ReadCube
Reference manager software company
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
ReadCube is a technology company that develops reference management and digital rights management software. It is currently available as a web-based platform, on mobile operating systems iOS and Android, and as a desktop application.[1] The legacy ReadCube and Papers applications are no longer being actively developed.
| ReadCube | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer | ReadCube |
| Initial release | October 2011 |
| Operating system | Web-based, Mac Windows, iOS, Android |
| Type | Reference management software |
| License | Trialware |
| Website | readcube |
The original ReadCube desktop application was available for free, selling premium services such as storage in the online library. In contrast, Papers was a software sold for a one-time payment. ReadCube Papers is now a yearly subscription-based model.[2]
History
ReadCube was created by Labtiva, a Boston-based company. A desktop version was publicly launched in October 2011 with investment from Digital Science,[3] a division of Macmillan Publishers. Shortly after, ReadCube Web Reader was integrated with the website of Nature in November 2011.[4]
A pilot program for ReadCube Access was launched at the University of Utah in September 2012, followed by a public release in Nature Publishing Group journals in November 2012. That same month, version 2.0 of Web Reader launched with several significant changes.[5] In February 2013, ReadCube launched across more than 117 journals published by Wiley.[6]
In April 2014, Labtiva released ReadCube Pro: A product similar to Web Reader with a focus on integration with ReadCubes proprietary cloud offerings[7].
On 2 December 2014, Nature announced that it would allow its subscribers and a group of selected media outlets to distribute links that provided limited "free" access to journal articles through ReadCube Web Reader. While it does provide some free articles, it is not a completely open access scheme due to restrictions on the users' ability to download, copy, print, or distribute the content using digital rights management.[8][9]
On March 16, 2016, ReadCube acquired Papers from Springer Nature for an undisclosed amount.[10] In September 2023, ReadCube Pro officially rebranded as Papers. An on-site announcement stated:
"ReadCube will be the brand dedicated to our enterprise clients, and Papers will be focused solely on students, independent researchers, and academia."[11]
Products
ReadCube Enhanced PDF for articles published by Nature Publishing Group, Frontiers and John Wiley & Sons and any articles uploaded into the ReadCube Papers cloud.[12][13]
ReadCube Checkout is a service that offers rental, cloud, and downloadable article access options outside journal subscriptions. This checkout functionality is offered for the majority of journal articles on several publisher pages.[14]
Literature Review is a software designed to help teams monitor and analyze published literature.[15]