Libraries

New College of Florida students, activists and alumni pick through discarded books from the school's Gender and Diversity Center on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024.

Shuttering a Sanctuary

New College’s Book Dumping Went Viral. A Beloved Student-Led Center Was the Biggest Loss.

By Amanda Friedman August 27, 2024

You’ve seen the photos. There’s more to the story.

Phot-based illustration of a library underwater as books and papers and an ancient bust float by

'Losing Bits of Us'

Colleges Need to Protect Valuable Collections From Climate Change. A New Project Aims to Help.

By Calli McMurray September 26, 2023

Louisiana State University’s new database of museums, libraries, and other cultural-heritage institutions will highlight risks and suggest steps to prepare for extreme weather and natural disasters.

illustration of a flat open book, with pixelated content rising out of it

The Review | Opinion

The Corporate Capture of Open-Access Publishing

By Sarah Kember, Amy Brand August 16, 2023

Done wrong, the movement will just reproduce the old monopolies.

Demonstrators opposed to the planned closure of the George and Mary Foster Anthropology Library hold signs during a protest at the University of California, Berkeley, on April 22, 2023. The number of anthropology students at the university has dropped by a third in the last 15 years, according to Charles Hirschkind, the chair of the anthropology department.

The Review | Opinion

The Fight Over a Berkeley Library Is a Fight for the Future of Higher Ed

By Caitlin Zaloom May 4, 2023

Two visions of the university are clashing. It’s clear which side is winning.

Students from some Vermont State Colleges, along with others, display signs Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, at the Statehouse in Montpelier, Vt., while protesting a decision by the schools' administration to shift to an an all-digital library for three of the schools. Parwinder Grewal, the president of what will be a new state university in Vermont is stepping down less than three months before its official launch, the Vermont State College System announced on Friday, April 14, 2023. In February the state colleges system, which has struggled financially for years, announced that the Vermont State University library would shift to an all-digital format on July 1.

Leadership

After Protests and a Resignation, a New University Withdraws a Plan for a Digital-First Library

By David Jesse April 25, 2023

Proposals to remove books and reshape campus athletics shook up three soon-to-be-merged Vermont colleges.

Illustration of stick people carrying stack of journals

Academic Publishing

‘It Feels Like Things Are Breaking Open’: High Publishing Charges Spur Neuroscientists to Start Own Journal

By Megan Zahneis April 21, 2023

The scholars’ exodus from Elsevier’s NeuroImage shines a spotlight on the difficult economics of academic publishing and the open-access movement.

The Review | Essay

The Librarians Are Not OK

By Joshua Doležal March 23, 2023

A years-long attack on their status is bad for all of us.

illustration of hands reaching up while papers fall from the sky

Research

‘A Historic Moment’: New Guidance Requires Federally Funded Research to Be Open Access

By Megan Zahneis August 25, 2022

In a move hailed by open-access advocates, the White House released guidance dictating that taxpayer-supported research be made freely and immediately available to the public.

Illustration shows figure at window reaching for/ releasing books as birds

Research

Open-Access Publishing Expands at U. of California

By Megan Zahneis July 27, 2022

Scholars can now publish open-access research in the prestigious Nature journals. But university-system representatives say the deal isn’t perfect.

Profession in Transition

‘Libraries Are the Great Equalizers’

By Scott Carlson July 12, 2022

Librarians sound off on how their jobs and institutions are changing.