use either free software like that provided by Google Groups, or were created with mailing-list capability provided by a scholar’s institution, and others were supported with mailing-list tools provided by a scholarly society or association. H-France, for example, spends a few hundred dollars per year on Web site hosting, and is able to cover these costs from small grants and member donations One notable exception to this among the discussion lists is H-Net it combines university support, grant support, donations, and some revenue from click-through book sales to support the organizational structure that houses many lists. Some innovative discussion forums are starting to take advantage of social networking technology. Emerging Scholars Interdisciplinary Network includes a “Scholars Only Lounge” where members can discuss issues, share information, and read news alerts. The resource also allows members to create personal profiles, and to develop their own mini-networks around topics of interest. While resources like this suggest that Web 2.0 technology will enable new forms of scholarly exchange and interaction in the future, this study indicates that there is still a place for more traditional e-mail lists and discussion forums in the academy today. Professional and Academic Hubs (34 resources) While the majority of resources faculty mentioned focused on delivering one type of content, such as journal articles or data, a group of resources stood out for combining a wide range of content types in a single site. These “hubs,” which are often the digital portal for a scholarly society or professional organization, may offer e-only journals, reviews, access to preprints and conference papers, gray literature, blogs or newsletters that disseminate timely content, and functionality for networking with other scholars. Faculty find them useful as portals, or “one-stop shops” for information. Large sites such as these require many resources to build and update regularly. Because many of these sites are built as the portal or Web-presence for a scholarly society, that society’s membership fees help to finance the sites. Perhaps because these large sites likely attract large audiences, they frequently support themselves in part with advertising or corporate sponsorships, as well. RLI 263 18 Digital Scholarly Communication: A Snapshot of Current Trends ( C O N T I N U E D ) APRIL 2009 RESEARCH LIBRARY ISSUES: A BIMONTHLY REPORT FROM ARL, CNI, AND SPARC
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