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CONTENTS Contents News and analysis 4-8


Report from APE conference • Ingram buys CourseSmart • Wellcome Trust releases APC data • Access to Research initiative begins


Better management reduces data loss risk 10-11 The impact of data loss can be staggering for research and shows the need for better data management


Meeting the research data management challenge


11-12


What is required to ensure managing data is a high priority for research institutions


Librarians should embrace linked data 14-15 Data sharing in libraries doesn’t have to be daunting for librarians, argues David Stuart


Experimenting with e-books 16-18


Publishers are still looking at different formats, interactive content, open access and business models for e-books, writes Nadya Anscombe


Aggregators increase options for libraries and publishers


Products, product focus and diary Interview


Matthew Cockerill, former managing director of BioMed Central


20-24


The role of e-book aggregators in providing access to scholarly e-book content


26-28 30


How aggregators increase options for libraries and publishers


EDITORIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM Editor: Siân Harris sian.harris@europascience.com Production editor: Tim Gillett tim.gillett@europascience.com Specialist reporters: Nadya Anscombe, Rebecca Pool, David Stuart Circulation/subscriptions: Pete Vine subscriptions@europascience.com


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CORPORATE TEAM Chairman and publisher: Tom Wilkie Research Information is published by Europa Science Ltd, 9 Clifton Court, Cambridge CB1 7BN ISSN 1744-8026 Tel: +44 (0) 1223 211170 Fax: +44 (0) 1223 213385 Web: www.researchinformation.info


20 Experimenting with e-books 16


ON THE COVER Librarians should embrace linked data


14 Leader: Siân Harris


Considering the cost of convenience


Having the materials for your research available digitally, at your finger tips, is a great thing. The maturing scholarly e-book industry is one testament to the value of digital content to researchers and students. It is interesting – and reassuring – to see that over the years that we have been looking at the growth of e-books, the issues and concepts have not fundamentally changed (page 16).


What has changed, however, is the position that these resources now hold in library budgets and acquisition plans – although the acquisition (or rental) routes and models are still far from set in stone (page 20).


But digital availability and working patterns are not without challenges, as one researcher discovered drastically to his cost when his laptop and backup drives were stolen just as he was about to start writing up his PhD thesis (page 10). Such tales highlight the need for better strategies for data management, for individuals, institutions and others. And librarians also have a role to play in data management and sharing, as David Stuart argues on page 14.


Having digital resources at your fingertips is a great thing but behind the scenes there is a lot still required to really ensure this happens. @researchinfo


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