Member News & Announcements, April IO 2023
Product Innovation
OCLC to introduce the new Choreo Insights library analytics solution at ACRL 2023 Conference
OCLC, Voting Member, Press Release, March 13, 2023
OCLC's new Choreo Insights library analytics solution is now available to libraries in North America that are seeking to better align academic library collections with institutional priorities, new and emerging curriculum needs, and future trends.
Available to development partner libraries since late 2022, Choreo Insights is now widely available to libraries in North America. OCLC will feature the new library analytics solution during the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) Conference in Pittsburgh, PA, March 15-18.
Research Initiatives
PLOS Global Public Health publishes its 1000th paper!
Public Library of Science (PLOS), Voting Member, Featured Article, March 8, 2023
The mission of PLOS Global Public Health is to address deeply entrenched inequities in global health and make impactful research visible and accessible to health professionals, policymakers, and local communities. We are committed to amplifying the voices of underrepresented and historically excluded communities and are deliberate and intentional about equity, diversity, and inclusion at all levels–editors, editorial boards, peer reviewers and authors—to broaden the range and diversity of perspectives we learn from and advance the health of all humankind.
We published our first papers in October 2021, and today, 16 months later, we find ourselves celebrating a milestone of sorts – we are publishing our 1000th paper. One thousand papers that have spanned the entire scope of our journal, papers discussing the most urgent health issues of our time. We’ve been honored to publish papers that tackle everything from COVID to gender disparities to improving service delivery to Indigenous health. We’ve welcomed submissions from over 100 countries, published papers with corresponding authors from 77 countries which were handled so expertly by an Editorial Board with members from over 70 countries.
Open Access, Open Science
Trio of OA agreements in Asia mark a first for IOP Publishing
IOP Publishing, Voting Member, News Announcement, March 15, 2023
IOP Publishing (IOPP) has secured its first transformative agreements (TAs) in Asia, reflecting the society publisher’s ambition to deliver open access (OA) at scale globally.
The three agreements come as the Research Grants Council (RGC) in Hong Kong sets out its guiding principles in support of OA recognising that ‘since open access is a mindset-shifting process that involves the participation of stakeholders including researchers, university administrators, the RGC and the public, it should be implemented at a measured pace and with concerted efforts.’
Mapping the path to future changes in the Journal Citation Reports
Clarivate Analytics, Voting Member, Blog Post, March 7, 2023
A reminder that there are two reasons for this development: Giving all quality journals a JIF will provide full transparency to each and every article and citation that has contributed to a journal’s scholarly impact, helping to demonstrate its value to the research community. It will also help level the playing field for all quality journals including open access journals, recently launched or niche journals, or journals with a regionally focused scope and those from the Global South.[1]
As a result of this development, a further 9,000 journals in the JCR will receive a JIF and benefit from an enhanced journal profile page for the first time. In addition, we will display the JIF to one decimal place, rather than the current three decimal places, to encourage users to consider other indicators and descriptive data in the JCR when comparing journals.
Grants, Awards, and Honorable Mentions
JSTOR Daily wins Anthem Award for excellence in mission-driven news and journalism
ITHAKA/JStor/Portico, Voting Member, News Announcement, March 20, 2023
JSTOR Daily, our online magazine, won a Silver Anthem for excellence in mission-driven news and journalism from the producers of the prestigious Webby Awards. Daily was recognized for its contributions to the fields of Education, Arts & Culture in the the Awareness & Media Category for Non-Profit Institutions.
Founded in 2014, JSTOR Daily gives millions of readers depth and perspective by connecting evidence and research to today’s news and events. Recent stories include the “real” Rosie the Riveter, the protracted birth of the USSR, the Attica uprising as reported in the prison press, and the groundbreaking Afrocentrism at Milestone Comics.
Libraries, Collections, and Archives
Princeton University Library digitizes letter from John Brown to Frederick Douglass
Princeton University Library, L.S.A. Member, News Announcement, March 20, 2023
Following Princeton University Library’s (PUL) acquisition of an 1861 letter from Frederick Douglass, Assistant University Librarian for Special Collections, Technical Services Alexis Antracoli revisited the Library’s General Manuscripts Miscellaneous Collection (1502-2012) to find related material. Upon closer inspection she found an interesting piece: a letter from abolitionist John Brown to Frederick Douglass.
“It was very surprising to see that it was about Harriet Tubman,” Antracoli said, anticipating it to be more of a routine correspondence between abolitionists. “I thought it might be about abolitionist conferences, speaking tours, etcetera, and it kind of is, but in a much more interesting way than I expected.”
NYPL, Vanderbilt, and the National Library of Estonia Join the IIIF Consortium
New York Public Library, and Vanderbilt University, L.S.A. Members, News Announcement, March 16, 2023
The International Image Interoperability Framework Consortium is delighted to announce three new members. The New York Public Library will join the Consortium as a full member, and The National Library of Estonia and Vanderbilt University will join as Associate members. The memberships were unanimously approved by the IIIF Operating Committee.
NYPL currently serves a selection of its digital collections using IIIF-compliant servers, and will undertake the work of expanding the implementation across all collections in the coming months. NYPL’s exploration of IIIF began with a number of staff members taking a five-day online training course, and continued with participation in the IIIF Annual Conference in Cambridge, MA. Now, with their official membership underway, the Consortium is keen to support the NYPL’s ongoing work to make their collections open and accessible and is eager to learn from NYPL’s input into the Consortium and broader IIIF community.
The University of Michigan selects TIND RDM to archive social media datasets
University of Michigan Library, L.S.A. Member, Press Release, March 10, 2023
TIND Research Data Management (TIND RDM) has been selected to power SOMAR, a new data repository dedicated to making social media data accessible to researchers. TIND RDM enables SOMAR to ingest and share large files while implementing new unique metadata fields for social media data. TIND’s turnkey solution was implemented in under two months, providing social media researchers with a faster and more effective way to store and share their data.
After extensive research, SOMAR selected TIND RDM as the most suitable data archiving solution for their needs. "Setting up the new platform [with TIND] is a significant step forward for SOMAR, providing a more efficient and comprehensive solution for storing and sharing social media data of various sizes," said Abay Israel, former Product Manager at ICPSR
Industry Leadership
Dr. Lorie Kloda appointed Vice-Dean, McGill University Library
McGill University, L.S.A. Consortia Member (CRKN), News Announcement, March 23, 2023
We are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Lorie Kloda as Vice-Dean of McGill University Library, for a five-year term, effective April 17, 2023. Dr. Kloda joins the senior management team led by Trenholme Dean of Libraries Guylaine Beaudry. Kloda will provide leadership for initiatives supporting the Library’s strategic directions and will oversee a portfolio of units including finance/planning & resources, facilities, communications, assessment, and Indigenous Initiatives.
“Lorie brings 20 years of experience in academic libraries, a dedication to strengthening library services, spaces, and culture, and a deep understanding of the McGill community, says Dean Beaudry. “Dr. Kloda will play a vital role in leading the coordination of long-term capital space planning for the library network. With the imminent reopening of the Schulich Library of Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, and Engineering, and the Fiat Lux and Collections Centre projects coming to fruition soon and other projects on the horizon, I am excited to have her join us at this transformational moment in our history.
Infrastructure and Platforms
Updated Guidance for Reporting Publication Changes to MEDLINE and PubMed Central (PMC) Journals
National Library of Medicine (NLM), Voting Member, Technical Bulletin, March 21, 2023
NLM reviews hundreds of applications annually to select new journals for inclusion in MEDLINE and PubMed Central (PMC), the two primary components of PubMed. Once added to MEDLINE or PMC, NLM expects a journal and publisher to continue to meet NLM's standards for the NLM Collection and notify NLM of any changes that may impact practices and scope of the publication.
As part of broader efforts to improve the transparency of processes applied to its literature databases, NLM has recently updated its policy statements on Changes to MEDLINE Journals and Changes to PMC Journals. These updates explain what journal or publisher changes should be reported to NLM such as changes to a journal's title, ISSN, ownership, publisher, or publishing format, as well as journal mergers and changes in scope, editorial board, or editorial policies or practices. The updated language reflects NLM's ongoing practice of monitoring MEDLINE and PMC journals for changes in publication practices over time
Partnerships and Collaborations
Wiley and Aries Systems Formalize Partnership to Elevate Service Solutions for Publishers
Wiley, and Aries Systems Corporation, Voting Members, Press Release, March 23, 2023
Wiley (NYSE: WLY), one of the world’s largest publishers and a global leader in scientific research and career-connected education, and Aries Systems Corporation, a leading technology provider of workflow management solutions, have formalized their partnership to deliver more robust support solutions and services for academic and scholarly publishers.
The agreement formalizes the ongoing collaboration between Aries Systems and J&J Editorial, part of Wiley Partner Solutions, to better serve publishers using Aries’ Editorial Manager® (EM) and ProduXion Manager® (PM), the leading peer review and production workflow management systems. Both new and existing EM/PM customers will be able to leverage Aries’ expertise in step with J&J Editorial’s ability to translate system capabilities into practical solutions for an enhanced workflow, user experience, and scholarly output. Expert services include smooth journal migration management, custom workflow design and implementations, editorial office training and onboarding, reporting optimizations, and more. J&J Editorial’s resources, which will be conveniently offered in a tiered package approach, will act as an extension of Aries’ existing global, in-house Client Services team.