News: Academic Publishing Weekly

The AI digital divide between students and faculty, loss of half a million books for the Internet Archive, and an OA update from OSTP

Posted on June 28, 2024 in News

OSTP Releases Progress Report for Congress

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released the “Updated Report to the U.S. Congress on Financing Mechanisms for Open Access Publishing of Federally Funded Research,” reviewing changes to the publishing environment since the 2022 memorandum. Following the November 2023 report on transformative agreements and the impact of public access on academic papers, this report dives into research integrity, peer review, and public access business models. However, not all were pleased with OSTP’s update. In Kent Anderson’s “The Geyser” newsletter, he describes the report as a “letdown,” criticizing a lack of comprehensive data and failure to “show their work.” In particular, he admonishes the absence of information on how open access via article processing charges (APCs) could affect the budget for publications financed by the US government. Well, you know what they say, it ain’t government work if you don’t have to do it twice!

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IA Lawsuit Impact and Analyzing the Nature Strike

Following last year’s ruling against the Internet Archive’s practice of controlled digital lending (CDL), IA has reported a “devastating loss” of roughly 500,000 books. Ashley Belanger of Ars Technica explained that IA is working on an appeal and believes that CDL doesn’t negatively affect the ebook market. As Chris Freeland, IA’s director of library services, stressed, “we just want to let our library patrons borrow and read the books we own, like any other library.” In other news, Charles Whalley, a member of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), commented on the recent Nature strike, positing that the “current pay dispute isn’t just about wages; it’s about the value placed on editorial work.” Whalley covered an open letter from academics supporting the strike, a rumor that Springer Nature may be vying for an entry in the stock market, and predicted how the strikes will impact current publication schedules. Whalley noted that both NUJ and Springer Nature have said they’re willing to negotiate, so time will tell.  

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Texas A&M University Press Turns 50, Fondren Library Invests in Foucault Studies, and ALPSP Award Finalists

Texas A&M University Press is turning 50! In commemoration of the milestone, Bailey Payne of the Texas A&M Foundation reflected on the press’s early approach to ebooks, the awards given to its titles, and the value of the Block T logo, which director Dr. Jay Dew calls “a mark of quality and pride.” Payne also highlighted several of the Press’s bestsellers, noting that the publisher has published close to 2,000 titles thus far. Next up, Rice University’s Fondren Library is investing in Foucault Studies as a diamond OA journal under the Lyrasis Open Access Community Investment Program. Commenting on the announcement, Sharla Lair, Senior Strategist of Open Access and Scholarly Communication Initiatives at Lyrasis, underlined that, “Through its dedication to supporting diamond open access content, Fondren ensures that more research is free to read and publish, thereby dismantling barriers to knowledge, fostering global collaboration, and advancing scientific discovery for all.” Last, the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP) revealed the finalists for the ALPSP Impact Award and the ALPSP Award for Innovation in Publishing. The winners will be awarded on September 12 at the ALPSP Annual Conference and Awards. 

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Addressing Research Integrity, Self-Citation, and the Student-Faculty AI Gap

Inside Higher Ed covers two reports on student-faculty adoption of artificial intelligence, revealing a “new digital divide.” First, a Pearson report published this week found students using AI tools to improve their grades, be more efficient, and brainstorm ideas, among other uses. However, in an Ithaka S+R survey released last week, faculty shared a lack of confidence in how to incorporate AI into their teaching. Further, a little over 40 percent of surveyed faculty “do not allow students to use any generative AI in their courses.” Inside Higher Ed details other relevant surveys and concerns over misinformation shared by both students and faculty. Next, several experts in scholarly communication share thoughts on solving journals’ “credibility problem.” Suggestions include an overhaul of publishing incentives for scientists and promoting green open access options as opposed to gold. Last, Dalmeet Singh Chawla for C&EN Magazine reports accusations of MDPI and Frontiers “excessively citing papers previously published in their own journals.” MDPI replied that it does not encourage self-citation, while Frontiers criticized the study’s methodology and notes that it watches for “unethical citation practices.”

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Digital Science Announces Altmetric 500 and the Latest Global Universities Rankings

Digital Science released Altmetric 500, a dataset that “gives insights into the types of attention that scientific articles and books have garnered across different platforms.” Specifically, Altmetric 500 looks at data across 11 sources ranging from social media to scientific and policy citations. Altmetric spotlighted several publications that received interest across both science and policy, noting that engagement can vary widely based on the platform. Next, U.S. News & World Report announced this year’s Best Global Universities Rankings, looking at more than 2,000 institutions from over 100 countries. Harvard University topped the list, and universities in China, the US, Japan, India, and the UK had the most rankings overall. LaMont Jones, Ed.D., managing editor for Education at U.S. News, underscored, “In their tenth year, the rankings have expanded to include more schools and more subjects while ensuring a focus on scholarly reputation and on institutions that prioritize cutting-edge research.”

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