News: Academic Publishing Weekly

More IMLS updates, the latest in scholarly AI, and the return of the PEN America Literary Awards

Posted on May 16, 2025 in News

IMLS Avoids Closure and Response to the Firings of the Librarian of Congress and Chief of the US Copyright Office

In some more good news for the library community, federal judge John G. McConnell has ordered the Trump administration to “reverse any ‘policies, memoranda, directives, or actions’ aimed at complying with Trump’s March 14 executive order [targeting the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS)].” The preliminary injunction also calls on the administration to reinstate staff, return grant funding, and file “a status report ‘within seven days.’” Next, Congress is disputing Trump’s instatement of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as the new Librarian of Congress. According to The Washington Post, Congress argues that the current acting librarian is the Library of Congress’s top career official, Robert R. Newlen. Both Democrat and Republican Congress members also raised concerns regarding their legislative power over the library. Maria A. Pallante, president and CEO of the Association of American Publishers (AAP), commented on the firings of former Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden and Shira Perlmutter, chief of the US Copyright Office. Pallante referenced the Office’s recent AI report and underscored that “we have to take a long view about the mission and well-being of the Copyright Office.”

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New in AI Part One: Wiley and 67 Bricks

Wiley has announced another AI deal. As part of a new partnership, Perplexity users will be able to use the company’s AI search engine to return results sourced from both Wiley and web content. Wiley explained that “Perplexity provides live web access and Wiley collections content with sourced citations, ensuring users receive up-to-date information with proper attribution.” Wiley staff will also receive licenses for Perplexity’s Enterprise Pro. Next, technology consultancy 67 Bricks revealed an AI tool for “publishers wanting to integrate natural language querying without reducing control over their content.” The new AI assistant provides enhanced research capabilities “with responses grounded in paywalled and proprietary content.”

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New in AI Part Two: OUP and Yale

In additional AI news, Oxford University Press (OUP) unveiled a new resource for legal researchers, Oxford Law Pro. Available through Oxford Academic, Oxford Law Pro draws on “more than 9,000 journal articles and over 600 award-winning, peer-reviewed books” and features an AI assistant. The AI tool “deliver[s] precise summaries, source links, and relevancy scores.” Users can also reference industry insights through new Expert Essentials. Next up, Yale Library and the Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning hired associate English professor Ben Glaser as director of AI initiatives in the humanities. As part of the new role, Glaser aims to “develop group consultations with faculty around AI engagement in research and teaching, explore AI’s role in writing and composition, and develop streamlined access to AI resources for faculty and students.”

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Thoughts on the Current State of Federal Research Funding

Inside Higher Ed’s Kathryn Palmer reports that universities are working to financially sustain student and faculty research in response to cuts to federal funding. Palmer underscores that some universities are taking money from their endowments, while others like the University of Arizona are developing bridge funding programs. Despite these initiatives, Palmer warns that university-funded programs, private industry dollars, and philanthropic donations are only short-term solutions. Palmer added that the drop in grant funding threatens the future workforce and the US’s place in the global research landscape. Speaking of research grants, a recent study published in Scientometrics makes a case for the benefits of sustained funding. In particular, the study revealed that US researchers with stable funding from the NIH stuck to their research topic and “produced papers featuring newer or more unconventional combinations of ideas.”

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Should Scholarly Publishers Serve as Gatekeepers?

In a recent piece for The Scholarly Kitchen, Ashutosh Ghildiyal, Vice President of Growth and Strategy at Integra, makes an interesting case for the importance of scholarly publishers serving as gatekeepers. Ghildiyal describes gatekeeping as the “most vital and enduring contribution of scholarly publishers,” underlining that publishers need to prioritize curating trustworthy information for their key audience—readers. Ghildiyal also contends that leveraging artificial intelligence can aid editors and peer reviewers. For instance, Ghildiyal suggests integrating AI into screening process so humans can focus more on “provid[ing] depth, context, and critical analysis.” [The Scholarly Kitchen]

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PEN America Literary Awards and Updates to Clarivate’s JIF and Jisc’s Equity Tool

After cancelling its awards ceremony last year, PEN America is celebrating its 61st Literary Awards. Similar to 2024, the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award was not awarded, as two finalists—including the winner—dropped out due to “their objection to PEN America’s response to the genocide in Palestine.” The monetary prize will be donated to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund and Palestine Legal. The awards conferred included three career achievement awards, and Dagoberto Gilb’s A Passing West: Essays from the Borderlands from University of New Mexico Press took home the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay. In other news, Jisc unveiled updates to its “How Equitable Is It?” tool, released as a beta version last September. The revised tool “offers enhanced guidance for users and clearer definitions of equity indicators.” Last, Clarivate shared that citations from retracted articles will no longer be considered “when calculating the JIF [Journal Impact Factor] numerator.” Nonetheless, “retracted articles will still be included in the article count (JIF denominator).”

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