There has been a lot of debate recently about the system of academic publishing, and the need to adopt more open model of access. This is not about pirating information for free, but about using a sensible model to share research in the era of the internet. In a somewhat more prosaic way, I've recently encountered another case where commonsense does not currently prevail in the sphere of conventional publishing.
At present, I am involved in two projects to promote and demonstrate the value and impact of research. One project involves writing a major
annual report for an interdisciplinary research institute; the report will be disseminated to a wide range of people, from the ordinary public to Fellows of the Royal Society. The second project involves developing a
blog to disseminate the insights of our English department.
In both cases, naturally I want to promote the book publications of academics, such as by having an image of the book to accompany the text. One would have thought that from a publisher's point of view, such promotion would be welcome. Yet, perversely, publishers seem to maintain restrictive policies on cover copyright, so that in principle we ought to seek permission to reproduce even a small thumbnail of a book cover. For the annual report, which is printed, this is obtainable within the timeframe of publication. But when writing a blog, which demands a quick turnaround, such a policy is counterproductive.
Read more ยปLabels: book covers, copyright, University Life
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