Category Archives: Uncategorized

Elseviergate today: LIBER says to Libraries: DONT sign Elsevier's click-through licence for Content Mining (TDM)

A month or so ago Elsevier published a “click-through” licence “allowing” researchers to use Elsevier content for Text-and-Data-Mining (TDM) – more widely content mining.  Nature News rejoiced and suggested everyone could start mining. I read the licence carefully and wrote … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

The WellcomeTrust APC spreadsheet (Michelle Brook, Ernesto Priego and community) adds massive crowdsourced value to Open Access. YOU can help

NOTE ADDED after first version. This is so massive that I completely forgot to mention a whole chunk of contributors including Ernesto Priego, Graham Steel (McDawg) and others. Here’s Ernesto’s blog: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2014/03/24/wellcome-trust-apcs-serials-crisis/ where he first outlined the headline figures and … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Elseviergate; Elsevier is STILL charging for Open Access even after I have told them. Wellcome should take them to court

Someone needs to take formal action against Elsevier. Like taking them to court. In this case Wellcome. Two days ago I posted /pmr/2014/03/24/today-at-elseviergate-more-potholes-and-bumps-on-the-shared-journey-please-help-us-find-paywalled-openaccess-elsevier/ where  I mentioned an APC-paid Open Access article behind a paywall. In response to this Elsevier lifted the … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Elseviergate: Checking whether paid OpenAccess is behind paywalls? Elsevier says it's more efficient than libraries

The recent (wonderful) collection of Wellcome-sponsored articles (thanks Robert Kiley) has highlighted the huge percentage of “hybrid” articles – where both the author and the subscribing library pay the publishers. Publishers claim they give the money back to libraries. Do … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Today at Elseviergate; more potholes and "bumps" on the "shared journey"; please help us find paywalled OpenAccess Elsevier

It’s easy (if tedious) to find paywalled Open Access articles in Elsevier journals. You go to Robert Kiley’s excellent spreadsheet (curated by Michelle Brook and others) , find publisher = Elsevier , search for the title and go to the journal … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Quantumplation of Wellcome Trust spreadsheet and Wiley-Blackwell Licences

I am working very closely with Michelle Brook on OKFN science and the Content Mine. Yesterday she spent much of it hacking the splendid Wellcome Trust spreadsheet of how much WT has spent on Open Access APCs and  with which … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Elsevier's Junk Science

Some years ago Elsevier  led a PR campaign, PRISM, to discredit Open Access. They paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to a PR “expert” Dezenhall whose speciality is dirtying people and organisations. He told them that they should promote Open … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Friday at Elseviergate: I reply to their "journey" explanation and give another example of serious failure

Elsevier’s VP of Product Management, Platform and Content (VPPMPC) and Director of Access and Policy  (DoAP) have published a statement “Open access – the systems journey” about their misselling of rights. They say nothing about the continuing problem of APC-paid articles … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Here's a little joke for Friday but it has a serious message. Content mining could be useful if you have sufficient software

[2014-03-21] Content mining isn’t easy but it can be done by experts and this post will give another indication of the power. Here are two small chunks of English; each of them has something hidden which a natural language engine … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Gentle credit for Wiley's RightsLink page; pity they promote CC-NC

  I follow the #openaccess announcements on Twitter – to check licences, etc. Here’s one from Wiley and I’ve gone to the Rightslink page   Unlike Elsevier, where the Rightslink is often badly constructed, this is clear. It’s CC-BY, no … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments