As library discovery and delivery has largely moved online, the scholarly workflow of academic researchers has become increasingly fragmented. Faculty members are using a variety of software solutions to find, retrieve, organize, annotate, cite, and share information, including library resources. The current status of discovery of library resources within citation management software is outlined, along with expected future developments. Utilizing findings from two Mellon funded studies, it explores the challenges users face in managing their individual scholarly workflows, and recommends optimizations designed to mitigate information loss and increase researcher productivity.

The full collection of papers from the 2017 ARL Satellite meeting: Digital Humanities – Opportunities and Risks Connnecting Libraries and Research are now available online from HAL, the French National Repository.

Academic libraries are increasingly launching their own publishing programmes. Libraries have a long history of stewarding scholarly literature. Increasingly, they are applying their knowledge of the scholarly communications process to launch their own publishing programs. The goal is to disseminate unique and original content, and showcase their campus’ contributions to knowledge. As the Library Publishing Coalition attests, it has found a valuable and expanding niche. Pushing the boundaries of what is considered publishing may in fact be one of library publishing’s greatest strengths, writes Sarah Lippincott, a scholarly communication and digital scholarship consultant.

Researchers at Stockholm University can now get published in Open Access journals without paying article processing charges (APC), owing to new agreements with four international Open Access publishers. The aim is to increase the number of Open Access publications, reduce the researchers’ administration and be more cost-effecient.

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.