1. REIMAGINING
THE DIGITAL
MONOGRAPH
SSP 2017 Preconference:
Innovation in Scholarly Book Publishing
May 31, 2017
@abhumphreys
Alex Humphreys, JSTOR Labs

2. ITHAKA is a not-for-profit organization that helps the academic
community use digital technologies to preserve the scholarly record
and to advance research and teaching in sustainable ways.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit
digital library of academic
journals, books, and
primary sources.
Ithaka S+R is a not-for-profit
research and consulting
service that helps academic,
cultural, and publishing
communities thrive in the
digital environment.
Portico is a not-for-profit
preservation service for
digital publications, including
electronic journals, books,
and historical collections.
Artstor provides 2+ million
high-quality images and
digital asset management
software to enhance
scholarship and teaching.

3. JSTOR Labs works with partner publishers, libraries and
labs to create tools for researchers, teachers and students
that are immediately useful – and a little bit magical.

4. labs.jstor.org/monograph
REIMAGINING THE MONOGRAPH

5. labs.jstor.org/topicgraph
TOPICGRAPH
Understand at a glance the topics covered in a book.
Jump straight to pages about topics you’re researching.

6. WHITE PAPER
Currently released
as a draft for comment
Describes the
project, process & prototype
Includes 13 principles
to consider when
reimagining the monograph
To be released June 12, 2017
labs.jstor.org/monograph

7. NOW IT’S YOUR TURN

8. WHAT’S AN
IDEA JAM* AND
WHY WOULD
I WANT ONE?
• A structured brainstorming activity
• You don’t want to decide too quickly
what you’re doing
• The more ideas you generate, the
more you have to choose from
* Also called a Design Jam, or a Design Studio,
or many other things.

9. STEP 1: UNDERSTAND THE USER

10. STEP 2: GENERATE IDEAS!
Activity: 8 x 8’s
Work individually
Draw 8 ideas in 8 minutes
Share your ideas
(usually: rinse, repeat)
Guidelines:
• You must draw!
• If stuck, go back to the user
• Don’t worry…
- about feasibility
- whether it’s a good idea

11. TABLE ASSIGNMENTS
1
As a writer, I want to author books that represent my research
and perspective.
2
As a fellow scholar, I want to provide a review of a book that helps
the original author, the editor and the broader community.
3
As a researcher, I want to find books that are relevant to my
research interests without being overwhelmed by ”the firehose.”
4
As a researcher, I want to read books in a way that aligns with my
research practices.

12. STEP 3: AGREE ON IDEAS
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION
Activity: Dot-voting
Everyone gets 3 dot-stickers
Put your stickers next to the
ideas that most excite you

13. WHERE DO
WE GO FROM HERE?

14. DEMOCRACY
IN
ACTION!
Vote here:
PollEv.com/jstorlabs

15. THE
“BOOK
AS
GATEWAY”

18. THE
“BOOK
DASHBOARD”

21. THE “SCHOLARLY READER”

24. THE
“CITATION
MIXER”

30. Thank you
Alex Humphreys
Director, JSTOR Labs
ITHAKA
labs.jstor.org
@abhumphreys
alex.humphreys@ithaka.org
Further Reading
• The Lean Startup, Eric Ries
• Business Model Generation & Value
Proposition Design, Osterwalder et al.
• Marty Cagan’s Blog: svpg.com/articles
• Running Lean & Scaling Lean, Ash
Maurya
• Sprint, Knapp, Zeratsky, & Kowitz

31. APPENDIX
(OPEN IN CASE OF NO
INTERNET CONNECTION)