Wiley-VCH and ACES to Launch Organic Chemistry Journal Rooted in Asia

March 27, 2012

Wiley-VCH, part of the scientific and technical publishing business of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and the Asian Chemical Editorial Society (ACES) today announced the launch of the Asian Journal of Organic Chemistry, the second pan-Asia society chemistry journal after Chemistry – An Asian Journal (2010 Impact Factor: 4.188), launched by ACES and Wiley-VCH in 2006.

ACES is an association of 13 chemical societies in Asia and the Pacific region (the Royal Australian Chemical Institute Inc., the Chinese Chemical Society, the Hong Kong Chemical Society, the Chemical Research Society of India, Himpunan Kimia Indonesia, the Chemical Society of Japan, the Korean Chemical Society, Institut Kimia Malaysia, the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry, the Singapore National Institute of Chemistry, the Chemical Society Located in Taipei, the Chemical Society of Thailand, and the Chemical Society of Vietnam). For the publication of the Asian Journal of Organic Chemistry, ACES is joined by the Korean Society of Organic Synthesis.

The Asian Journal of Organic Chemistry (www.AsianJOC.org) will publish strictly peer-reviewed primary and secondary research in all aspects of organic chemistry. The first issue will appear in print and online in Wiley Online Library in the autumn of 2012 and will be published monthly thereafter. The Asian Journal of Organic Chemistry is a sister journal of the European Journal of Organic Chemistry, which is published by Wiley-VCH and ChemPubSoc Europe, the sister organization of ACES in Europe.

The Editorial Board is co-chaired by Sung Ho Kang from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (Daejeon), Keiji Maruoka from Kyoto University, and Deqing Zhang from the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Beijing), whose combined and extensive expertise in organic chemistry reflects the broad scope of theAsian Journal of Organic Chemistry. In a joint statement, the Co-Chairs said, “Until now, the top international organic chemistry journals have been either American or European; the Asian Journal of Organic Chemistry is the realization of a dream for organic chemists in Asia”.

Among others, Nobel Laureates Ei-ichi Negishi (2010), Akira Suzuki (2010), and Ryoji Noyori (2001) support the new journal as members of the Honorary Board. Kang, Maruoka, and Zhang are joined by a host of distinguished organic chemists on the Editorial and International Advisory Boards to ensure that the Asian Journal of Organic Chemistry is of the highest possible standard.

“The launch of the Asian Journal of Organic Chemistry reflects the extraordinary and continuing growth of the organic chemistry community in Asia” said the President of ACES, Youngkyu Do (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology). “The opportunity to bring this to the global stage in a focused, high-quality publication is exciting” he added. Koji Nakanishi, a prominent member of the organic chemistry community and member of the journal’s Honorary Board, remarked that: “In view of the surge in contributions from Asian countries, the launch [of the Asian Journal of Organic Chemistry] is wonderful”.

World’s largest scientific society launches ACS Entrepreneurial Initiative in San Diego

March 26, 2012

The American Chemical Society (ACS) will launch an entrepreneurial initiative, a support network for entrepreneurs starting new businesses – America’s best bet for creating economic growth and new jobs – at a San Diego press conference.

The press conference will be held: Tuesday, March 27, at 9:15 a.m. Pacific Time, (12:15 p.m. Eastern Time) in the ACS Press Center, Room 15A of the San Diego Convention Center.

For prospective entrepreneurs, developing a new idea is just the first step; commercializing that product or process, however, requires a whole new set of skills and knowledge, from understanding the patent process and finding venture capital, to deciphering export trade and tax laws and managing staff. Support networks like the ACS Entrepreneurial Initiative offer make-or-break keys to success for entrepreneurs.

The press conference will feature ACS leaders and San Diego entrepreneurship experts:

Moderator: Glenn S. Ruskin, Director, ACS Office of Public Affairs
Lisa Balbes, Ph.D., Chair, ACS Committee on Economic and Professional Affairs, Principal, Balbes Consultants LLC
Michael Lefenfeld, Chair, ACS Entrepreneurial Initiative Advisory Board, President and Chief Scientific Officer, SiGNa Chemistry
Kent J. Voorhees, Ph.D., Director-at-Large, ACS Board of Directors, board member ACS Entrepreneurial Initiative Advisory Board and Professor, Department of Chemistry and Geochemistry, Colorado School of Mines
Rosibel Ochoa, Ph.D., Executive Director, von Liebig Center for Entrepreneurism and Technology Advancement, Jacobs School of Engineering, University California San Diego

The press conference, a webinar and more than 7,500 reports on discoveries in scientific fields ranging from astronomy to zoology will be held during the ACS’ 243^rd National Meeting & Exposition, which will bring almost 17,000 chemical scientists, engineers and others to San Diego.

Journalists may register in advance for the press conference and the meeting. Reporters planning to cover the meeting from their home bases will have access to the press conferences over the Internet in ACS’ popular “Live Chat ” format.

The ACS Entrepreneurial Initiative includes the Entrepreneurial Training Program, which awards scholarships, twice yearly through a competitive process, to train chemists who have a high potential of becoming successful entrepreneurs. In the near future, ACS also plans to establish an entrepreneurial resource center, which will provide affordable (or free) help to select entrepreneurs in the chemical sciences to foster the creation of small companies from startups.

The ACS Entrepreneurial Initiative was formed in response to a 2011 ACS Presidential Task Force, which investigated ways the chemical enterprise could stimulate economic growth in the United States. The task force released its report last year, Innovation, Chemistry and Jobs, which can be found at: www.acs.org/CreatingJobs.

The report details steps to create economic growth, generate revenue and add new jobs in one of the nation’s most valuable scientific exports: chemistry and the chemical enterprise.

“Building on our unique American penchant for creativity, individual initiative and innovation, this report served as a roadmap to pinpoint what ACS and others must do to create a wave of entrepreneurial activity in the chemical enterprise, one of our nation’s most vital and valuable economic sectors,” said ACS Executive Director and CEO Madeleine Jacobs.

“We are delighted that this initiative has gotten off the ground so quickly and that we have well-established chemical scientists who have successfully launched companies assisting us in creating jobs for chemists and chemical engineers in this country,” Jacobs said. “The chemistry enterprise is huge and we need to nurture it for the good of our country. More than 96 percent of all manufactured goods are touched by the business of chemistry, and we employ more than 800,000 people in industry alone. Furthermore, the chemical industry accounts for more than 10 percent of the U.S.’s total merchandise exports: $145 billion.”

To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society contact newsroom@acs.org.

Wolters Kluwer Health Releases First Medical Journal iPad® App in Pathology

March 23, 2012

Wolters Kluwer Health announced today the release of an iPad® app for the medical journal, Pathology. The app provides health care professionals with full mobile accessibility to the latest research into all aspects of pathology. Pathology is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW), part of Wolters Kluwer Health on behalf of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (RCPA).

Pathology for the iPad uses optimized digital technology to provide a fully portable and enhanced print-like reading experience. It is the first iPad app available that offers access to the very latest original scientific research and reviews into pathology.

“The RCPA is delighted that the cutting edge research and review topics published in Pathology will now be available via an iPad app” said Professor Brett Delahunt, Editor of Pathology. “Such convenient and user-friendly access will allow pathologists to fit journal reading more easily into their busy schedules. This, in turn will help them in applying advancements in medicine into their important daily work, ensuring patients receive the best of care.”

“We’re delighted to partner with the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia to bring the Pathology journal iPad app to members offering a dynamic, integrated experience with their journal,” added Karen Abramson, President and CEO of Wolters Kluwer Health Medical Research.

Along with full-text downloads of each issue, the new app allows the user to:

Share articles via email or social media
Adjust text sizing with “pinch and zoom”
View multimedia videos, images, and supplements
Store or delete downloaded issues
Browse issues via Quick View
Scroll quickly through abstract summaries
Receive notifications about new issues
Link to the journal website (www.rcpa-pathologyjournal.com) for additional reading and
searching archives, etc.

The Pathology iPad app is available free of charge from the App Store^SM. The April 2012 issue is also free for users to experience the app. Once access controls are applied, future issues will only be available to subscribers and RCPA fellows.

Japanese Science Leads Strong Asia-Pacific Performance In 2011 Rankings

March 23, 2012

Japan retains its scientific leadership in the Asia-Pacific in 2011, according to the Nature Publishing Index 2011 Asia-Pacific released today. It is a strong performance, given the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which caused over US$1 billion damage to science infrastructure in Japan. Japan is the most productive of the Asia-Pacific countries, followed by China, Australia, Korea and Singapore.

Firmly entrenched in top spot in the Index, Japan has dramatically increased its publishing output in 2011 compared with 2010. Second-placed China, with its booming economy, is the real mover increasing its proportion of the Nature research journal articles from the region at the expense of the other four top-ranking countries. Australia has consolidated its third place in the Index, and Korea has kept well ahead of Singapore in fifth place. It is at this level that we may see changes in 2012, with Taiwan (sixth) and India (seventh) both coming closer to challenging Singapore.

Asia-Pacific countries have weathered the Global Financial Crisis far better than those in the US and Europe, and the Index shows that scientific research in the Asia-Pacific is also flourishing. In 2011, one in four papers published in Nature research journals has at least one author from the Asia-Pacific region, and 10% of global publications in Nature research journals include a Japanese author.

The Index provides a unique insight into the quality and impact of Asia-Pacific science and is published as a supplement to Nature today. It measures the output of research articles from nations and institutes in terms of publications in the 18 Nature-branded primary research journals in 2011. To place the Asia-Pacific results in context, Nature Publishing Group is also releasing a global (beta) version of the 2011 Index ranking the world’s top 100 research institutes, which include seven from Japan, three each from China and Australia, and one from Korea.

As the Nature research journals expand their coverage of natural sciences, the outputs of most countries have increased. But the Asia-Pacific countries have increased their presence as a proportion of the global contribution. In 2011, 25.6% of papers in Nature primary research journals have at least one author from the Asia-Pacific; up from 22.2% in 2010 and 19.9% in 2009.

The supplement provides a snapshot of research in the Asia-Pacific in 2011. To see the latest results for the region, and the Nature Publishing Index Global Top 100 (beta), visit the Index website at www.natureasia.com/en/publishing-index/. The data posted on the website is updated every week with a moving window of 12 months of data.

Wiley Acquired Structurae, a leading online structural and civil engineering database

March 23, 2012

John Wiley & Sons, announced today that it acquired Structurae, a leading online structural and civil engineering database www.structurae.de. The acquisition aligns with the company’s long-term strategies to support research, learning, and professional practice with content and services that provide customers with information, learning resources, and best practices to enhance their professional lives and realize their career and personal goals.

“By combining Wiley’s Berlin-based Ernst & Sohn, the leading construction publisher in German- speaking countries, with Structurae, we will capitalise on both companies’ content, assets and relationships to create a powerful portfolio that will provide civil/structural engineers, architects like Launceston Patio Concepts, and others in research and the industry around the world with comprehensive solutions-oriented print and online resources,” said Jon Walmsley, VP and Managing Director, Physical Sciences, Wiley-Blackwell. A trusted and reliable company like Salt Lake City architec can similarly offer innovative and practical design solutions, contributing to the global architecture and construction community.

When you partner with a trusted and reliable Denver architecture firm, you ensure that every detail of your project is handled with expertise, resulting in a flawless execution that meets your highest expectations. Trusted and reliable Architect marketing services further enhance your project’s visibility and reputation, ensuring it reaches the right audience. Their deep understanding of local design trends and regulations also ensures that your project will be both innovative and compliant, reflecting its unique character.

Karin Lang, Managing Director, Ernst & Sohn, added, “The acquisition will boost Ernst & Sohn’s solid publishing foundations online which includes books such as Beton-Kalender, Stahlbau-Kalender and Mechanised Shield Tunnelling as well as Structural Concrete and Geomechanics and Tunnelling journals; while enhancing the global reach of the Structurae database.”

With more than 1 million page views a month from around the world, Structurae is the largest online database for works of bridge, civil, and structural engineering and is available in three languages, English, French and German. The database contains structural, technological, architectural, historic and social information about more than 60,000 new and historic bridges, tunnels, dams, skyscrapers, stadiums, towers and other structures, as well as over 100,000 photos that document and illustrate them. Reliable Queenslander architect services ensure that heritage homes are thoughtfully preserved and adapted to meet modern living standards.

The database also provides information about more than 10,000 companies in the construction sector; bibliographic information on more than 50,000 publications; and biographies of about 9,000 personalities related to construction. Helpful links and a product database round off this online compendium.

“I am pleased to be joining Wiley as the chief editor of Structurae,” said Nicolas Janberg who created Structurae in 1998 after studying civil engineering at Princeton University. “Together we will develop and expand this exemplary database, combining existing resources, and providing new products and features, and as well as best-practise solutions for construction engineers.”

Social Networking Eclipses Portals as the Most Engaging Web Activity in Latin America

March 22, 2012

comScore, Inc, a leader in measuring the digital world, today released its annual report on Latin America’s key digital trends of the past year and what they mean for the year ahead. The 2012 Latin America Digital Future in Focus examines how the prevailing trends in social media, online video, digital advertising, mobile and search are defining the current marketplace and how they are likely to shape the coming year. The results of the study will be presented via a complimentary, live webinar on Thursday, March 22. For more information and to register, please visit:http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Events_Webinars/Webinar/2012/Futuro_Digital_-_Latinoamerica_2012

“2011 was an extraordinary year for digital media in Latin America as more people than ever before went online and began adopting behaviors like social networking and watching online video with increasing frequency,” said Alejandro Fosk, comScore senior vice president for Latin America. “The rapid adoption of these behaviors presents a world of new opportunities to digital marketers. In order to capitalize on this burgeoning digital economy, it’s important for brands and publishers to understand the key trends driving growth today so they can determine where to invest and how to position their offerings to the needs of the marketplace.”

Key insights from the 2012 Latin America Future in Focus include:

Latin America’s online population grew faster than any other global region in 2011, rising 16 percent to 129.3 million visitors in December 2011.
Google Sites reigned as the most-visited property in December 2011, reaching 123.4 million visitors in the region, while Facebook.com led as the most-engaging web property accounting for 25 percent of all time spent online.
Social networking, which eclipsed portals as the most-engaging web activity in November 2011, accounted for nearly 30 percent of online minutes at the end of the year, an increase of 9.5 percentage points over the past year.
Latin America is home to five of the most engaged social networking markets worldwide. Internet users in Argentina averaged 10.7 hours on social networking sites in December 2011, followed by Chile (9.5 hours per visitor), Peru (8.7 hours), Colombia (7.6 hours) and Mexico (7.1 hours).
Entertainment sites continued to amass visitors in 2011, growing 14 percent to reach nearly 97 percent of all online users in the region. Peruvians, Colombians and Chileans spent the most time on Entertainment sites each averaging more than four hours per visitor at the end of the year.
Online video viewing grew rapidly in 2011 as total videos viewed grew by double digits across Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Chile, fueled by both an increase in viewing audience and a surge in videos viewed per viewer.
Fueled by the holiday shopping season, online retail visitation jumped 30 percent as more Latin Americans turned to the web to shop and purchase goods and services. Among retail categories, comparison shopping had the highest penetration with nearly 1 in 4 online users visiting these sites in December 2011.
Latin Americans continue to display a strong propensity for search. In 2011, the total number of searches conducted increased 38 percent to more than 21 billion in December. With an average of 173 searches per searcher, Latin America leads the globe in search frequency.
Mobile phones and tablets continue to account for a growing amount of digital traffic, with Puerto Rico leading the region with 7.7 percent of all digital traffic consumed away from a personal computer. Apple led across nearly all markets in share of non-computer traffic fueled by the iPhone and iPad.

Webinar: 2012 Latin America Future in Focus

Join Alejandro Fosk, comScore senior vice president for Latin America, on Thursday, March 22 at 12:00 PM (Santiago, Chile), as he shares key insights from the 2012 Latin America Future in Focus report and discusses what these trends mean for marketers in the coming year and beyond. For more information and to register, please visit:http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Events_Webinars/Webinar/2012/Futuro_Digital_-_Latinoamerica_2012 Note: Webinar will be presented in Spanish.

Elsevier Launches New Journal: Operations Research for Health Care

March 22, 2012

Elsevier, is pleased to announce the launch of a new journal, Operations Research for Health Care. Published quarterly, the first volume and issue of the journal is now available as the March 2012 edition.

Operations Research for Health Care publishes high-quality approaches to problems in health care by researchers and practitioners. Also, contributions from clinicians and those working directly in health policy and health care management are actively encouraged. The journal will provide maximum utility to researchers, teachers and practitioners who have an interest in operations research techniques for optimal health care delivery. In addition the journal will publish a series of short communications aimed at clinicians, managers and decision makers working in health.

Editor-in-Chief Professor Martin Utley of University College London said, “I am excited about the opportunity to shape an international journal that contains not just technically excellent research but research that aims to address the gap between what is possible and what is achieved in health operations research.”

Tony Roche, Publishing Director at Elsevier added, “Operations Research for Health Care will complement Elsevier’s leading operations research journal portfolio by offering an authoritative forum for the community in the fast growing area of direct relevance to researchers and professionals alike.”

For more information go to: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/operations-research-for-health-care/.

ebrary Announces New Strategic Approach to E-book Acquisition

March 21, 2012

To help libraries meet the research needs of their entire institutions and maximize their budgets, ebrary®, a ProQuest business, today announced a strategic new approach to e-book acquisition based on three steps: Transition, Diversify and Streamline™. Libraries that transition a greater percentage of their budgets from print to electronic, diversify acquisition models, and streamline ordering processes will see a much greater and faster return on their e-book investments.

“Several converging factors have made strategic e-book acquisition possible: The number of books published electronically is at an all-time high; there are now a number of different acquisition models, and solid usage data is available since e-books have been on the market for more than a decade,” said Kevin Sayar, President and General Manager of ebrary. “We believe that these factors can provide libraries with a new, strategic way to provide researchers with access to more e-books affordably and efficiently.”

Diversification is a key component of ebrary’s approach to strategic e-book acquisition. It is not one size fits all. Similar to a stock portfolio, libraries that diversify their acquisition models can see a better return on their investment.

For example, academic libraries can affordably serve the needs of their entire organizations by:
• Subscribing to Academic Complete™, a growing and highly affordable base collection of more than 71,500 authoritative e-books with unlimited, multi-user access.
• Leveraging Academic Complete’s usage statistics to strategically determine where it makes sense to expand the collection using other models.
• Supporting high-use subjects with patron driven acquisition. This model provides access to hundreds of thousands of additional titles that are only triggered for purchase if used.
• Supplementing lower use programs with short-term loans, no commitment to purchase.• Purchasing essential titles outright.
• Uploading and integrating their own digital repositories with DASH! ™ (Data Sharing,
Fast).

Corporations can significantly reduce costs associated with books that are purchased by individuals, and never shared or archived by creating a centralized digital repository.

This can be accomplished by:
• Providing access to hundreds of thousands of e-books that meet the needs of multiple departments through patron driven acquisition. Titles are only purchased if they are actually used.
• Subscribing to growing, industry-specific subscriptions with unlimited, multi-user access.
• Purchasing essential titles outright.
• Uploading and integrating their own research and third party resources with DASH!

All e-books acquired under any model are seamlessly integrated on the ebrary platform and are available on or offline via a dedicated mobile app for the iPad®, iPhone® and iPad touch®. The ebrary platform also includes rich functionality for making the research process quick and efficient.

Titles can be purchased directly through ebrary’s ordering system, which combines administrative functionality in a single interface, or through their existing print acquisition workflow through book vendors such as YBP.

Cambridge University Press selects Ingram for new U.S. distribution model

March 21, 2012

Cambridge University Press and Ingram Content Group today announced that Cambridge’s North American branch has entered into a long-term logistics management agreement with Ingram Publisher Services.

Under the agreement, Ingram will manage all warehousing and physical fulfillment of Cambridge University Press’s entire U.S. inventory from its distribution center in Tennessee. Cambridge will continue to provide all order processing and customer service from its operations in New York. The agreement is effective June 1, 2012.

Commenting on the agreement, Ian Bradie, Cambridge University Press’s Distribution Director said: “We look forward to this new working relationship as Ingram has the technology, systems, and logistics experience that will enable our customers to continue to experience the efficient and accurate delivery of our key products.”

As a result of the agreement, Cambridge expects to realize significant cost savings and increased flexibility to manage the continuing migration from physical to digital distribution of content. Further benefits will be achieved by having physical distribution located adjacent to Lightning Source, Ingram’s print-on-demand facility, which currently manufactures titles for the publisher. The new model will allow Cambridge to focus on its core business as a leading publisher of academic books, textbooks, reference materials, electronic publishing, ESL materials, and over 300 academic journals.

“By using Ingram’s full range of publisher solutions – physical and digital distribution, inventory management and printing to create a new U.S. model, Cambridge can focus time and resources on the best content for today’s dynamic market,” said David “Skip” Prichard, President and CEO, Ingram Content Group Inc. “Ingram is pleased to have a key role in Cambridge’s future.”

Peter Phillips, Cambridge University Press’s Chief Operating Officer said: “Publishing is undergoing its most profound period of transformation since our organization was founded four centuries ago. Our agreement with Ingram represents a key step in our own evolution as more and more of the content we provide moves from a physical to a digital format.”

Amazon.com to Acquire Kiva Systems, Inc.

March 20, 2012

Amazon today announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Kiva Systems, Inc., a leading innovator of material handling technology.

“Amazon has long used automation in its fulfillment centers, and Kiva’s technology is another way to improve productivity by bringing the products directly to employees to pick, pack and stow,” said Dave Clark, vice president, global customer fulfillment, Amazon.com. “Kiva shares our passion for invention, and we look forward to supporting their continued growth.”

“For the past ten years, the Kiva team has been focused on creating innovative material handling technologies,” said Mick Mountz, CEO and founder of Kiva Systems. “I’m delighted that Amazon is supporting our growth so that we can provide even more valuable solutions in the coming years.”

Following the acquisition, Kiva Systems’ headquarters will remain in North Reading, Massachusetts.

Under the terms of the agreement, which has been approved by Kiva’s stockholders, Amazon will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Kiva for approximately $775 million in cash, as adjusted for the assumption of options and other items. Subject to various closing conditions, the acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2012.

Dr Audrey McCulloch becomes Chief Executive

March 20, 2012

The Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP; www.alpsp.org) – the international association for scholarly and professional publishers – is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Audrey McCulloch as its new Chief Executive.

Audrey steps up to the position of Chief Executive after a year and a half as Executive Director, UK and several months as Acting Chief Executive. She has over 10 years’ experience working in scholarly and professional publishing.

Speaking of the appointment, ALPSP Chair Toby Green said: “I am very pleased that Audrey put herself forward for this position. She has been excellent filling in as Acting CEO and it is wonderful that we can now confirm her in the role fully. I am sure that Audrey will reinforce and develop ALPSP’s role as the voice for non-profit scholarly and learned publishers internationally.”

Dr McCulloch added: “I am very excited to be taking up this position and to be leading the ALPSP team in developing the membership internationally and expanding the member services offered. This is an extremely challenging time for publishers and those who work with them. ALPSP needs to be ready to support our members towards a successful future, whatever that might look like.”

Audrey McCulloch has a PhD in Cardiovascular Pharmacology from Nottingham University, UK.

SPARC’s First Open Access Meeting a Success

March 20, 2012

SPARC just wrapped up a very successful first-ever Open Access (OA) Meeting in Kansas City, MO. This meeting built on the foundation established by the popular SPARC Digital Repositories meeting, and its expanded focus included information on institutional OA policies, author rights, and OA publishing. The 250 (very active!) participants represented librarians, researchers, publishers, and technologists from around the globe. The meeting program was designed to inspire the community and foster opportunities for collaborative action on all issues relating to open access.

Keynote speaker, John Wilbanks, Fellow of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, kicked off the meeting off with a high-energy presentation constructed in triads: he highlighted three stories, three “uncomfortable truths” and three eventual scenarios relating to the future of OA. His broad-ranging talk touched on topics from decentralized networks to data publishing to do-it-yourself alternative metrics. Throughout the presentation, Wilbanks emphasized the need for the community to insist on clarity of the definition of Open Access, especially with regards to end user rights. Underscoring the notion that the true power of Open Access is to enable innovation by encouraging collaboration, he noted “there is no together without rights,” and ended with a thought-provoking proposal for a new kind of “SWOT” analysis for the 21st scholarly publishing landscape.

The meeting included panels with expert speakers discussing Open Access policies (on a local, national and international level), new developments in the world of open digital repositories, an examination of author rights, and an in-depth look into the state of play in open-access journal publishing. The presenter slideshows are posted and the recordings will be available shortly.

The ever-popular Innovation Fair provided a terrific showcase for the creative work being done by institutions and businesses around Open Access. In rapid-fire two-minute presentations (including some in rhyme!), participants described their projects and key outcomes. This year’s topics included information from specialized repositories to the possibility of new metrics challenging the impact factor for primacy in the tenure and promotion process.

Throughout the meeting, Twitter activity was extremely high and presented a variety of questions and comments from those in the room, as well as from those just following along at home. Adding moments of levity to the proceedings, FakeElsevier chimed in several times with comments directed to SPARC OA participants, including this plea: “Msg to #sparc2012 attendees: Resistance still futile. Why haven’t you given up yet? That is all.”

Please look out for more information on the next SPARC webcast featuring information on article level metrics with Peter Binfield April 12.