If Rumors Were Horses

Welcome to the first all-digital issue of Against the Grain! After 33 years of print publication, Against the Grain is excited to be moving to an all-digital format. The December 2021 - January 2022 issue was the final issue sent by mail. Subscribers will still receive all the latest news about libraries, publishers, book jobbers, and subscription agents, but as an easily accessible electronic publication. This will allow ATG to reach its readers in a quick and streamlined manner. Now, on with the Rumors!

Do You Wordle?

The daily word puzzle game Wordle has taken the world by storm. I started seeing green, yellow, and black boxes pop up all over social media back in December, but things really took off in January to the point of memes declaring Wordle to be another phase of the pandemic, along with Tiger King and bread baking! On January 31, 2022, The New York Times Company, the parent of The New York Times, acquired Wordle from the game’s creator Josh Wardle for “an undisclosed price in the low-seven figures. https://www.nytco.com/press/wordle-newyork-times-games/ Fans speculated this would move the game behind a paywall, or change the nature of the game somehow, but so far the only change has been cosmetic with an updated look to the page. Although they claim they haven’t changed the word list from the one Wardle used, I swear things have gotten more difficult!

Job Changes, New Hires, Retirements, and More!

Congratulations to Jenni Wilson on joining Coherent Digital — she just came aboard as Sales Manager for the Midwest, Central Plains, and West. Stephen Rhind-Tutt and Eileen Lawrence worked with Jenni at Alexander Street for many years. She most recently has spent time at ProQuest and SAGE. From Eileen: We’re so excited to be working with her again! A lot of librarians know her, as she’s been part of our community since the early 1990s. Her customers love her — she’s smart, meticulous, caring, and has a sharp sense of humor. She also brings her MLIS degree and her decades of sales experience (Buzzy Basch and Jenni and I worked together in 1994 at what was then Turner Subscriptions). Jenni lives with her husband in Chicago where, she says, they’re lucky to have access to the world’s best music, the greatest lake, and wonderful food, all of which make her happy. About joining Coherent Digital, she says, “I’m over the moon thrilled to be back in a space where I can share stories about important and inspirational collections, working with important and inspirational colleagues.”

From Brad Warren, currently Associate Dean of Library Services at University of Cincinnati: “I will start March 1st as the inaugural Dean of Libraries at Augusta University in Augusta, GA. I am so happy to return to the south and begin this next opportunity in my career.”

A round of applause for David Parker in his new position as Senior Director Product Management at Infobase! “My focus is on media and content across streaming video, databases, and eBooks and the winnning brands of Films on Demand, Credo Reference, Facts on File, and more,” says David.

AIP Publishing announced last month that Ann Michael has joined the organization in the new role of Chief Transformation Officer. She will report to CEO Alix Vance as part of AIP Publishing’s executive management team. “I am convinced that AIP Publishing can impact the evolution of scholarly communications and has the intent and resolve to rethink how it interacts with researchers. They are committed to delivering value to them as individuals and key members of the physical sciences community,” Ann said. “I couldn’t be more excited about being part of the AIP Publishing team.” https://publishing. aip.org/about/news/ann-michael/

Jayne Marks has joined the Maverick Publishing Specialists team as a Senior Associate. Jayne has 40 years of experience in senior roles helping some of the industry’s major publishers devise and deliver on global business strategies in various facets of the STM markets. Most recently, she served 10 years as Vice President, Global Publishing for Wolters Kluwer Health where she oversaw a broad portfolio of journals and diversified traditional revenue streams. https://www.maverick-os.com/ news-events/news/publishing-industry-executive-jayne-marksjoins-maverick-publishing-specialists/

IGI Global has appointed Lindsay Wertman as its new President. “These are exciting times in our industry, the way that content is being shared and accessed paired with the level of innovation and collaboration that we are seeing take place is astounding. I feel honored and privileged to have the opportunity to serve the academic community. We at IGI Global have always been deeply committed to ensuring that researchers have a trusted outlet for their work and that we as an organization remain agile as content needs evolve. I’m looking forward to launching many new initiatives in the years ahead,” said Lindsay. Keep an eye (or an ear) out for an ATG the Podcast interview with Lindsay to come in March!

Bob Nardini turned in his ProQuest badge on New Year’s Eve, retiring after nearly 40 years in the field. His departure will not only be felt at the company, where he last served as Vice President of Library Services, but from every corner of the industry. “Bob has made a tremendous impact in the academic library space during his 15 years with us and throughout his entire career,” said Oren Beit-Arie, who led the ProQuest books business. “I’m excited for Bob’s next journey, but will also miss him dearly.” Read all about it in this blog post by Alison Roth: https://about.proquest.com/en/blog/2022/library-thoughtleader-bob-nardini-retires-after-40-year-career/. Congrats to Bob on his retirement!

On the Blog

Have you been keeping up with our new weekly series of ATG blog posts? On topics ranging from the death of proofreading, collaborative marketing efforts, eliminating student transcript holds for library fees, defining “open” for open access, and podcast recommendations, there’s something here for everyone in the library, scholarly communications, and information industries. Visit https://www.charleston-hub.com/category/ blogs/ to check it out! We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Save the Date(s)!

The Charleston Conference is planning a very special Charleston In Between virtual conference event May 11-12 to explore important late-breaking developments that can’t wait til November for discussion. Topics to be covered include:

• An update on the Clarivate/ProQuest acquisition from last year’s Charleston In Between,

• Exploration of consolidation and competition within the industry at large, and

• Efforts by ResearchGate and Elsevier to host the content of other publishers.

We have a stellar line-up of panelists in the works, with Roger Schonfeld (Director, Libraries & Scholarly Communication & Museums, Ithaka S+R) and Ann Okerson (Senior Advisor, CRL) as panel moderators. Watch for registration and more details coming your way soon!

And the 2022 Charleston Conference will take place October 31-November 4. We are planning a hybrid event with in-person attendance in lovely historic Charleston, SC. The Gaillard Center, Francis Marion Hotel, and Marriott Courtyard are expecting us! We will also have a virtual component available for those who are unable to join us in Charleston. https://www. charleston-hub.com/the-charleston-conference/

Watch for our call for preconferences and papers which will be announced shortly. Conference registration will open in early June, along with hotel guest room blocks. Sign up to receive the latest news and announcements by creating an account at https://www.charleston-hub.com/membership-account/ membership-checkout/ and clicking “Information about the Charleston Conference,” or follow the Charleston Hub on your favorite social media platform.

Rumors, Rumors, and More Rumors!

Coming soon! We’ve heard from our readers that you want more frequent “rumors” updates, so we’ll be posting them on the Charleston Hub website between issues of ATG. Keep up with the latest at https://www.charleston-hub.com/category/rumors/.

That’s it for now, but as always, please send updates to us at editors@against-the-grain.com for inclusion!