PERSIST, with the UNESCO Memory of the World Secretariat, is joining forces with the Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) to produce an Executive Guide on Digital Preservation. The Guide will provide an overview on the importance and urgency of digital preservation activities, including resources for internal advocacy initiatives. A joint DPC-UNESCO-PERSIST Advisory Group has been formed to oversee the direction and progress of the project. The Executive Guide is due in January 2019.

The Serials and Other Continuing Resources Section (SOCRS) invites colleagues to submit proposals for its two-hour open session at the IFLA Congress in Kuala Lumpur on the theme Empowering Scholarly Communication Transforms Societies.

Scholarly Communication encompasses the cycle of the creation, publication, dissemination, discovery and evaluation of scholarly research. It includes everything from data and journal articles to blog postings. Researchers, funders, publishers and, of course, librarians all have roles to play in the scholarly communication life cycle. This program will examine the pivotal role libraries play in scholarly communication. It will explore the most effective ways for libraries to be involved in the process.

Proposal submission deadline: March 1^st, 2018.

Publishers commonly use Article Processing Charges (APCs) to fund open access publications, and some libraries and institutions help local authors pay these costs. However, this strategy is expensive and can usually only address one article at a time. A number of relatively new publishing initiatives rely on a crowdfunding model and allow many libraries to share the cost of open access, often at a fraction of the cost of APCs. This article highlights several alternative publishing projects to help librarians think further about how library funds could be used to support open access.

The ALA (American Library Association) Midwinter meeting 2018 reflected a response to disruption by taking on an ambitious agenda of self-redefinition as institutions, an organization, and a profession. Library Journal reviewed this event.

Academic library consortia have traditionally focused on resource sharing and e-resource purchasing as core programs and value propositions for members. However, as academic libraries increasingly look beyond financial value and seek to demonstrate impact on institutional priorities and student outcomes, consortia must evolve to provide services that support those goals. This paper presents selected examples of innovative consortial programs that can have a significant impact on teaching, learning, and research at members’ institutions as suggested models for other consortia that may be engaged in reviewing strategic priorities and programs.

Over 2017, a group of collaborating organizations, united in the commitment to digital preservation, came together to explore how they can better communicate with the wider community. As an initial effort, the group drafted a Digital Preservation Declaration of Shared Values that is now being released for community comment until 1st March 2018.

This year, the first ever International Digital Preservation Day  was celebrated around the world on November 30th, 2017. Digital Preservation Coalition organised this initiative, aiming both to celebrate achievements, and to highlight how much there is still to do. IFLA raised awareness about the challenges libraries face in preserving digital heritage, and in ensuring that it remains accessible in the future. This includes issues such as policies, storage, and “bit-rot” – the masses of digital content that become unreadable as technology evolves. A recent survey conducted under the UNESCO PERSIST initiative offered some ideas on what other action may be needed.

The new plan grew out of a few important developments. In 2015, the NASIG Board established the Financial Planning Task Force to take a long-term view of NASIG’s finances, set benchmarks and timelines, and to establish financial goals for the next five years. The Board appointed a Strategic Plan Implementation Task Force to draft the final strategic plan for the remaining items.

A recent report from Jisc showcases the upward trend in universities and academics setting up their own presses in an environment increasingly dominated by large commercial publishing houses. Following up on the recommendations arising from this report, authors Janneke Adema and Graham Stone put forward some ideas on how to best support these new initiatives through community and infrastructure-building.