Member News & Announcements, May IO 2025
AI Technologies & Tools
New Ebook Central AI tool helps users engage deeper with scholarly ebooks
Proquest, Voting Member, Blog Post, April 14, 2025
With AI playing an increasingly vital role in academia, ProQuest, part of Clarivate, is expanding its series of responsibly developed academic AI tools, keeping library resources on pace with user expectations. The Ebook Central Research Assistant joins the Web of Science, Primo, and ProQuest Research Assistants in supporting research insights and developing critical thinking. Embedded within the award-winning Ebook Central platform, the Ebook Central Research Assistant is designed to help researchers and students navigate ebooks more effectively - surfacing key insights, uncovering connections and guiding them to the next steps in their academic journey.
Most Ebook Central users enter at the book level, where the Ebook Central Research Assistant is strategically positioned to enhance engagement and support users at critical points in their research workflow. This allows them to quickly assess the book’s relevance to their assignment and deepen their understanding. Additionally, they can seamlessly search across their institution’s catalog to find further resources.
Clarivate Expands its Academic AI Platform, Introducing Agentic AI for Research and Learning
Clarivate Analytics, Voting Member, Press Release, April 9, 2025
Clarivate Plc (NYSE:CLVT), a leading global provider of transformative intelligence, today announced the expansion of its Academic AI Platform, helping institutions harness agentic AI to accelerate productivity, save time for researchers, students and staff, and engage users in the digital environments they already use. Beginning in April 2025, Clarivate will introduce AI Agents to support key academic workflows. As part of this expansion, we are initiating the development of an Agent Builder and community-driven AI tools, supported by a Development Partner Program set to launch in 2025.
As the Academic AI Platform evolves, it continues to focus on academic needs and be guided by the Clarivate AI principles, keeping integrity and human oversight at the center of decision-making.
Open Access, Open Science
American Physical Society earns top score in SCOAP3 open science assessment
American Physical Society (APS), Voting Member, Press Release, April 17, 2025
The American Physical Society has received the leading score among publishers participating in the Sponsoring Consortium for Open Access Publishing in Particle Physics (SCOAP3) in the first evaluation of open science practices in scholarly publishing. With high marks in elements like accessibility, data availability, and article metadata, the Society earned a total score of 20.18 out of 25 — almost double that of the next highest scorer.
“We’ve worked hard to champion open science over the past 25 years,” said Rachel Burley, chief publications officer for the American Physical Society. “We’re thrilled to see those efforts recognized with these results.”
Company Statements
Our continuing, shared responsibility to protect the unparalleled value of WorldCat
OCLC, Voting Member, News Statement, April 19, 2025
We welcome fair competition. But we must protect and defend WorldCat and OCLC member libraries against any attempt to misuse WorldCat records. Recently, we were forced to file suit against Baker & Taylor and its subsidiary Bridgeall Libraries Ltd. to stop wrongfully providing WorldCat records in their competitive BTCat service.
We have partnered with and respected Baker & Taylor in the past. But their current actions cross a clear line. They are encouraging libraries to disregard their legal obligations to OCLC and to each other by constructing BTCat—not through their own efforts, but by using WorldCat records and OCLC resources. Despite our repeated requests to Baker & Taylor to cease this conduct, we are now left with no choice but to initiate legal action to protect the integrity of WorldCat.
Impacts on Academia
Impact of NEH and IMLS Cancellations on the University of Illinois Library
University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign, L.S.A. Member, News Announcement, April 11, 2025
On March 14, the White House issued an Executive Order calling for the elimination of the non-statutory components and functions of seven agencies, including the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS); later actions put all staff at the agency on administrative leave. Discontinuation of all funding from IMLS appears imminent, and many grants have already been canceled, including grants to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. The White House also terminated more than 1,000 grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and indicated it intends to significantly reduce the agency’s staffing. The Library has received notification that its two grants from NEH have been canceled.
These developments mark a significant time for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and institutions nationwide. The loss of support from IMLS and NEH jeopardizes decades of sustained investment in cultural preservation, scholarly communication, and academic research.
Libraries, Collections & Archives
Rare book discovered in libraries’ special collections
McMaster University, L.S.A. Consortia Member (CRKN), News Announcement, April 15, 2025
McMaster University Libraries’ William Ready Division of Archives and Research Collections is home to thousands of rare materials, and among them is a rare religious text that’s been hiding in the department's shelves since the 1960s.
Ruth-Ellen St. Onge’s job as McMaster University Libraries’ distinctive collections cataloguing librarian is to delve into the intricate histories of rare books in the collection and to catalogue these findings for the benefit of researchers and the public.
UX Case Studies
Ebook Usability Report on Aggregator Platforms: A Case Study of EBSCO and ProQuest
California Digital Library (CDL), L.S.A. Member, News Announcement, April 4, 2025
Following the University of California Ebook Usability Common Knowledge Group’s (EUCKG) analysis of 3 publisher platforms (Cambridge, Elsevier, and Wiley) and the publication of an initial report, the EUCKG received feedback to evaluate ebook aggregators to see how they perform against similar usability criteria. The criteria focuses on users’ features related to user interfaces, reader compatibility, and ebook purchasing and licensing terms. The UC Libraries primarily use two major ebook aggregators: ProQuest’s Ebook Central (EBC) and EBSCOhost for Ebooks. The EUCKG analyzed these two platforms using similar criteria to those used in the first report, to identify larger trends, helpful features, and areas for improvement. The Ebook Platform Usability Report – Aggregators: A Case Study of EBSCO and ProQuest was developed between 2020 and 2024.
Although only a very limited number of titles are purchased consortially through aggregators by the University of California Libraries, campuses rely heavily on ebook aggregators to provide access to ebooks for which we do not have access directly from vendor platforms. Aggregator platforms face different challenges than publisher platforms, particularly given that they supply books from hundreds of different publishers. The format of the ebook and the usage rights and restrictions can vary greatly between publishers, leading to a less uniform experience for users. Books may be available in PDF, EPUB, and/or HTML formats; they may be DRM-free or downloading and printing may be heavily restricted; publishers may only offer a 1-user license while others allow for unlimited simultaneous users, to name just a few differences. While we found that the number of ebooks in different formats can vary greatly between the aggregators and publishers they work with, there is one positive: the percentage of books available DRM-free has been steadily increasing, as has the availability of books in both PDF and EPUB formats.
Platforms & Infrastructure
Wolters Kluwer adds award-winning patient education content for UpToDate Enterprise Edition customers
Wolters Kluwer, Voting Member, News Announcement, April 28, 2025
Wolters Kluwer Health announced today that select UpToDate® Enterprise Edition customers can now seamlessly access award-winning UpToDate patient education content directly within their Epic electronic health record (EHR) and MyChart patient portal. With this addition to the UpToDate Enterprise Edition subscription, health systems can implement a unified approach to patient education and clinical decision-making, enhancing overall care delivery. These rich, high-quality patient education resources were ranked #1 as Best in KLAS by KLAS Research this year.
"When UpToDate Enterprise Edition was launched, we committed to bringing unparalleled value to customers through expanded capabilities, and once again, we are delivering on that commitment. Healthcare leaders have told us they want solutions to align decision-making across teams while optimizing their investments and supporting operational efficiencies. By including patient education in UpToDate Enterprise Edition subscriptions, we are supporting those goals."
Greg Samios, President and CEO of Clinical Effectiveness for Wolters Kluwer Health
EBSCO Information Services Launches EBSCO Discovery: Open Education to Reduce Costs and Expand Student Access
EBSCO, Voting Member, Press Release, April 10, 2025
EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO) introduces EBSCO Discovery: Open Education, a powerful, centralized platform designed to streamline access to open-access e-books and journals and Open Educational Resources (OER). Built to help institutions reduce textbook costs and support educational equity, this solution empowers libraries and faculty to easily incorporate high-quality, freely licensed materials into courses while sustainably managing expenses and workflows.
The rising costs of education are creating significant gaps for underrepresented learners. EBSCO Discovery: Open Education bridges this gap by providing seamless access to high-quality, openly licensed resources, aligning with the mission of OER to advance affordable, accessible and equitable education for all student populations.
In Support of Research
EBSCO Information Services Unveils Business Searching Interface
EBSCO, Voting Member, Press Release, April 2, 2025
EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO) introduces the new innovative interface, Business Searching Interface (BSI), transforming business research into a more efficient, effective and comprehensive research experience. The interface offers a unique search experience with enhanced navigation, new features and an aesthetic appearance, leading researchers to better insights and decision-making.
Designed to significantly enhance the search experience for business students, faculty and researchers, Business Searching Interface provides a clean, contemporary look with intuitive search capabilities, enabling users to concentrate on analyzing and utilizing the gathered information. The focus on usability ensures that users can efficiently access and utilize a wealth of resources, ultimately supporting their academic and professional endeavors.
Awards & Recognitions
BISG to Honor Spotify With Its Industry Innovator Award
Book Industry Study Group (BISG), Voting Member, Blog Post, April 8, 2025
BISG's Industry Innovator, which recognizes an organization or individual who boldly reimagines what publishing is and can be, will be given to Spotify. The company will be recognized as part of BISG's annual meeting, scheduled to take place in New York on April 25, 2025.
Spotify is being honored for its work to support continued strong growth in the audiobook category, for which distribution has moved largely to streaming platforms in recent years. In addition to its work supporting the use of Spotify by publishers and authors, the company announced in March 2025 that it was launching a new publishing program for independent authors that encouraged them to submit short-form stories for audiobook creation and publishing consideration.
Industry Leadership
Wiley Announces Team of Editors to Lead Advanced Portfolio Journals Expansion into Life & Health Sciences
Wiley, Voting Member, Press Release, April 2, 2025
Wiley (NYSE: WLY), one of the world’s largest publishers and a global leader in research and learning, today announced the team of editors selected to spearhead the expansion of its Advanced Portfolio journals further into life and health sciences, an effort which is focused on benefiting the scientific community and authors.
Last October, Wiley unveiled plans to extend the portfolio—a series of highly-regarded journals with their roots in materials science, physics, and engineering communities—into key life and health sciences fields. This strategic move underscores Wiley's dedication to advance knowledge at the intersection of disciplines and provide researchers with the resources they need to explore the complexities of modern science.
Product News & Enhancements
CAS launches CAS Search Services℠ to enhance efficiency for resource-constrained science teams
CAS, a division of American Chemical Society, Voting Member, Press Release, April 30, 2025
CAS, a division of the American Chemical Society specializing in scientific knowledge management, announces the launch of a new offering, CAS Search Services. The service will provide CAS SciFinder® users with dedicated assistance in searching the scientific literature and will deliver fast, high-quality results so that researchers can spend more time progressing their groundbreaking work.
Recognizing the capacity constraints many science teams face, CAS designed CAS Search Services to address this challenge and boost these teams’ productivity. By outsourcing the execution of time-consuming search tasks and projects in CAS SciFinder to CAS through CAS Search Services, users can redirect their energy toward their research.