Knowledge Unlatched: a new academic publishing business model
"The Problem: specialist books in the Humanities and Social Sciences (including but not exclusively monographs) are under threat due to spiralling prices and reduced library funds.
Access is restricted: while academics could choose to bypass existing publishers and just post content on the Web, the general consensus within academia is that they would prefer to have their books professionally published.
Only a few hundred copies make it into the eight to twelve thousand research universities, and very few teaching universities have access to these materials. For many individuals private purchase is beyond their reach.
A Possible Solution: cover the costs of creating the first digital copy through a library consortium and make the titles open access. Publishers would continue to generate additional revenues from the sale of print, ePub and PDFs in bespoke formats."
(Frances Pinter, 2011)
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
Butcher's Hook: three students repurpose an old London butcher's shop to establish their design studio
"Butcher's Hook is (or perhaps that should be will be) a three–member design studio and gallery based in an old butcher's shop in London's Portobello. The studio has been formed by Benio Urbanowicz, James Coltman, Josh Blanchett and Dan Jones, students from Kingston and LLC, all of whom graduate this summer. ...
In order to introduce themselves to the local populace, Butcher's Hook set up a digital display using an old Nintendo Wii remote, custom made Infa–Red yellow pencils, a wireless doorbell, a printer and a few extra ingredients.
'We gave away free art made by the user themselves, with the option to receive a digital copy sent to them,' they say. 'We had a great weekend, where over 150 people got involved, through their own choice... and every single one went home to find our business cards printed on the back of their own masterpiece.'
As well as launching their studio, Butcher's Hook has also entered the project into the D&AD Student Awards in response to the brief Make Your Mark."
Posted by Creative Review, 4 April 2012, 16:13
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
