ISSN news

The ISSN International Centre contributes 130k periodical records to Wikidata

The ISSN International Centre has contributed data from 130k records of its database to Wikidata, including ISSN and ISSN-L identifiers, periodical titles, publisher country, medium, language, and online resource URLs, which correspond to Released ISSN Data. This data, synched weekly by the ISSNBot developed by Sparna and ISSN IC IT team, updates Wikidata records with new statements, labels, and aliases. The bot has updated 59k items, adding 93k statements, 39k references, and 23k qualifiers. Periodicals without ISSNs in Wikidata can be added, and ISSNBot will enrich them with metadata from the ISSN database.

El Centro nacional argentino de ISSN explica el trámite de registro de una revista

El Centro Nacional Argentino de ISSN, situado en el CAICYT, asigna los números de ISSN para todos los recursos continuos del país, entre ellos las publicaciones científicas y académicas. El Centro Nacional explica los requisitos que debe cumplir una revista para poder ser registrada con un número de ISSN. El trámite de registro de una revista puede realizarse a distancia desde el sitio web institucional. Todos los registros de las publicaciones argentinas se encuentran detallados en la base de datos BINPAR que representa la Bibliografía Nacional de Publicaciones Periódicas Argentinas.

Novo site do Centro Brasileiro do ISSN apresenta serviço de solicitação online do código ISSN / New website of the Brazilian ISSN Centre presents online ISSN request service

O Centro Brasileiro do ISSN (CBISSN), vinculado ao Instituto Brasileiro de Informação em Ciência e Tecnologia (Ibict), acaba de lançar um novo site institucional – cbissn.ibict.br/. A plataforma foi totalmente reformulada e apresenta um layout modernizado, com maior facilidade de navegação e novas funcionalidades.

A nova versão do site traz várias melhorias significativas que visam facilitar e tornar mais eficiente o serviço de solicitação e gerenciamento do código ISSN de publicações no Brasil. Desde 1975 recebia solicitações em formato impresso e agora passa a operar totalmente de forma digital, que facilita o processo de solicitação e gerenciamento de ISSN.

The Brazilian ISSN Center (CBISSN) has launched a redesigned website, offering improved navigation, a modern layout, and enhanced functions. The site now fully operates digitally, streamlining the ISSN request and management process, which was previously done in print.

ISSN International Centre @ UKSG 2025 (Brighton, 31 March-2 April)

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!

Persée, the French dissemination and archiving agency, joins the Keepers Registry

Long-term archiving is at the heart of Persée’s commitment and today Persée joins the Keepers Registry service managed by the ISSN International Centre.

The Keepers Registry is a free online service. Partner archives provide the ISSN International Centre with data on the titles they hold.

Thanks to the ISSN, this data is linked to each title in the ISSN portal to inform the library and publishing community about the long-term preservation of this cultural and scientific heritage. It is possible to retrieve this data for long-term preservation by subscribing to the Submit.Retrieve.Reuse service.

Gabrielle Richard, Director of Persée, stresses that “referencing, openness and preservation are the challenges of scientific publishing and the creation of digital collections”.

Gaëlle Béquet, Director of the ISSN International Centre, welcomes the arrival of this new partner: “We are delighted to be working with our colleagues at Persée to better disseminate information on the long-term preservation of French-language scholarly content.”

Digital preservation

NLB’s Digitisation and Digital Preservation Workflow: A Coordinated Approach to Preservation

On 7 February 2025, the National Library Board (NLB) of Singapore participated in the Digital Preservation Workflow Webinar series, organised by the Digital Preservation Coalition. The webinar showcased digital preservation strategies, with NLB highlighting its efforts in digitizing legal deposit books and newspapers, reinforcing its role as the custodian of Singapore’s documentary records. The event offered a platform for knowledge exchange and insights into digital preservation trends. NLB’s approach exemplifies its commitment to preserving national literary resources through technological advancements, shaping best practices, and fostering global collaboration in digital preservation.

Libraries

Indonesia: National Library collaborates with Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in providing integrated journals

The National Library of the Republic of Indonesia and the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate in providing integrated journal access facilities and creating a research tool database system that can be used for the needs of universities. This is to facilitate access to electronic journals for readers and researchers in searching for references before conducting research.

Open Science

Action Plan for Open Repositories in Europe: IMPACT-REPO

LIBER, OpenAIRE, SPARC Europe, and COAR are publishing a plan of action to strengthen and future-proof research repositories in Europe.

A robust repository network is key for safeguarding Europe’s research production and advancing scientific excellence in Europe. And while currently, Europe has one of the most well-developed networks globally with hundreds of repositories, there are low levels of awareness about their important role in the ecosystem.

The IMPACT-REPO action plan aims to address this lack of visibility by articulating four key portraits of the role of repositories: Repositories for impact, inclusiveness, trust, and innovation.

ORCID Partners with Digital Science to Make Openness Even More Accessible

ORCID, which stands for Open Researcher and Contributor ID, is a free, unique, persistent identifier (PID) for individuals to use as they engage in research, scholarship, and innovation activities. ORCID publishes the Public Data File annually, at no cost, to ensure broad access to public ORCID data. However, because the Public Data File is so large, it can be difficult to work with, inhibiting exploratory analysis.

ORCID member Digital Science is generously hosting the 2024 Public Data File on Google Big Query, making the Public Data File easily available for exploration and analysis.

Open Access

DOAJ launches the ‘Subscribe to Open’ (S2O) Label

As of 6 March 2025, DOAJ introduced journal labels in its metadata, starting with the Subscribe to Open (S2O) label. This label highlights journals committed to open access by converting from gated access through institutional subscriptions. Currently, 61 journals have received the S2O label. This new feature helps users identify open access journals more easily in search results and on individual journal pages. Additionally, DOAJ has updated its metadata with new CSV and JSON fields. DOAJ plans to explore more labels and update its application guide accordingly.

Repères et Mir@bel : deux réseaux pour améliorer la visibilité des revues diamant

Le réseau des pépinières de revues scientifiques en accès ouvert Repères et le réseau Mir@bel présentent une affiche dans le cadre des journées du Printemps Couperin.
Ce poster met en avant des réalisations communes (et reproductibles) portées dans le cadre des projets FNSO Coopères et Mir@bel2022. Il donne à voir les processus qui permettent de valoriser les 185 revues des pépinières faisant partie de Repères à partir des données présentes dans la base Mir@bel.

European Diamond Capacity Hub launched to propel diamond OA publishing in Europe

A transformative step towards equitable scholarly publishing was taken with the launch of the European Diamond Capacity Hub (EDCH) in Madrid. This pioneering initiative aims to advance Diamond Open Access (OA) publishing across Europe, fostering inclusivity and collaboration in academic publishing. The launch event was hosted at the Museo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (MUNCYT) by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT). OPERAS, a leading research infrastructure for open scholarly communication in the social sciences and humanities, will serve as the fiscal host of the EDCH.

A Review of Open Access, No-Fee Journals Indexed in PubMed and Scopus for Publishing Image Reports in Medical Research

This review explores English-language, open access, PubMed/Scopus-indexed medical journals that allow free publication of image reports. It finds that only a few such journals exist, mostly in oncology and general medicine, with some representation from other specialties. Image reports, typically short and focused on practical, educational content, are important for medical knowledge transfer. Despite their limited scope, these reports are freely publishable and accessible in journals with international visibility, highlighting their ongoing educational value in the medical field.

Publishing Industry

Taylor & Francis journals now available to researchers at thousands of Indian institutions through One Nation One Subscription

Taylor & Francis has announced that its 2,500 peer-reviewed journals are now accessible to over 6,500 Indian institutions through the One Nation One Subscription (ONOS) initiative. This program, developed by the Indian government, provides nationwide access to high-impact scholarly research for government-managed higher education and research institutions. The inclusion of Taylor & Francis journals aims to enhance research equity and India’s growing international research profile. With a 20% annual growth in Indian-authored articles, this initiative will boost research intensity and innovation, supporting India’s rise as a global science superpower.

Scholarly Communication

The State of Academic Freedom Worldwide

The Academic Freedom Index Update 2025  assesses global academic freedom, highlighting significant declines in 34 countries over the past decade, while only eight improved. Researchers at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), and the V-Dem Institute link these declines to the rise of anti-pluralist parties, showing that academic freedom is at risk when such parties gain power. Drawing on 50 years of data, the report explores this trend through case studies in Argentina, Poland, and the United States, emphasizing the urgent need to safeguard academic institutions from political interference.

Challenges in Academic Publishing Amid War: ISSN Issues in Ukraine Threaten Research Integrity

Ukrainian researchers uncovered violations against Ukrainian academic journals since 2014 and ISSN misuse by journals in occupied territories, falsely claiming legitimacy. In response, Ukrainian institutions collaborated with the ISSN International Centre to address violations and ensure transparency. Efforts focus on policy updates, preventing academic misuse, and preserving scholarly archives. Scholars urge the global community to uphold publishing ethics, reject illegitimate journals, and support Ukraine’s academic independence and scholarly integrity.

Looking Ahead: The Research Nexus and the State of Metadata in 2050

Metadata provenance and the research nexus are key to scholarly communication, ensuring discovery, citation, and trust. Persistent identifiers (PIDs) link research outputs, people, and organizations, evolving from static records to dynamic, interconnected metadata. By 2050, research outputs will expand to AI-assisted studies and virtual reality, requiring richer metadata and machine learning for relationship mapping. Challenges include inclusivity, financial sustainability, and open access. Crossref envisions a global, open research ecosystem where metadata fosters transparency, trust, and reproducibility, guided by the Principles of Open Scholarly Infrastructure (POSI).

Standards

NISO’s Draft Revision of the Transfer Code of Practice Now Open for Public Comment

The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) has released a draft revision of the Transfer Code of Practice (NISO RP-24-202X) for public comment until May 2, 2025. This code ensures continued access to journals during publisher transfers, aiding publishers in making content accessible to librarians and readers. The Transfer Standing Committee, which includes librarians, publishers, and experts, oversees the Transfer Alerting Service, hosted by the ISSN International Centre, to communicate journal title transfers. The latest revision addresses the transfer of open access titles and refines language for clearer understanding.

Crawling, collapsing, and conquering: ISNI’s 2024 tech advances

ISNI’s Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) continued to meet on a quarterly basis during 2024, gathering and reviewing technical requirements from the ISNI community. Emma Rogoz, Identifier Development & Operations Manager at the British Library and Chair of the ISNI TAC, reviews all technical developments which have taken place throughout 2024, looking ahead to what comes next in 2025.

Events

Highlights for Upcoming CNI Spring 2025 Membership Meeting (Milwaukee, WI, USA, 7-8 April 2025)

As the premier organization fostering collaboration between library and information technology communities, the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) represents the interests of over 200 member institutions. Representatives gather twice annually to explore new technologies, content, and applications, to further collaboration, to analyze technology policy issues, and to catalyze the development and deployment of new projects.

Plenary session details are now available.

The preliminary list of project briefings is now live.

You can find the preliminary program. Stay tuned for full session descriptions and a complete schedule at at https://www.cni.org/mm/spring-2025/

NASIG 2025: Celebrating 40th Anniversary Online (19-21 May 2025)

NASIG is excited to announce their 40th annual conference, which will take place virtually May 19-21, 2025.

The conference will bring together professionals from around the world in this virtual space for collaboration, learning, and celebration of NASIG’s legacy of fostering communication and professional development in the serials and digital resources community.

Registration is now open at nasig.org/Conference.

Fantastic Futures 2025 (FF2025) Call for Proposals, AI4LAM’s annual conference (British Library, London, UK, 3 – 5 December 2025)

Fantastic Futures is the annual conference for the AI4LAM (Artificial Intelligence, for Libraries, Archives, Museums) community. This year’s topic is: AI Everywhere, All at Once

Submissions are invited from colleagues around the world about organisations, collections, interest and experience with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) technologies applied to or developed with cultural, research and heritage collections. This includes practitioners in the GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, Museums) sector and Digital Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Data, Information and Computer Science researchers in Higher Education. 

• Proposal submission deadline: midnight anywhere, Sunday 18 May 2025 

• Notification of acceptance: 14 July 2025 

• Conference dates: 3 – 5 December 2025