News: Academic Publishing Weekly

The latest release of the State of Open Data Report, GetFTR utilizes AI tools, and reading lists on US immigration

Posted on January 30, 2026 in News

10th Edition of State of Open Data Report Released and a New OA Collective

The 10th edition of the Open Data Report, a collaborative effort between Digital Science, Springer Nature, and Figshare that explores the shift to open science, was recently released. Key takeaways include a deeper familiarity with FAIR principles (findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable), the appetite for national open data mandates has become less unilaterally supported, a significant credit gap persists, and AI will continue to play an important role in data sharing. According to the report, awareness of FAIR principles has almost doubled to nearly 80% since the 2018 survey. And while respondents were generally supportive of national open data mandates ten years ago, they’re less so now. This, says the report, may be a result of pragmatic and regional differences in implementation approaches. Meanwhile, 69% of respondents say they don’t receive enough credit for their data sharing efforts. This is cited as a major barrier to widespread adoption of open science. Questions about AI use were introduced in 2024 and already there is a discernible move from “considering” to “using”. Bumps in activity include data processing and metadata creation.

Sticking with “open” news, the Open Journals Collective (OJC) officially launched this month. The self-described “international movement of scholars, libraries, and university-based publishers” aims to be a platform supporting diamond open access research. Along with the Collective’s public launch, it announced a global investment campaign to help libraries extract themselves from so-called “big deals.” Through Collective membership, libraries invest in three launch collections that include 284 diamond open access journals across AHSS and STEM disciplines. “Publishers of the first round of 284 DOAJ-approved journals include university presses such as the University of Pennsylvania Press and UCL Press, library publishers such as the California Digital Library and Michigan Publishing, and independent academic publishers such as Pluto Press and MathOA,” says Charles Watkinson, Associate University Librarian at the University of Michigan and co-chair of OJC’s Marketing and Outreach Working Group, in a statement. “Publishing and the Direct Participating partners range from Erudit in the North to African Journals Online in the South.”

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Publishing’s “Turbulent Middle” with AI

In a guest post on The Scholarly Kitchen, Cashmere.io co-founder Jonathan Woahn presents part two of his examination of how publishers will and won’t be making money off of AI. In Part 1, he argued that the revenue publishers get from licensing deals for AI training is unsustainable. In Part 2, he describes what will happen next. Publishers, says Woahn, need to figure out the new delivery paradigm of their content. He suggests focusing on when AI tools use publisher content, not why. “Monetizing inference requires a clear understanding of how value is created and captured when content no longer reaches users in its original form,” he says. That format transformation from creator to user has a lot of historical precedence that shows a remarkable pattern in the way publishers watch, react, restructure, and regain control over digital distribution. Napster, anyone? Currently, Woahn argues, publishers are transitioning from “token partnerships” (unscalable licensing deals) to “infrastructure formation” where the groundwork for more sustainable monetization opportunities is being created.

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Book Community Rallies Behind ICE Protestors, Plus Reading Lists on US Immigration

This week PEN America covered how the book community is supporting those in Minneapolis facing the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids. Spotlighting bookstores and presses standing in solidarity with protestors and community members, PEN America provides ways to aid these organizations. In addition, Literary Hub highlighted Verso’s ABOLISH ICE reading list, added a few of its own recommended titles, and pointed to free ebook downloads of resources on US immigration law, borders, and resistance. Looking for more books on these topics? Check out Choice’s Immigration reading list from June 2025.

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GetFTR Embraces AI and OLH Releases AI Policy

GetFTR, the platform to connect users with full text research, announced the implementation of AI tools to check content entitlements and generate “smart links” to full text. The new capability utilizes Model Context Protocol (MCP)—an “an open emerging standard”—that links AI tools to external services. Highlighting the importance of following access rights, Ralph Youngen, GetFTR Board Chairperson, stated, “This launch represents an important step in making AI-driven discovery work in harmony with existing content ecosystems.” In other AI news, the Open Library of Humanities (OLH) released its AI Policy, outlining responsible and “unacceptable” uses of generative AI in scholarly publishing. Intended as a living document, the policy follows a “more than a year-long consultation process with [its] journals’ editorial teams,” and instructs authors “to declare substantial, known uses of generative AI that form a part of their submitted article’s research.”

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National Book Foundation Celebrates STEM and Andrew Carnegie Medals Announced

The National Book Foundation (NBF) and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation shared its picks for the Science + Literature program, three titles “that deepen readers’ understanding of science and technology, across fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.” Introduced in 2022, the prize awards $10,000 to the selected authors. University of Arizona Press’s Ancient Light by Kimberly Blaeser, a book of poetry concerning environmental destruction and violence against Native communities, received honors. This week also included the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence. The American Library Association awarded the memoir Things in Nature Merely Grow by Yiyun Li with the nonfiction prize.

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Publisher Expansions and Appointments in Asia

First up, Bloomsbury will open an office in Singapore. Adding to present offices in Australia and India, the publisher seeks to expand in the Asia-Pacific region in response to the growing student population in higher education. Bloomsbury plans forge relationships with local institutions and “[commission] content tailored to Asian markets.” Next, open access publisher MDPI announced Sangwoo Lee as head of its South Korea office. Coming from Public Relations agency Prain Global, Lee will “lead MDPI’s operations in South Korea and oversee marketing, communications, and external affairs.” The news coincides with MDPI’s appointment of its first South Korean Editor-in-Chief, Prof. Dr. Junic Kim. Stefan Tochev, CEO of MDPI, shared that “deepening local leadership and engagement is essential as we continue to build trust, editorial excellence, and long-term partnerships in South Korea.”

Independent Press Top 5 Bestsellers: Nonfiction
The American Booksellers Association and the Independent Publishers Caucus recently collaborated on an independent bestsellers list, which includes books from independent presses and sold in indie bookshops. Below are the top five nonfiction titles this week. Find this week’s full list of fiction and nonfiction independent bestsellers.

1. The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald by John U. Bacon (Liveright)
2. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer (Milkweed Editions)
3. Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next) by Dean Spade (Verso)
4. Guinness World Records 2026 by Guinness World Records (Guinness World Records)
5. Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl (Beacon Press)

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