News: Academic Publishing Weekly

Taylor & Francis release S2O pilot, an OA books toolkit, and the latest academic library news

Posted on October 4, 2024 in News

Taylor & Francis Pilot Subscribe to Open and the Kick Off of University-Based Publishing Futures

After announcing the second round of Pledge to Open last month, Taylor & Francis (T&F) is now piloting Subscribe to Open (S2O). The pilot seeks to make the journals Technical Services Quarterly, Legal Reference Services Quarterly, and LGBT Issues in Counseling open access. Funding will be provided by subscribers rather than authors and T&F encourages current subscribers of the journals to continue their subscriptions. As T&F explained, “If enough institutions support S2O in this way, all articles published in the 2025 volume will be open access.” In other news, this week marked the launch of the University Based Publishing Futures (UBPF) community. The community aims to “share knowledge among university-based publishers and align our outreach and advocacy efforts for maximum impact.” Members of the scholarly publishing industry are invited to tune in to the recording of the group’s inaugural virtual meeting and can join the group by October 31.

---

---

OA Books Toolkit Refresh and PLOS Gains Funding for Open Science

OAPEN Foundation has updated the Open Access Books Toolkit under the PALOMERA project in celebration of its fourth anniversary. The toolkit includes information on open access (OA) funding and tips for researchers, and “consists of short articles covering a wide range of topics relating to OA books, each including a list of sources referenced, further reading and links to definitions of key terms.” OAPEN Foundation shared that the toolkit is monitored by an advisory board and will be publicized on October 28 at the final conference of the PALOMERA project. OAPEN will also promote the updated toolkit on social media under the hashtag #OAbookstoolkit. Next up, PLOS will be undergoing an 18-month research project to address Open Science “affordability and a lack of recognition for Open Science contributions in the research process.” The project is funded by a $1.5 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and a $1 million grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. PLOS hopes to develop a business model that supports a diverse range of research outputs and “goes ‘beyond the Article Processing Charge (APC).’” The project will also incorporate stakeholder feedback and involve a global economic analysis.

---

US National Book Awards Shortlists and the PROSE Awards Open for Submissions

The US National Book Awards has named its finalists in translated literature, fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and young people’s literature. The 25 titles were narrowed down from an initial 1,917 submissions. The winners will be presented with a bronze medal, statue, and $10,000 on November 20. The recipients of the 2024 Distinguished Contribution Medalist and Literarian Award will also be celebrated. Of interest, Lena Khalaf Tuffaha’s Something About Living from University of Akron Press graces the poetry shortlist. Next, submissions are now open through November 18 for the Association of American Publishers’ (AAP) 2025 PROSE Awards. Categories include Biological and Life Sciences, Humanities, Physical Sciences & Mathematics, Social Sciences, and Reference Works. The awards “recognize outstanding scholarly books, journals, reference works, e-products, and nonfiction graphic novels” and are open for publishers in the AAP or the Association of University Presses (AUPresses). The subject category winners, recipient of the R.R. Hawkins Award, and Excellence Award winners will be named early next year.

---

---

New Wiley Journals, University of Arizona OA Partnership, and Two Mega-Journals “on Hold”

Wiley is adding six journals to its “Advanced Portfolio,” two of which will focus on AI. The new journals center on the health and life sciences, featuring topics including “cell and molecular biology; oncologly; neuroscience; and plant science.” The AI titles, Advanced Intelligent Discovery and Advanced Robotics Research, are set to publish later this year. Next up, Canadian Science Publishing (CSP) is partnering with the University of Arizona for OA publishing in CSP journals. Beginning January of next year and running through 2027, University of Arizona researchers will be able to publish free of charge in 19 hybrid and 3 fully OA journals. Last, Clarivate’s Web of Science (WoS) temporarily ceased indexing of the OA journals Heliyon of Elsevier and Cureus of Springer Nature due to “concerns about the quality of their articles.” An Elsevier spokesperson underscored that the publisher is “investigating” the situation, and Graham Parker-Finger, director of publishing and customer success at Cureus, commented that, “We are absolutely committed to the integrity of our journal, investigating all concerns that are raised with us as well as acting proactively, and we expect to be able to resolve this situation in the near future.” Once a decision is made by the WoS, indexing will either resume or the journals will be removed from the platform.

---

Library News: IFLA Trend Report and Ex Libris’s Specto

Turning to the library, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) published its 2024 Trend Report. The report looks at several trends in the library and information space, including the impact of AI, distribution of digital technologies, and a desire for “community connection.” As IFLA underscored, “Both the trends and scenarios are building blocks that library and information workers, libraries and library associations can use in their planning.” IFLA will provide additional tools to help those who wish to implement areas of the report. In other news, Ex Libris, part of Clarivate, will release Ex Libris Specto by the end of next year. Specto, an “innovative AI-powered digital asset management solution,” will automate metadata creation for a variety of digital mediums. Ex Libris explained that Specto’s Metadata Assistant will also tag and connect objects, benefitting collection visibility. The company stressed that, “By leveraging AI to streamline cataloging processes, Specto empowers librarians to focus on curating and sharing the stories behind their collections.”

---

Related Posts