Digitize this Book! The Politics of New Media, or Why We Need Open Access Now

Electronic Mediations

by Gary Hall

The merits and ramifications of open access-the electronic publishing model that gives readers free, irrevocable, worldwide, and perpetual access to research-are currently being vigorously debated. Particularly in the sciences, open access is now increasingly proposed as a valid means of both disseminating knowledge and career advancement. Gary Hall presents a timely and ambitious polemic on the potential that open access publishing has to transform both "papercentric" humanities scholarship and the institution of the university itself. Rigorously interrogating the intellectual, political, and ethical implications of open access, Digitize This Book! is a radical call for democratizing access to knowledge and transforming the structures of academic and institutional authority and legitimacy.

Genres: Politics

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Gary Hall is professor of media and performing arts at Coventry University. He is the author of Digitize This Book! (Minnesota, 2008), Pirate Philosophy, and Culture in Bits. He is founding coeditor of the peer-reviewed online journal Culture Machine and cofounder of the Open Humanities Press.

Reviews

[Minerva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Concerning arguments about Open Access, I understand what Hall's position is. Yet, I think he's relying much more than necessary on Derrida to defend his thoughts on this matter.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a wide-ranging polemic about how academics need to embrace the open access movement for political reasons that relies on the theorists-du-jour than a practical guide on how the academic world needs to change with the times. As much as I enjoyed Hall's analysis of the issues with digital publishing being a shadow of print, I found parts of the book too theoretical. I would have preferred it if the book was a little more concise and could have done without the lengthy parts on the politics. Yes it is all tied together, but it could have been two books (one on the importance of the open access movement to the future of academics and one on the political foundations that steer the movement) instead of one and made more powerful arguments. I found myself disinterested in parts of the book and skipping ahead to pick up the thread of an argument on open access. Great notes and bibliography though. The book is worth skimming and reference for those in the open access fray.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Important topic, but somewhat obtuse if you're not a cultural studies insider. I'm glad to see this issue is making the academic agenda, though, so no quarrel there.