News: Academic Publishing Weekly

Debating human vs. AI-generated work, new NISO metadata guidance, and the literacy world remembers Dolly Parton

Posted on August 28, 2026 in News

Appeasing the AI Police

Whether you’re all in on AI, middle of the road, or you (try to) avoid it completely, someone, somewhere, has likely compelled you to explain your views or provide some level of transparency to your work. Such is the era AI has ushered in. One in which any type of content is subjected to a creeping paranoia about how it was generated. Of course, we’ve always had to “show our work” ever since someone figured out how to plagiarize, but the stakes are much higher with AI as The Scholarly Kitchen editor-in-chief David Crotty points out in this post explaining TSK’s policy on AI use. While Crotty notes that the blog is taking a “more direct stance” on disclosure for its contributors, he remains flexible. “Personally, I see The Scholarly Kitchen as a place where some experimentation should be allowed — given the relatively low stakes of an opinion blog about publishing versus a clinical practice medical journal,” he says. From there, he explains his personal preferences as a writer and invites the commentariat to weigh in and, as usual, they’re as instructive and entertaining as the post itself. (Ed. note: this blurb was written entirely by a human.)

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More AI Launches in the News

Meanwhile, AI product launches from academic publishers continue apace. Elsevier announced the launch of Nora AI, a healthcare education-oriented learning assistant that provides research tools inside ebooks from Elsevier’s VitalSource Bookshelf platform. The AI-powered product brings course materials and learning tools, which can be queried using natural language, into the reading environment of a specific title. In the same vein, and perhaps more cleverly named, scientific society collaborative GeoScienceWorld (GSW) launched its own AI-powered research assistant called GeoSapien^AI. The product, focused solely on geoscience research, helps users search and discover content across GSW publications contributed by its society members. “As a nonprofit, GeoScienceWorld exists to serve the geoscience community. That’s exactly why we developed GeoSapien^AI—to ensure geoscientists have an AI tool built specifically for their needs and grounded in peer-reviewed content published by societies they trust,” says GSW Board Chair Bridgette Moore in a statement about the launch.

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New OverDrive Chief Technology Officer and NISO Publishes Updated Guidance

OverDrive announced Liz Carrasco as the new Chief Technology Officer, “where she will lead the company’s global technology strategy and engineering organization as it continues to expand and evolve its digital content platforms.” Carrasco’s background includes technology leadership roles at CBS Interactive, ViacomCBS, Paramount, and Yahoo!. The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) published Phase III of the Knowledge Bases and Related Tools (KBART) Recommended Practice. Last updated in 2014, the guidance focuses on robust metadata formatting between content providers and knowledge base developers. The update provides recommendations for new content types, KBART Automation, contributor surnames, and more.

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JSTOR Expands Publisher Collections and New eCollection on Misinformation

JSTOR’s tier-structured ebook acquisition model Publisher Collections will expand to 36 publishers in January 2027. Launched last January, the model will renew all 22 starting publishers and add 14 presses. Through the program, close to 700 Publisher Collections were sold through July 2026, “representing 1,555 new titles published in 2026 and 36,622 backlist titles from 22 publishers.” Next, JMIR Publications announced a new e-collection focusing on misinformation and research integrity in scholarly publishing. Hosted by JMIR Metascience and Research Integrity, the collection will examine “threats emerging from within the research ecosystem” including predatory publishing, compromised peer review, manipulated data, and the misapplication of artificial intelligence tools, among other “critical concerns.” The call for papers is currently open.

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Remembering Dolly Parton

Country star, philanthropist, and all-around Good Person Dolly Parton passed away this week, and the world—from musicians to politicians to athletes to your next-door neighbor—mourned. Along with her iconic hit songs, savvy business acumen, and bedazzled looks, Dolly Parton established the Imagination Library in 1995 in honor of her father, who never learned to read or write. The program sends one book each month to children from birth to age five to build literacy and promote reading. Ellen O’Connell Whittet writes for Literary Hub on what the program meant to her and her daughter. Among the many tributes, the Association of American Publishers (AAP) President and CEO Maria A. Pallante released a statement, writing that “the publishing community will miss her tremendously.” On The Scholarly Kitchen, chefs reflected on Dolly’s impact on their personal and professional lives. Rock some rhinestones and be kind in her honor. Thanks for everything, Dolly.

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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. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer (Milkweed Editions)
2. The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald by John U. Bacon (Liveright)
3. The Book of Birds: A Field Guide to Wonder and Loss by Robert Macfarlane, Jackie Morris (W. W. Norton & Company)
4. Is a River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane (W. W. Norton & Company)
5. No Prophets: The Fight to Save Democracy from Christian Nationalism by Jared Huffman (W. W. Norton & Company)

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