This paper has discussed potential changes in the teaching, communication and publication practices of academics in higher education due to the impact of the information age. There is a great deal of literature on academic identity and practice, which also comments on changes in the workplace (see eg, Clegg, 2008). Current changes in the academic landscape driven by moves towards open publishing and open educational resources are accelerating. Recent policy changes are interesting in this context. For example, the recent (2012) policy statement made by the Wellcome Trust requires fundholders to lodge papers with PubMed Central. Also in September 2012, the UK government announced (Guardian, 2012) a £10 million in funding for UK academics to publish their research in journals that allow free public access to the material online with a subscription. Embracing digital scholarship fits well with these new requirements. The findings of this digital scholarship project suggest that the response of academics to these potential changes is likely to be complex.