scholarly communication

Friends:

I have received a report that the link in the most recent article didn't work when it was clicked in the story.  I am trying again.  It does work if you cut an paste it into a browser.

Friends:

Writing on February 10, 2020 in Slate magazine, Mark Neff  argues in an article entitled, "Trump Might Do Something Genuinely Good for Science: It has to do with the outrageous academic publishing market"  that the Trump administration's plan to require that all government-funded research be available through open access is a good idea.  His article includes a summary of the state of the open access debate.  Below is an excerpt and link::

Welcome Sandra!
It's clear from your background that you have independent chops!

Friends:

I am delighted to be writing to say that we have a new editor on the H-Scholar board.  Sandra Ham has completed the H-Net training and been approved by the H-Net board and she is beginning as an editor this week.  I am so happy to welcome her on board!

Friends:

[The president of the National Coalition of Independent Scholars (NCIS) has asked us to share this information with you--Margaret DeLacy, H-Scholar editor]

There should definitely be more resources available to alumni, and I applaud AHA's efforts, but they certainly need to include those with master's degrees as well as PhD holders. Where's the inclusivity?

Most of my work in history involved the well-being of American society and its members as part of economic, health, and safety regulation. Consequently, I suggest adding the words in brackets to the final sentence of the AHA statement.

These actions will enable every historian to fully realize their potential as scholars and contributors to our discipline, [and help ensure the economic, health, and safety well-being of our communities, our nation, and international relations.]

The AHA Council actually did approve a statement exactly along these lines early this month - so it now is official AHA policy. They will be publicizing this in the February issue of Perspectives magazine. But in the meantime, here is the link:
https://www.historians.org/jobs-and-professional-development/statements-....

Becky Nicolaides

Dear Margaret,

Thank you for posting this information. I agree, mostly strongly, that it should be an official policy instead of merely an "encouragement." Where do I sign up?

Friends:

The latest issue (January 10, 2020) of the newsletter of the American Historical Assocaition, Perspectives on History includes a discussion about access to research resources by Jim Grossman and Becky Nicolaides entitled "Research Access and Scholarly Equity."  Reiterating the findings of the survey the AHA carried out in 2017, which showed that the profession as a whole is handicapped when many of its members lack equitable access to scholarly materials, the discussion concludes with the following recommendations: