Cites & Insights June 2013 (13:6) now available

The June 2013 Cites & Insights (13:6) is now available for downloading from http://citesandinsights.info/

The issue is available as a 42-page print-oriented two-column PDF or an 81-page single-column 6x9" online-oriented PDF.

You might think of this as a side-effect issue, as both pieces grow out of work done for the Open Access preconference I did at the Washington/Oregon Library Associations joint conference last week:

The Front: The Big Deal and the Damage Done: Available Now (pg.1)

The Big Deal and the Damage Done ($9.99 PDF ebook, $16.50 paperback) is a study of U.S. academic library spending between 2000 and 2010 for current serials, books (and all other acquisitions), and everything else--showing the effects of Big Deals and other constantly-rising serials prices. It looks at libraries by size, by sector and by Carnegie classification. The damage done? Primarily to the humanities and other fields that depend on monographs, to the ability of libraries to maintain the record of human creativity--and to library flexibility to do anything except write checks for current serials. (20% off through May 2, 2012, using code SILEO at checkout.)

Intersections: Hot Times for Open Access (pp. 1-42)

Mid-December 2012 through March 2013 has had a lot going on with OA--enough that I abandoned my plan to ignore OA for the rest of 2013 (after devoting most of the January and February 2013 issues to the topic). This roundup looks at current issues in defining the terms, CC BY, the Gold and the Green, problems, OA in general, specific recent developments, the White House actions, OA in the humanities and social sciences, direct actions and libraries.

Cites & Insights 13:5 (May 2013) now available

The May 2013 issue of Cites & Insights (volume 13, number 5) is now available for downloading at http://citesandinsights.info

[If you want a shorter URL, http://cical.info will also work.]

The two-column PDF version is 28 pages long.

The 6x9" single-column version, designed and optimized for e-reading, is 60 pages long.

Unless you plan to print out the issue, the single-column version may be preferable: the issue includes 31 graphs, each of which is nearly twice as large (40% wider, 40% taller) in that version, frequently with more detail. The issue consists of one essay:

Libraries: The Mythical Average Public Library

There is no such thing as the average library. That may be obvious--but you might be surprised at just how far away from average most measures for most libraries are. For that matter, for any derivative measure, which average is average?

This essay discusses averages and a few low-level statistical terms, then shows where American public libraries stand--not only for 2010 (the most recent IMLS data) but for changes from 2009 to 2010. I believe you'll find it revealing and interesting.

Announcement links now go to the home page, where I hope you'll note "Pay what you wish" before going on to the issue itself.

After three Big Serious Issues in a row, and with a Big Serious Essay on the Mythical Public Library coming up in May, it's time for a little break...

The April 2013 Cites & Insights (13:4) is now available for downloading at http://citesandinsights.info/civ13i4.pdf

It's 34 pages.

The 6x9" single-column "online version," optimized for e-reading, is also available at http://citesandinsights.info/civi13i4on.pdf and is 63 pages.

The issue includes:

The Front (pp. 1-2)

The Year of Both? My possibly-too-hopeful sense that more and more sensible people, and even some pundits, are recognizing that ebooks and print books are both likely to have substantial roles going forward.

The Middle: Deathwatch 2013! (pp. 2-19)

Catching up with the doomcryers (excluding print books--but see below).

Words: The Death of Books (or Not) (pp. 19-27)

What it says.

The Back (pp. 27-34)

Catching up with miscellaneous snarkiness through 2011 (and more recently for magazine items).

Enjoy!

Cites & Insights 13:3 (March 2013) available

Cites & Insights 13:3 (March 2013) is now available for downloading at http://citesandinsights.info/civ13i3.pdf.

The issue is 32 pages long.

For those reading online or on a tablet or ebook reader, the single-column "online edition" is available at http://citesandinsights.info/civ13i3on.pdf. The single-column (6x9) version is 67 pages long.  

Note: If you don't plan to print this issue out, the single-column version may be preferable: Graphs and tables take advantage of the wider single column. This issue includes the following:

The Front (pp. 1-3)

On the Contrary: Notes on being a contrarian (or a skeptic)

Libraries: Academic Library Circulation: Surprise! (pp. 3-17)

We all know that circulation in (nearly all) academic libraries has been dropping for years, right? What does (nearly all) mean? Would you believe that a majority of U.S. academic libraries reporting circulation in both 2008 and 2010 (excluding clearly anomalous cases) actually had more circulation in 2010 than in 2008? This article looks at changes in circulation (overall and per capita) by type of library (as broken down in NCES reports--by region, sector, and Carnegie classifications), and also shows the difference between overall average, average of institutional averages, and median figures--frequently surprising differences.

Media: 50 Movie Box Office Gold, Part 2 (pp. 17-26)

Seven discs, 28 movies, all color, some I refused to finish watching.

Libraries: Academic Library Circulation, Part 2: 2006-2010 (pp. 26-32)

Was the period from 2008 to 2010 (2010's the most recent NCES report) anomalous? This study compares circulation (overall and per capita) between FY2006 and FY2008, FY2006 and FY2010 and FY2008 and FY2010, breaking things down in the same categories as part 1, but this time showing the percentage of libraries with significantly growing circulation, significantly shrinking circulation, and circulation staying about the same. (Overall, 40% grew significantly from 2006 to 2010 and 50.6% shrank significantly; 37.9% grew in per capita circulation and 54.6% shrank significantly--where I defined "significant" as 2.5% over two years or 5% over four years.)

The April issue will not be heavy on original research and statistics. Come May, we're probably back to public libraries...but that's a long way away!

Cites & Insights 13:2 (February 2013) available

Cites & Insights 13:2 (February 2013) is now available for downloading at http://citesandinsights.info/civ13i2.pdf

The issue is 40 pages long. A single-column 6x9 version, optimized for online reading and intended for e-readers and reading from the screen, is 75 pages long and available at http://citesandinsights.info/civ13i2on.pdf

This issue includes:

The Front (pp. 1-3)

Doing the numbers: notes on C&I readership during 2012 and since it moved to its current website. Also a quick note on the (failed) HTML challenge.

Intersections:
Catching Up On Open Access 2  (pp. 3-40)

The rest of the megaroundup that began in January. This installment includes Upping the Anti, Controversies, Predators, Economics, Elsevier, The Future!, A Little Humor, and a closing note on progress, snipers and inquisitors.

Cites & Insights is no longer available as HTML separates.

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Psst: Have you heard the ongoing common knowledge that nearly all academic libraries have had falling circulation for quite a few years now? If your own library had rising circulation, say between 2008 and 2010, did you think you were a special flower?

A March essay looks at the reality behind "nearly all" based on NCES data. Let's just say the common knowledge is just a wee bit off. But for that, you'll have to wait for the March 2013 issue...

Cites & Insights January 2013 (13:1) available

I probably said it would be out the first week of January 2013, but it was ready, so...
 Cites & Insights 13:1 (January 2013) is now available for downloading at http://citesandinsights.info/civ13i1.pdf

The issue is 40 pages long.

The "online edition," designed for faster downloading and easy reading on most e-devices larger than phones, is also available; it's 77 pages long.

I'm now consistently creating the PDFs directly in Word, which means they may be somewhat larger but will have bookmarks for all article headings.

This issue includes the following essays--also available as HTML separates at http://citesandinsights.info, although this may be the last issue for which that's true (see the first essay for details)

The Front pp. 1-4

Of books and journals: notes on my forthcoming (or here now?) ALA Editions book, changes in other recent books, the annual edition of C&I--and the results of the reader service. Ends with a straightforward challenge: If you want HTML separates to continue, you'll need to contribute to C&I.

Intersections: Catching Up with Open Access 1 pp. 4-40

The first half of a roundup on Open Access covering portions of the last couple of years. This half includes citations and commentary on advantages, colors & flavors, repositories, mandates, problems, PeerJ, history, philosophy and miscellany, ethics, tactics and strategies, and scholarly societies. (The second half will appear in the February 2013 issue.)

Cites & Insights December 2012 available

Cites & Insights 12:12 (December 2012) is now available for downloading at http://citesandinsights.info/civ12i12.pdf

The print-oriented PDF is 38 pages long. A single-column 6x9" PDF designed for online reading is also available at http://citesandinsights.info/civ12i12on.pdf. That version is 73 pages long. Both versions include bookmarks for all sections and subsections, one reason they're fairly large.

The issue includes the following (also available as HTML separates from the essay titles or at http://citesandinsights.info):

Policy: The Rapid Rout of RWA (pp. 1-25)

A comedy in four acts over seven weeks, from AAP/PSP's endorsement of HR3699, the Research Works Act, on January 5, 2012, to Elsevier's withdrawal of its support for RWA (which mysteriously caused the near-instantaneous death of the bill, introduced as it had been by wholly independent Congresspeople) on February 7, 2012. It's a story that I believe and hope will resonate with scientists and others... And it's not directly related to the other essay, but some might see connections:

Libraries: Walking Away: Courage and Acquisitions (pp. 25-38)

A much more recent story and one that's not over yet, involving a small university librarian standing up and saying "We can't take it any longer" and, with the help of her faculty, not taking it. Oh, and of public relations people who don't believe in relating to the public. Where the first story involves the largest for-profit publisher in science, technology and medical journals, this one involves a putatively nonprofit publisher, that is, a scholarly society that just happens to take in one heck of a lot of money from its publications. The story also involves the question of whether librarians are ever allowed to be people--and at what point implicit sexism and ageism enter into play.

 

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This marks the end of Volume 12. The index for Volume 12 is value-added material (such as it is) and, as such, will only appear in the printed paperback edition of Cites & Insights 12 (2012)--which will be announced when it's available.