Giving Away Academic Books: “It’s the right thing to do.”

David Wiley and John Hilton are researching the question of the impact of “free” on academic-book distribution.

They have a short report on this in the July 21, 2009 Wired Campus

Not all authors or publishers will choose the dual path of free online and paid print publishing. But for those who have a sense of moral obligation to disseminate their work as broadly as possible, there is good news. The common-sense notion that providing free digital copies of a work decreases its sales is incorrect in some circumstances. Additional research is needed to understand these circumstances in sufficient, actionable detail.

John Hilton's blog Wide Open is interesting reading.

Call for Book Proposals in Digital Classics

Gorgias Press is expanding its interest in technology and classics and welcomes book proposals regarding digital classics research, for both monographs (including revised dissertations) and edited collections (based on conference sessions or otherwise). Proposals should be no more than 4 pages pdf and include contact details and a biography of the author(s), an overview of the topic and its importance, a brief description of all chapters, and a summation of how this text will relate to other texts in the field. This is an open call. Please send proposals to submissions@gorgiaspress.com.

Job: Professor of Ancient Asian Art and Archaeology, The Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, New York University (ISAW)

Professor of Ancient Asian Art and Archaeology (Iran and Central Asia)

The Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, New York University (ISAW), seeks to make a faculty appointment in the area of the art and archaeology of ancient Asia, with particular focus on ancient Iran and Central Asia, effective in fall, 2010. ISAW is a newly created, specially funded, cross-disciplinary institute for research and graduate education in the history, archaeology, and culture of the entire Old World, including Asia and Africa, from late prehistoric times to the eighth century AD. (See www.nyu.edu/isaw for details.) The rank of this tenured or tenure-track appointment is open, but we prefer to appoint at an advanced junior level. We seek individuals of scholarly distinction whose work will benefit from freedom from departmental structures and the stimulation of working closely with colleagues in other disciplines, approaches, periods, or geographical areas and who are committed to helping develop the intellectual life of such a community. Applicants with a history of interdisciplinary exchange are particularly welcome. The Institute’s graduate program emphasizes individual supervision and research seminars. The faculty is involved in choosing a group of visiting researchers each year.

Applications (letter, curriculum vitae, and list of referees) or nominations should be sent to: Professor Roger S. Bagnall, Director
Institute for the Study of the Ancient World
15 East 84th St.
New York, NY 10028

Applications by fax and email are not accepted. Review of candidates will begin on September 15, 2009. Founded in 1831, New York University is the largest private university in the country, with 13 schools, 3 institutes, and nearly 40,000 students. New York University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.

For additional information, please contact Ms. Kathryn Lawson by email at kel306@nyu.edu or by phone at 212-992-7860

Job: Professor of Ancient East Asian Art and Archaeology, The Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, New York University (ISAW)

Professor of Ancient East Asian Art and Archaeology

The Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, New York University (ISAW), seeks to make a faculty appointment in the area of the art and archaeology of ancient East Asia, particularly ancient China, effective in fall, 2010. ISAW is a newly created, specially funded, cross-disciplinary institute for research and graduate education in the history, archaeology, and culture of the entire Old World, including Asia and Africa, from late prehistoric times to the eighth century AD. (See www.nyu.edu/isaw for details.) The rank of this tenured or tenure-track appointment is open, but we prefer to appoint at a tenured or near-tenure level. We seek individuals of scholarly distinction whose work will benefit from freedom from departmental structures and the stimulation of working closely with colleagues in other disciplines, approaches, periods, or geographical areas and who are committed to helping develop the intellectual life of such a community. Applicants with a history of interdisciplinary exchange are particularly welcome. The Institute’s graduate program emphasizes individual supervision and research seminars. The faculty is involved in choosing a group of visiting researchers each year.

Applications (letter, curriculum vitae, and list of referees) or nominations should be sent to: Professor Roger S. Bagnall, Director
Institute for the Study of the Ancient World
15 East 84th St.
New York, NY 10028

Applications by fax and email are not accepted. Review of candidates will begin on September 15, 2009. Founded in 1831, New York University is the largest private university in the country, with 13 schools, 3 institutes, and nearly 40,000 students. New York University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.

For additional information, please contact Ms. Kathryn Lawson by email at kel306@nyu.edu or by phone at 212-992-786

Job: Professor of Ancient Western Mediterranean Art and Archaeology, The Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, New York University (ISAW)

Professor of Ancient Western Mediterranean Art and Archaeology, The Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, New York University (ISAW)

The Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, New York University (ISAW), seeks to make a faculty appointment in the area of the art and archaeology of the ancient western Mediterranean, with particular focus on non-Roman cultures, particularly Etruscan or Punic, effective in fall, 2010. ISAW is a newly created, specially funded, cross-disciplinary institute for research and graduate education in the history, archaeology, and culture of the entire Old World, including Asia and Africa, from late prehistoric times to the eighth century AD. (See www.nyu.edu/isaw for details.) The rank of this tenured or tenure-track appointment is open, but we prefer to appoint at the recently tenured or advanced junior level. We seek individuals of scholarly distinction whose work will benefit from freedom from departmental structures and who will be stimulated by working closely with colleagues in other disciplines, approaches, periods, or geographical areas and who are committed to helping develop the intellectual life of such a community. Applicants with a history of interdisciplinary exchange are particularly welcome. The Institute’s graduate program emphasizes individual supervision and research seminars. The faculty is involved in choosing a group of visiting researchers each year.

Applications (letter, curriculum vitae, and list of referees) or nominations should be sent to: Professor Roger S. Bagnall, Director
Institute for the Study of the Ancient World
15 East 84th St.
New York, NY 10028

Applications by fax and email are not accepted. Review of candidates will begin on September 15, 2009. Founded in 1831, New York University is the largest private university in the country, with 13 schools, 3 institutes, and nearly 40,000 students. New York University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.

For additional information, please contact Ms. Kathryn Lawson by email at kel306@nyu.edu or by phone at 212-992-7860

Ithaka Case Studies in Sustainability

Released today:

Ithaka Case Studies in Sustainability

Tens of millions of dollars, pounds, and euros are invested each year by government agencies and private foundations to develop and support digital resources in the not-for-profit sector. As budgets tighten, will these digitial resources be able to survive and thrive?

This question is at the heart of the Ithaka Case Studies in Sustainability project, a multi-year, international exploration of the strategies being used to support digital initiatives over the long term. Twelve detailed case studies present the steps project leaders have taken to achieve this, with special attention paid to their strategies for cost management and revenue generation. These studies include financial data, and explore the decision-making process that project leaders undertake when experimenting with different strategies to find the best fit for their organization.

Sustaining Digital Resources: An On-the-Ground View of Projects Today, serves as a guide to the cases, outlining the stages that successful projects undertake in developing sustainability models: from empowering leadership and developing accountability structures, to crafting a strong value proposition that responds to user needs, to securing the resources needed to help the project thrive.

By highlighting the benefits and challenges of a wide range of models, this work is intended to serve as a starting point to understanding the options and obstacles facing digital projects today. We hope that they prove to be as eye-opening and thought-provoking for you as they have been for us.

Of the twelve Case Studies presented as a part of the report, note in particular:

The Thesaurus Linguae Graecae®: Specialised Historical Content for a Niche Audience
University of California, Irvine
California, United States

Why Blog? / Does Blogging Matter? (again)

Bill Caraher marks the occasion of five hundred posts on The Archaeology of the Mediterranean World with Reflecting on Academic Blogging. He makes reference to Why Blog? / Does Blogging Matter? posted here at the end on May.

MLA evaluation of digital work for tenure and promotion wiki

Geoffrey Rockwell is hosting on philosophi.ca the initial iteration of a wikiform guide to The Evaluation of Digital Work, a task undertaken by the MLA Committee on Information Technology.

The Evaluation of Digital Work

This area is for an ongoing project by members of the MLA Committee on Information Technology. We are experimenting with a wiki as a way of developing materials to assist in the evaluation of digital work for tenure and promotion.

Current content (10 July 2009) includes:

Types of Digital Work - A list of types of academic digital work with thoughts as to how they might be presented for evaluation and how they might then be evaluated.

Short Guide to Evaluation of Digital Work - A list of questions evaluators can ask about digital work being assessed for tenure and promotion.

Stories - A collection of fictional and real cases with suggestions as to how these cases might be prepared and evaluated.

Documenting a New Media Case - A section for candidates on documents to gather and language to use to prepare your case. Unifinished

Frequently Asked Questions about job seeking in digital fields. Unfinished

Links and Bibliography about the evaluation of digital work. Unfinished

To Do is a list of things to do to improve this

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