We don’t need to know for sure what the future holds for libraries and the communities they serve in order to be able to play a role in shaping it. The 2024 Trend Report, launched at the Information Futures Summit and made possible by SIGL support, offers a key resource for librarians, libraries and library associations looking to integrate tomorrow into their planning today.
EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO) has published the 2025 Serials Price Projection Report, offering valuable insights into the financial landscape for libraries and publishers as they prepare for the upcoming renewal season. This year’s report projects overall effective publisher price increases for libraries are four to five percent for individual e-journal titles, three and a half to four and a half percent for e-journal packages and five to six percent for print titles (before currency impact).
The National Diet Library provides the Japanese Periodicals Index as a search tool for Japanese periodical articles from 1949 onwards. As of 13 September, the number of records exceeded 15 million.
The Japanese Periodicals Index indexes about 11,000 periodicals. Its scope in the field of periodicals and the volume of its records make it one of the leading databases of periodical articles in Japan.
In addition to the services provided by the National Diet Library (e.g. NDL Search), this database is also widely used, for example, in CiNii Research of the National Institute of Informatics and in WorldCat of OCLC, Inc.
On 10 October 2024, the British Library announced the complete restoration of its services, one year after a cyber attack disrupted its operations. The reopening of the National Newspaper Building in Boston Spa now provides access to the entire print collections. Services such as remote ordering and access to digital resources have been reintroduced. Users can now order items online, and access to over 1,000 digitised manuscripts. The library is also working on new systems to improve services in the future.
The National Library of Spain (BNE) has adopted the Alma digital resource management and Primo discovery platform from Ex Libris™. This upgrade replaces older systems to improve both user experience and staff efficiency, particularly in lending, cataloging, and managing serial publications. The cloud-based model enhances infrastructure management and introduces advanced features, including automated collection processes like Legal Deposit. For users, new tools include personalized consultation areas, advanced search features, and mobile readiness, providing a modernized interface for accessing resources.
The new catalog can be accessed online at: BNE catalog.
OCLC is unlocking the power of the Dewey Decimal Classification system to build an increasingly robust linked data infrastructure by creating uniform resource identifiers (URIs) for Dewey numbers.
As the foundation for “concept” entities, this Dewey linked data provides subject classifications to Works entities in WorldCat Entities, creating a layer of new relationships for knowledge graphs that power discovery.
The paper mill crisis, a widespread issue in scholarly literature, is causing record retractions and eroding trust in science. Despite efforts from publishers, integrity sleuths, and organizations like Retraction Watch, NISO, and STM, action from the library community has been lacking. This article explores the ongoing impact of the paper mill crisis and its causes. It also reviews the steps being taken across the sector to address it. This article recommends actions libraries can take to address the crisis and restore trust in science.
The British Library plans to restore digital collections and online resources after a cyber-attack in October. The restoration will include access to collections held in automated storage facilities. The Library is also working with its Legal Deposit Library partners to restore access to Non-Print Legal Deposit (NPLD), including e-journals and e-publications. The goal is to complete the restoration by September, in time for the new academic year.
This article explores the topics and issues that have been trending in academic libraries over the past two years. It draws on research and initiatives from librarians across the profession, highlighting the constant change libraries face. The launch of ChatGPT sparked discussions about the potential impact of artificial intelligence, open access and open science initiatives continued to gain momentum, and the lingering effects of COVID-19 on library workspaces and student well-being remained significant. Rich citations to the literature provide opportunities for further exploration.
The 2024 Library Systems Report documents ongoing investments of libraries in strategic technology products in 2023. It covers for-profit and nonprofit organizations that offer strategic resource management products—especially integrated library systems and library services platforms—and comprehensive discovery products. The vendors included have responded to a survey requesting details about their organization, sales performance, and narrative explanations of accomplishments. Additional sources consulted include press releases, news articles, and other publicly available information. Most of the organizations provided lists of libraries represented in the statistics reported, allowing for more detailed analysis and validation.
