights from certain authors and researchers.
“Providing a federal grant to fund a research project should not enable the federal government to commandeer and freely distribute a subsequently published private sector peer-reviewed article. But a 2008 mandate at the National Institutes of Health requires just that – disregarding the significant value added by the private-sector publisher whose activities are not funded by the government.
“This is counterproductive for several reasons: it is not fair to other investors in the research, if there are any; it arbitrarily limits the value of the copyright in the article for the author and publisher, and harms the publisher’s investments in ensuring a quality publication; and, it results in reduced incentives for both these groups to publish peer-reviewed articles explaining the nature and results of government-funded research in a manner that ultimately harms society when the investment in publication dries up due to lack of ability to recover their costs.
“This reversal of centuries of copyright law occurred withoutinput from the affected communities, and without benefit of oversight by congressional committees with expertise and responsibility for copyright laws and enforcement.
“This bipartisan bill ensures that privately-funded research works that describe or interpret federal research and are intended for public publishing will receive that treatment, and preserves the rights of research funders and publishers.”
BACKGROUND:
A congressional mandate at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) forces the surrender of copyrighted scientific journal articles for free public access 12 months after publication. The mandate passed as part of the FY2008 Labor HHS Appropriations Bill, without benefit of any study or input by committees with expertise and oversight on copyright. H.R. 3699 is consistent with the Fair Use in Research Works Act introduced in the 111th Congres.
ABOUT THE COPYRIGHT ALLIANCE
The Copyright Alliance is a non-profit, non-partisan public interest and educational organization representing artists and creators across the spectrum of copyright disciplines, including more than 40 trade association, companies and guilds, and 8,000 individual artists and creators. For more information, please visit www.copyrightalliance.org.
Elsevier and Leiden’s Scaliger Institute Establish Fellowship Program for Rare Books Scholars
Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, and the Scaliger Institute of Leiden University Libraries announced today the founding of a three year fellowship program to enable international rare books scholars to study 16th -18th century scientific scholarship and publishing. The program will support two scholars to work with the extensive Leiden University Special Collections and the Elsevier Heritage Collection for a period of one to three months annually. They will be invited to share their research through public lectures and publications.
The fellowship program builds on Elsevier’s recent launch of the Elsevier Heritage Collection’s online catalogue comprising over 2,000 rare books with more than 1,000 distinct titles published by the original Elzevier publishing house from 1580 to 1712. Based in the Netherlands and closely tied to Leiden University, the original company published groundbreaking work from contemporary scholars including Descartes, Huygens and Galileo. The modern publisher Elsevier, founded in 1880, was named after the original firm when as a tribute to the publishing achievements of the Elzeviers.
The Scaliger Institute will also work closely with the Elsevier Heritage Collection team to provide training and expertise on preservation, exhibitions, display techniques, cataloguing, bindings, history and provenance study. The fellowships offer a scientific publishing complement to the longstanding Scaliger Institute Brill fellowships. These focus on rare books research in the fields of Middle East, Islamic and Asian Studies, medieval and early modern history as well as religious and classical studies.
”Our collaboration falls squarely in the tradition of the Scaliger Institute,” remarked Kurt De Belder, University Librarian and Director of Leiden University Libraries. “It stimulates the study of rare books and special collections to further our understanding of the foundations of academia. The Scaliger Institute is also dedicated to public outreach and looks forward to hosting the lectures and master classes generated by studying the history of publishing and scientific scholarships.”
“The Elsevier Heritage fellowships reinforce our longstanding relationship with the University of Leiden, and builds upon the original Elzeviers’ tradition of publishing the great scientific minds of the 16th-18th century,” noted David Ruth, Senior Vice President of Global Communications, Elsevier. “Supporting scholars to study the history of scholarship and science also ensures that the Elsevier Heritage Collection can be more fully researched and made available to scholars around the world.”
The Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology Develops Content Repository
SomCom is delighted to announce that it has been commissioned by The Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) to develop an online fully searchable archive and content repository of its historic journal and magazine content.
The project achieves a number of strategic objectives: preservation of content, space saving and most importantly the solution will provide a valuable member benefit by giving its members – many of whom are based overseas – convenient access to content that was only previously available in hard copy in the IMarEST library.
The new archive and repository will allow IMarEST staff to add in new content which over time will become a living, breathing, educational and research resource, not only reflecting the Institute’s rich marine engineering history, but providing a unique resource across all marine science and technology disciplines.
When it is complete, the content repository (yet to be given an official name) will contain over 400 volumes from 1889 to 2009 and will have in excess of 250,000 pages.
The repository will initially include:
IMarE Transactions 1889-2009
The recorded history of the activity of the Institute including Member Lists, Obituaries, Annual Reports and written technical papers including Discussion and Author replies.
Shipping World & Shipbuilder 1911-2009 (inc. The Shipbuilder & Marine Engineer, The Shipbuilder etc.)
Journal including articles on newly built ships, shipyards, new technologies, ship design etc. Still published by the IMarEST today.
Marine Engineers Review – 1967-2009
Historically, the foremost read members journal. Including articles demonstrating new engine designs, technologies etc. Also included, the members newsletter, plus obituary information etc. from 1967-1983 when the newsletter was published separately as the IMarE Bulletin.
IMarE Bulletin/IMarEST News – 1983-2009
The newsletter for IMarEST members, succeeded both the Transactions and MER as the method of delivering member news regarding Institute activities, Obituaries, people news etc.
James McRae, Information and Knowledge Manager at the IMarEST commented “Having worked with SomCom since 2003 on various content related technology products including the production of conference proceedings and abstract content, we believe in their ability to deliver the right solution, understanding the unique needs of our organisation and our membership, particularly as they have also successfully delivered several archive and online content solutions for other societies and associations.
“With the IMarEST intent on membership development internationally, it is vital to deliver member benefits which are equally accessible regardless of geographic location. This online resource will support members who were unable to easily utilise the valuable knowledge once held in the physical library collection at IMarEST HQ.”
Phil Paterson, Business Development Director at SomCom commented, “We are delighted to be extending our relationship with IMarEST and are looking forward to commencing work on this exciting new project. The hybrid archive and content repository we develop will provide IMarEST members with a more convenient way to access and share historic knowledge, research and innovations within the specialist fields of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology.”
About SomCom Ltd www.somcom.co.uk
SomCom is a family owned technology company based in Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire. The company develops open source online resources, archives and web applications for society and association publishers including: The Newcomen Society, The British Academy, The Institute of Brewing & Distilling, The Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), The Kew Guild, Council British Archaeology, British Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy, The Society for Nautical Research and Navy Records Society.
About IMarEST www.imarest.org
www.imarest.org Established in London in 1889, is the leading international membership body and learned society for marine professionals, with members in over 100 countries worldwide.
The IMarEST has a strong international presence with an extensive marine network of 50 international branches, affiliations with major marine societies around the world, representation on the key marine technical committees and non-governmental status at the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
ACCUCOMS and Future Science Group extend cooperation
ACCUCOMS is pleased to announce that its dedicated sales representation for the Future Science Group (FSG) has been extended to include northern Europe. ACCUCOMS has been providing dedicated sales representation for FSG in North America since August 2010.
Following on from the success of this cooperation, FSG have appointed ACCUCOMS to dedicate a sales representative to activities in Scandinavia, Finland and the United Kingdom. Simon Boisseau, Sales Director at FSG: “As one of the fastest growing medical publishers with many new journal and eBook products we are looking to maximize our sales globally. Northern Europe offers room for growth and we believe that ACCUCOMS can help us to intensify and strengthen our activities in this region. Not only does ACCUCOMS already have a strong presence in northern Europe, but the dedicated sales representation model has been very successful for us.” Pinar Erzin, Managing Director of ACCUCOMS: “We are delighted to expand our relationship with FSG. It is rewarding to see how successful our cooperation with FSG in North America has been. ACCUCOMS specializes in offering high-quality sales and marketing services all over the globe, and northern Europe is no exception. We look forward to providing FSG with excellent dedicated sales representation in this region.”
Copyright Clearance Center Acquires Pubget
Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), a not-for-profit organization and leading source of licensing solutions, has acquired MA-based Pubget, a solutions provider focused on expediting the acquisition and analysis of content.
Pubget offers search, retrieval and browse capabilities for content. Its solutions make research more efficient by simplifying the process of finding, managing and analyzing information. Pubget has served more than 5 million researchers and 500 research centers in 2011.
“Blending Pubget’s current and future offerings with CCC’s broad portfolio of licensing products will provide clients with a complete professional information solution,” said Tracey Armstrong, CEO, Copyright Clearance Center. “We’re thrilled to welcome Pubget’s team to CCC and look forward to working together to quickly create market-driven solutions that meet the needs of those who produce content and those who use it.”
“Part of our mission at Pubget is to make access to information seamless. CCC has been making copyright licensing seamless for researchers for decades,” said founder Ramy Arnaout. “We need to work directly with publishers to build this business and CCC has done this while also extending the value of content spend for users. We are all excited about what the future holds with this combination.”
Pubget was founded in 2007 by Arnaout who holds an MD from Harvard, a PhD in mathematical biology from Oxford, and an SB in biology from MIT. Arnaout will join the CCC team as a Senior Advisor.
Co-founders Ryan Jones, formerly of Microsoft’s enterprise search group with an AB from Dartmouth and MBA from UC Berkeley, and Ian Connor, formerly of IBM holding degrees in physics and law from Queensland University of Technology, will remain as senior leaders in the Pubget organization responsible for Business Development and Engineering respectively. Arnaout, Jones and Connor are joined by the entire Pubget team including experienced talent from The Mathworks, Nature Publishing Group, The Broad Institute, 3M and MIT. CCC has named Emily Sheahan, former Group Publisher at HCPro, as General Manager & Executive Director.
Pubget’s offices will remain in Boston. To learn more about Pubget’s current offerings, visit www.pubget.com.