Against the Grain - The Podcast

Annual Reviews

Against the Grain is your key to the latest news about libraries, publishers, book jobbers, and subscription agents. Our goal is to link publishers, vendors, and librarians by reporting on the issues, literature, and people that impact the world of books and journals.

  1. 3 days ago

    ATGthePodcast 340 - A Conversation with Caroline Ball, Community Engagement lead, Open Book Collective

    Today's episode features guest host Michael Upshall (guest editor, Charleston Briefings) who talks with Caroline Ball, Community Engagement Lead at Open Book Collective, which is a community governed, non-profit organization that helps libraries collectively support open access book publishers and infrastructures. Caroline says she has always had a love of books, and anyone who knows her would say a job in the library makes sense.  She first began working in a local public library where she enjoyed the variety of work but moved over to an academic library after fearing for her future career as she watched public libraries be stripped of funding and closed. Caroline says she had missed the university environment and learning and wanted to work with students. Eventually, her career at Derby began to steer away from collection development and resource management and move more towards teaching and pedagogy. She wanted to delve more into information literacy and get students thinking about the kind of resources they were consuming, how knowledge was produced and not just offering a straightforward training session. Caroline has authored numerous books on copyright policy, information ethics and knowledge equity, and she talks with Michael about her current role at Open Book Collective, library campaigning and activism, and her arguments behind the high-profile #ebookSOS campaign which she co-founded. The video of this interview can be found here: https://youtu.be/62ZwKnSmUsc LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mupshall/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/librarianonparade/   Keywords #OpenBookCollective #ebookSOS #KnowledgeEquity #InformationLiteracy #InformationEthics #InformationProfessionals #LibraryActivism #LIS #AcademicLibraries #AcademicInnovation #FutureOfLibraries #career #scholcomm #ScholarlyCommunication #libraries #librarianship #LibraryNeeds #LibraryLove #ScholarlyPublishing #AcademicPublishing #publishing #LibrariesAndPublishers #podcasts

    ATGthePodcast 340 - A Conversation with Caroline Ball, Community Engagement lead, Open Book Collective

  2. 19 Oct

    A Conversation with Peter Brantley, Director, Online Strategy, UC Davis Library (retired)

    Today's episode features guest host Michael Upshall (guest editor, Charleston Briefings) who talks with Peter Brantley, Director, Online Strategy, UC Davis Library (retired). Before joining UC Davis, Peter worked with Brewster Kahle and the Internet Archive, Open Library, the New York Public Library and with Dan Whaley of Hypothesis.  He's presented at the Charleston Conference with Gary Price for what he calls a "Laurel and Hardy Routine" on the pros and cons of technology. Peter says disruption, adoption, and co-optation have been constant throughout his intellectual life. He calls himself a "University Brat" who developed an early love of computing during time spent with his father working at a university, and says he taught himself how to code. A college professor sparked his interest in business and economic sociology, and in how established companies adapt to rapidly changing forms of product development, and how larger companies respond to new startups. This included biopharmaceutical companies in the late 90's and how they responded to the very dramatic changes in product development that arose with biotechnology, and the group of scientists who became involved in developing new pharmaceutical products and biotherapeutic interactions or interventions. He later became interested in how the publishing industry was responding to changes in technology and the opportunities to take advantage of the internet publishing domain as it emerged originally through the web and then through a suite of new internet enabled technologies. Peter says it is a critical time for libraries who have had to adjust their business in fundamental ways to think about not just readers and humans broadly as their audience but also engineering solutions for machines. The video of this interview can be found here: https://youtu.be/xLrj3WhWU-Y LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mupshall/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/naypinya/   Keywords: #TechAdoption #TechEvolution #LibraryTech #ProductDevelopment #EconomicSociology #DigitalTransformation #StrategicAdaptation #InformationProfessionals #AcademicLibraries #AcademicInnovation #FutureOfLibraries #career #scholcomm #ScholarlyCommunication #libraries #librarianship #LibraryNeeds #LibraryLove #ScholarlyPublishing #AcademicPublishing #publishing #LibrariesAndPublishers #podcasts

    A Conversation with Peter Brantley, Director, Online Strategy, UC Davis Library (retired)

  3. 12 Oct

    A Conversation with Philip Ball, Freelance Science Writer

    Today's episode features guest host Michael Upshall (guest editor, Charleston Briefings) who talks with Philip Ball, Freelance Science Writer. Phillip spent over 20 years as an editor with the journal Nature and is a celebrated British science writer who has authored over 30 books on diverse topics like quantum physics, systems biology, alchemy, invisibility, and why music has an effect on us. He is also a regular columnist for Chemistry World and BBC Future.  In this conversation, Philip talks with Michael about his background. He began writing books as a young child in a shed in his garden. However, he didn't initially set out to get a degree in writing, but chose science instead for his PhD, training first as a chemist and then as a physicist. When he found that he was one of the few people who enjoyed writing his thesis, he decided to combine his interest in science and his passion for writing for his career, joining Nature early on. Philip also talks about where his interest in science originated, the changes in Nature over the years, research culture, current obstacles in science, and the role of institutions and libraries in the promotion of open science and good research practice. The video of this interview can be found here: https://youtu.be/Ksv-FiAMTt8 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mupshall/ Twitter: Keywords: #NatureJournal #ScienceWriting #ScienceJournalism #SciComm #OpenScience #SystemsBiology #ScienceBooks #ResearchCulture #ResearchCommunity #ScienceInSociety #SciencePhilosophy #HistoryofScience #InformationProfessionals #AcademicLibraries #AcademicInnovation #FutureOfLibraries #career #scholcomm #ScholarlyCommunication #libraries #librarianship #LibraryNeeds #LibraryLove #ScholarlyPublishing #AcademicPublishing #publishing #LibrariesAndPublishers #podcasts

    A Conversation with Philip Ball, Freelance Science Writer

  4. 5 Oct

    ATGthePodcast 337 - A Conversation with Jonathan Grunert, Scholarly Publishing Librarian, University at Buffalo

    Today's episode features guest host Michael Upshall (guest editor, Charleston Briefings) who talks with Jonathan Grunert, Scholarly Publishing Librarian, University at Buffalo. Jonathan began his career by teaching high school immediately after college, until he realized that it wasn't the career for him. He decided to seek a higher education degree, and the first degree he landed on was library science. A senior seminar on the history of science sparked his interest and led him to pursue a doctorate at Virginia Tech in Science and Technology Studies, and a master's degree in history as well, writing his dissertation on the history of museum taxidermy in natural history museums in the United States.  In his current role at University at Buffalo, Jonathan is responsible for setting up and managing the library publishing program, UB ScholarWorks, that was launched in 2023. He talks with Michael about working to advance the idea of publishing open access with authors and researchers, why institutions set up their own publishing, and how library publishing compares with university presses. The video of this interview can be found here: https://youtu.be/6z-dXSM9BdI LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-grunert-73696271/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/mupshall/ Twitter: Keywords: #LibraryPublishing #DigitalScholarship #OpenAccess #OpenScience #InformationScience #HigherEd #InformationProfessionals #AcademicLibraries #AcademicInnovation #FutureOfLibraries #career #scholcomm #ScholarlyCommunication #libraries #librarianship #LibraryNeeds #LibraryLove #ScholarlyPublishing #AcademicPublishing #publishing #PublishingIssues #LibrariesAndPublishers #podcasts

    ATGthePodcast 337 - A Conversation with Jonathan Grunert, Scholarly Publishing Librarian, University at Buffalo

  5. 28 Sept

    A Conversation with Harry Collins, Professor Emeritus, School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University

    Description for Show Notes: Today's episode features guest host Michael Upshall (guest editor, Charleston Briefings) who talks with Harry Collins, Professor Emeritus, School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University. Harry is one of the most distinguished academics involved in the sociology of science and has authored 25 books throughout his career. He earned his master's in sociology from Essex University, went on to earn his PhD in the same field, and spent 45 years studying one group of physicists working to detect gravitational waves.   In this conversation, he talks with Michael about the Bath School Approach, to deeply analyze how scientific facts are socially constructed. He also talks about a book he stumbled across by accident, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn, and how it gave science a sociological face and helped people to begin to think of science in a new way.  Harry also talks about the shifting attitudes towards science since the 60's and 70's, and about his well-known book from 1993, The Golem: What Everyone Should Know About Science, in which he describes science as social, explains what this means, and tells how this book led to a conversation with the director of gravitational physics at the National Science Foundation about the new field.  The video of this interview can be found here: https://youtu.be/Z69xPv0zEZg LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harry-collins-9472a6179/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/mupshall/ Keywords: #SociologyOfScience #SocialSciences #SocialConstruction #SciencePhilosophy #ScienceStudies #HistoryOfScience #ScienceAndSociety #InformationScience #HigherEd #InformationProfessionals #AcademicLibraries #AcademicInnovation #FutureOfLibraries #career #scholcomm #ScholarlyCommunication #libraries #librarianship #LibraryNeeds #LibraryLove #ScholarlyPublishing #AcademicPublishing #publishing #PublishingIssues #LibrariesAndPublishers #podcasts

    A Conversation with Harry Collins, Professor Emeritus, School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University

  6. 21 Sept

    ATGthePodcast 335 - A Conversation with Daniel Dollar, Associate University Librarian for Scholarly Resources, Yale University

    Today's episode features guest host Michael Upshall (guest editor, Charleston Briefings) who talks with Daniel Dollar, Associate University Librarian for Scholarly Resources, Yale University. Daniel started out by studying politics in the early 90's, going to Washington, D.C., bouncing around between jobs on Capitol Hill, and working for a senator from N.C. until a former staff director and a senior advisor to the Senate Rules Committee advised him to apply to the Library of Congress for a job in Congressional Research Service. Daniel says he was doing research and finding things in the collections of the Library of Congress for congressional offices where he learned more about how libraries operated, and that eventually led him to earn his master's in library science at the University of Maryland. Daniel talks with Michael about his career progression after library school and how he came to Yale. Daniel has become known for the phrase "Collections of service." He says libraries are research and learning organizations, and cultural heritage organizations, and that can be abstracted down to transformation and tradition. And so, the libraries, by their nature, are designed to help transform, to work with faculty, students, members of the public, to achieve their educational and learning needs and goals, to acquire the skills and get access to the information that's going to be able to meet their needs. Thus, what libraries acquire needs to change to support this as research advances and as research in medicine and in law, as well as research across the academy, becomes increasingly multidisciplinary.  The video of this interview can be found here: https://youtu.be/VY6BCjWIo98 LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-dollar-984566b/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/mupshall/ Twitter: Keywords:#Yale #CollectionsOfService #TransformationAndTradition #LibraryScience #InformationScience #Research #ResearchSupport #HigherEd #InformationProfessionals #AcademicLibraries #AcademicInnovation #FutureOfLibraries #career #scholcomm #ScholarlyCommunication #libraries #librarianship #LibraryNeeds #LibraryLove #ScholarlyPublishing #AcademicPublishing #publishing #PublishingIssues #LibrariesAndPublishers #podcasts

    ATGthePodcast 335 - A Conversation with Daniel Dollar, Associate University Librarian for Scholarly Resources, Yale University

  7. 15 Sept

    ATGthePodcast 334 - A Conversation with Ulrich Herb, Head, Publication and Research Support, Saarland University Library

    Today's episode features guest host Michael Upshall (guest editor, Charleston Briefings) who talks with Ulrich Herb, Head, Publication and Research Support, Saarland University Library. Ulrich has been based for over 20 years at Saarland University. He talks with Michael about being born and raised in Saarland (the smallest federal state in Germany), and growing up in a village directly at the River Saar, the frontier between France and Germany with a unique and turbulent history.  His father was an untrained steel worker, and Ulrich says he was always interested in social mobility, barriers in social mobility, obstacles, social justice, prestige norms and in social conflicts. So, his first degree was in sociology.  However, he did his PhD in information science, not in sociology, after a conflict with a trade union and a conversation with a professor for information science.  He then began working in the university library on a third party funded project on electronic scientific information.  Ulrich also talks about what he likes about the University of Saarland, his current role supporting publications and Open Access coordination, and he describes in detail how attitudes to open access have changed since the Budapest Declaration in 2002. The video of this interview can be found here: https://youtu.be/gXewnMvZd20 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mupshall/ Keywords: #SaarlandUniversity #Sociology #SocialJustice #SocialHistory #OpenAccess #OpenScience #LibraryScience #InformationScience #HigherEd #InformationProfessionals #AcademicLibraries #FutureOfLibraries #career #scholcomm #ScholarlyCommunication #libraries #librarianship #LibraryNeeds #LibraryLove #ScholarlyPublishing #AcademicPublishing #publishing #PublishingIssues #LibrariesAndPublishers #podcasts

    ATGthePodcast 334 - A Conversation with Ulrich Herb, Head, Publication and Research Support, Saarland University Library

  8. 31 Aug

    A Conversation with Elizabeth Gadd, Chair, INORMS Research Evaluation Group

    Full title: A Conversation with Elizabeth Gadd, Chair, INORMS Research Evaluation Group, and Head of Research Culture and Assessment, Loughborough University Today's episode features guest host Michael Upshall (guest editor, Charleston Briefings) who talks with Elizabeth Gadd, Chair, INORMS Research Evaluation Group, and Head of Research Culture and Assessment, Loughborough University. Elizabeth says that she had an amazing English teacher in school, which led her to pursue an English degree, even though she had worked in a public library since she was 16 years old.  She also worked in the academic library during college. Elizabeth felt as though there was no obvious next step upon her graduation with a degree in English; she says it was unlike when "you study chemistry, you become a chemist." So, she put her library experience to good use and applied for the Standing Conference of National University Libraries graduate trainee scheme for UK University librarians (SCONNEL), and received a traineeship at University College London and then completed her masters at Loughborough University and has been there ever since.  Elizabeth talks with Michael about where her interest in metrics came from, recently completing her PhD on copyright by publication, finding some injustices of the scholarly communication system and investigating issues of copyright ownership of scholarly information from many different perspectives, designing and working on Project Romeo, how her role at the University has changed over time, moving from librarianship to research management, and how she currently works to change research culture.   The video of this interview can be found here: https://youtu.be/zp04CiBTo8w LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/mupshall/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-gadd/ Keywords:#INORMS #Research #ResearchCulture #ResearchManagement #HigherEd #InformationProfessionals #InformationScience #AcademicLibraries #FutureOfLibraries #career #scholcomm #ScholarlyCommunication #libraries #librarianship #LibraryNeeds #LibraryLove #ScholarlyPublishing #AcademicPublishing #publishing #PublishingIssues #LibrariesAndPublishers #podcasts

    A Conversation with Elizabeth Gadd, Chair, INORMS Research Evaluation Group
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About

Against the Grain is your key to the latest news about libraries, publishers, book jobbers, and subscription agents. Our goal is to link publishers, vendors, and librarians by reporting on the issues, literature, and people that impact the world of books and journals.

Information

  • Creator
    Annual Reviews
  • Years Active
    2016 - 2026
  • Episodes
    338
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2016-2026 Annual Reviews
  • Show Website
    Against the Grain - The Podcast

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