Monday, May 7, 2012

Publish or Perish With a Sting in its Tail

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THIS CATALOGUE ONLINE

Click here to go to blurb
Some say everyone has a book in them somewhere but they lack the means (the money mostly) to get it out there into READERland. At the end of the day, new 'Information Technologies', and the globalisation of the publication industry, has done nothing to destroy 'the book'. Rather it has democratised books, and the publication of them, in a way that seeps very deeply into all manner of publication manifestations – and in a museum context, catalogues.


The exemplar above would be totally out of reach for a great many artists or museums not so long ago but now well within reach. The academic adage "publish or perish" has a new sting in its tail because the "there is no money" excuse has pretty much dissolved. So much so as a great many curators, academics, et al now have the opportunity to put their money where their mouth is prone to be – but with nothing in hardcopy or online to back themselves up.


Watch out for the replacement excuse "we do not have the time"it'll often be code for the lack of inclination and at its worst, lack of ability.


The publication options are increasingly voluminous and soon we'll not only be able to go online to do our 'publishing', we'll be able to do it at our local photocopy shop. 


Flying below the radar will soon be seen as not only lazy but also unprofessional. We'll be able to expect professionals in the field to deliver. And, what's more the vanity publishing blight can be answered by the phenomena of universal peer review given that detractors can 'publish' as easily, as often and as prominently in their field, as those with whom they wish to take issue. 


The critical discourse no longer has gatekeepers that cannot be circumnavigated!

Ray Norman

2 comments:

male said...

1) create your own audience
2) and only publish to them
3) decline to have reader feedback
4) delete those in your audience who muck-up
5) self rules!

The Muzda said...

Yes male all of that but ... and isn't there always a BUT ... with the BLURB and BLOG options of publishing they facilitate the distribution network and thus the "peer review" is universal and ongoing ... potentially at least.

Academic publication was never like that NOR anywhere near as inclusive or democratic or as open to critical review.

In fact academic publication, in the final analysis, is as self -serving as 'vanity publishing'!

We are indeed operating within a new paradigm that is quite probably sending cool breezes down the hallways of academia.

Heheheehe [:–) !!!