Scholarly Communications: A History from Content as King to Content as Kingmaker traces the development of scholarly communications from the creation of the first scientific journal through the wide diversity of professional information services today. Unlike any other book, this work is an authoritative history by the past President of Elsevier and current Professor at Long Island University, which examines the changing nature of scholarly communication throughout its history, including its research importance as well as its business value.
It specifically covers four key themes:
- the value of scholarly content and information at various stages of it development and use;
- the role that technology has played on the use, importance, and value of scholarly information and research communications;
- the changing business models affecting the system of scholarly communication from the way it is produced to how it is distributed and consumed; and
- some of the implications of mobile, cloud, and social computing technologies on the future of scholarly communications.
Attention is paid to analyzing the structural changes that the professional publishing community now faces. Regazzi examines research content as an economic good; how technology and business models have greatly affected the value of scholarly publishing; and the drivers of the future sustainability of our system of scholarly communication.
Industry Reviews
The book appears well researched; each chapter includes an extensive list of references, with the author relying primarily on scholarly articles. This book would be a helpful addition to an academic library or academic law library collection, as well as a teaching tool for faculty and students in a library and information science program. It is easy to read and understand; Regazzi does good job of providing interesting historical background information and avoids coming across as didactic. Regazzi is neither an advocate for nor opponent of open access, and his neutral and unbiased delivery makes this book a credible resource for anyone interested in learning about scholarly communications. Additionally, it provides a comprehensive theoretical and historical framework for understanding the current issues and trends in scholarly communications and how they apply to researchers, publishers, and librarians.
