The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) Advisory Committee on Standards is hosting a symposium on metadata, with the theme Metadata Standards Matter: Building a Sustainable Future for Information. This event is a significant opportunity for professionals, practitioners, researchers, scholars, etc. to contribute to the discourse on metadata standards and their impact on sustainability in the future of the world of information. Juan Ignacio, metadata specialist at the ISSN International Centre, will attend this conference. The program is available here: https://iflacos.eu/.

The UKSG Annual Conference is a major event in the scholarly communications calendar which attracts delegates each year from around the world – librarians, publishers, content providers, consultants and intermediaries. The conference combines high-quality plenary presentations, lightning talks, workshops, posters and breakout sessions with entertaining social events and trade exhibition.

The ISSN International Centre will exhibit at UKSG 2025. Join us at stand 52 for a presentation of our services and a friendly chat!

We are delighted to announce the imminent launch of our new website to celebrate our 50th anniversary!

The site has been designed to reflect our journey, our evolution and, above all, the human aspect at the heart of our network. You will find:

• Inspiring testimonials from our members,
• A photo gallery tracing our highlights,
• Valuable archival material testifying to our history and commitment.

We will soon invite you to discover this new space for sharing and remembering!

Stay tuned!

Thank you for your loyalty and support over the years.

DRÍADE begins its 2025 activities in March, and invites everyone interested in digital preservation to participate in its research lines and study groups.

The DRÍADE Research Network, created by the Brazilian Institute of Information in Science and Technology (IBICT), brings together researchers, professionals and institutions to develop, share and implement knowledge, methodologies and technologies aimed at digital preservation. DRÍADE is part of the Brazilian Network of Digital Preservation Services (Cariniana). The five research lines are: Digital Preservation in Museums, Preservation of Electronic Publications, Preservation of Archival Documents and Preservation of Indigenous Memory.

In Act now to stop millions of research papers from disappearing, Nature’s editorial board urges the global research community to enhance preservation efforts for at-risk research papers. Highlighting a study revealing that at least 2 million articles are unpreserved, the editorial suggests three strategies: active preservation services like Portico, institutional repositories for faculty articles, and national legal deposit programs. Kate Wittenberg of Portico emphasizes the need for collaboration and shared expertise. Portico, which preserves over 40,000 journals, collaborates with libraries and publishers to preserve diverse content and supports national preservation efforts.

The OCLC Metadata Quality team continuously enhances WorldCat data through manual and automated processes, ensuring its accuracy for global libraries. By integrating AI and human expertise, they refine metadata, improve duplicate detection, and enhance resource discovery.

In August 2023, OCLC launched a machine learning model to detect duplicate bibliographic records, incorporating feedback from 300+ catalogers on 34,000 records, leading to the removal of 5.4 million duplicates.

Now, AI-driven de-duplication expands to all formats, languages, and scripts. A test run in February 2025 merged 500,000 duplicate English print records, with broader cleanup efforts to follow. Libraries should enable WorldCat updates for seamless integration.

2024 was an eventful year for the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and its membership of research libraries and archives in major public and private universities, federal government agencies, and large public institutions in Canada and the US. ARL’s 2024 impact report showcases a successful year, highlighting its advocacy for research libraries, policy influence, and leadership development. It emphasizes collaboration among universities, government agencies, and public institutions in Canada and the US, promoting equitable access to knowledge and the benefits of ARL membership.

SPARC Europe has announced the publication of the 2024 Annual Report, marking the completion of the strategic plan before embarking on a new one for 2025-2028.

Through the facilitation, SPARC Europe engaged over 2,500 individuals through multiple programmes and initiatives and convened scores of organisations in collaborative initiatives co-creating a more open and equitable open future for the public good.

Read the Annual Report here.

OpenAIRE, a leading European infrastructure supporting Open Science, and LA Referencia and REDClara, the Latin American federated network for open scholarly communication, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to formalize and deepen their decade-long collaboration in fostering Open Science and interoperability between Europe and Latin America.

For over ten years, LA Referencia has successfully participated in OpenAIRE projects, integrating its collection, adopting metadata standards, and incorporating OpenAIRE-developed technologies. This new MoU provides a more formalised and structured framework to expand joint technological developments, enhance interoperability standards, and share training resources on Open Science.

The recording of OASPA’s online seminar held on 21 January 2025 What do we mean by quality in OA publishing?, is now available.

Efforts to establish sets of criteria that OA publishers need to meet in order to ensure equitable, transparent, and high-quality OA publishing were presented. It was also discussed how libraries and other scholarly communication actors could contribute to the evidence-based notion of quality in scholarly publishing.

In the context of open access (OA) publishing, the ISSN plays a crucial role in improving discoverability and organization of OA publications. By including persistent identifiers like ISSN in metadata, libraries can link resources and reduce confusion for users. The report emphasizes that metadata, including identifiers, improve content discovery, support interoperability, and streamline library workflows. Accurate and thorough metadata enable effective searching and evaluation, ensuring that OA publications are easily found and used. Publishers are encouraged to adopt and share detailed metadata, including ISSNs, to facilitate easier access and integration into library systems.

In 2023, OASPA members saw a 4% growth in open access publications, a significant slowdown compared to previous years. Fully OA journals, which accounted for 75% of articles, experienced a decline, while hybrid OA journals grew by 22%. CC BY licenses remain dominant, comprising 82% of fully OA and 60% of hybrid OA articles. The OA publishing market is highly consolidated, with the top five publishers accounting for 70% of total output. MDPI, Elsevier, and Springer Nature remain the largest contributors to OA publishing.

Open Access Articles Published by OASPA Members; Sources: OASPA publisher survey, OpenAlex, Delta Think analysis.

Sage, a leading global academic publisher, is celebrating its 60th year in business by releasing its annual Independence with Impact Report. The report showcases the company’s continued progress in key areas, including academic impact, diversity, equity and inclusion, sustainability, and the advancement of academic freedom.

Since its founding in 1965, Sage has been committed to publishing resources that not only advance academic disciplines but also foster critical thinking, promote social change, and support new learning methodologies. The 2024 report highlights the company’s ongoing dedication to developing high-quality research and resources that reflect diverse perspectives on pressing global issues.

This is the third and final article in a guest series reflecting on the main themes and ideas gathered and discussed at The Munin Conference at the end of 2024. Part One and Part Two are also available.

This article highlights the importance of open science for innovation and global prosperity, advocating for more scientific input in policymaking. Open access publications boost innovation, particularly in patents. Indonesia’s open science policies show positive impacts on national competitiveness and R&D collaboration. However, evidence linking open science directly to socioeconomic benefits is still emerging and requires further research.

The BIBFRAME Update Forum held in January, 2025 featured staff at the Library of Congress (LC) outlining their rollout of BIBFRAME in Production at LC. The goal was to train catalogers in the use of the linked data editor MARVA to catalog in BIBFRAME but maintain connection to MARC-based Voyager system. Please find the recording of the presentation and the Powerpoint slides.

Follow along with MarcEdit transformations in this free taster session provided by CILIP MDG and Academic Libraries North.

Please register for free.

The EURIG Annual Meeting is an opportunity to exchange ideas and learn from each other.
The call for proposals is an invitation to colleagues to present their insights, research, and
experiences related to the RDA standard. For European users of RDA, it is especially important
that the standard accommodates Europe’s diverse cultural landscape.

Deadline for submission of presentation slides: 12 May 2025