DigitalKoans – What Is the Sound of One E-Print Downloading?

Project Archivist at RIT (Term)

The DSA Project Archivist will use archival standards, best practices, and knowledge of Deaf history to arrange, describe, and digitize key collections in the Deaf Studies, Culture, and History Archives (DSA), addressing a backlog of significant Deaf history and culture materials accumulated over the past five years. The position enhances access to Deaf-related archival collections, supports pilot digitization initiatives, and contributes to inclusive archival description. The DSA Project Archivist will work closely with the University Archivist and NTID/Education Librarian/Deaf Studies Archives Liaison to ensure collections are discoverable and accurately represented.

https://tinyurl.com/5cd8k4mm

“Can Academic Libraries Lead the Quantum Revolution?”

Currently, IBM, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon Bracket all sell cloud access to quantum computing resources by the hour, by the task, or in credits. In the current environment, where quantum is limited to research computing, individual departments might strike separate deals with these platforms. But libraries, which have experience negotiating licensing, managing access, and ensuring equity for their community, could instead diffuse quantum across the university by buying a block of credits, or create a framework for allocation, setting a price point for each project and assigning funding accordingly, much like an internal grant application process or early approaches to APCs. I call this Quantum-Computing-as-a-Library-Service (QCAALS).

https://tinyurl.com/yt79vdmr

Information Technology Manager at Boston Athenaeum

The Information Technology Manager oversees the small but dynamic Information Technology Department that manages and maintains the Athenaeum’s computers, networks, servers, and cloud-based systems. The Information Technology Manager also keeps abreast of new technologies and implements those to ensure better and more secure systems.

https://tinyurl.com/3wtm2ww6

“Are You Ready? An Investigation of Factors Affecting Artificial Intelligence Readiness of College Students”

Artificial Intelligence (AI) brings substantial convenience to individuals’ daily lives and redefines the knowledge and skills college students need. Enhancing the AI readiness (AIR) of college students will help them adapt to the advent of the AI era as early as possible. Little is known about college students’ AIR and it is unclear what factors influence college students’ AIR. Inspired by the social cognitive theory, a theoretical framework, that is “Environment – Cognition – AIR”, is proposed to examine the factors affecting college students’ AIR and uncover the mechanisms that underlie the effect of these factors on college students’ AIR.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lisr.2025.101381

Repository Developer at University of Wisconsin-Madison

Reporting to the Software Development Manager, the incumbent in this role will lead the design, development, and implementation of software and systems that strengthen repository services—enhancing workflows, data management, search and discovery, and system integration. They will collaborate closely with repository and data services teams, as well as stakeholder communities, to assess needs and strategically prioritize development initiatives.

https://tinyurl.com/5frv9mcz

Advancing Equity and Inclusion in Scholarly Communication: Findings from the Consultation on a Global Diamond Open Access Framework

This report presents the results of the survey “Consultation on a Global Diamond Open Access Framework,” conducted online between September 2024 and January 2025 by UNESCO. This survey received nearly 2,900 responses from across 90 Countries. It aimed to understand current practices, structural challenges, and future aspirations regarding community-led, non-commercial scholarly publishing. The process was open, multilingual, and voluntary. Although not statistically representative, the responses reflect the real-world experiences and values of a broad spectrum of stakeholders.

Findings demonstrate widespread support for Diamond Open Access as a viable, values-driven model of scholarly communication. Respondents associated it with principles such as equity, inclusion, multilingualism, and the public good. However, the survey also revealed persistent obstacles, including limited funding, inadequate infrastructure, lack of institutional recognition, and barriers to multilingual participation. Many of these challenges are structural, reflecting broader imbalances in knowledge production and access.

https://tinyurl.com/mpreznnd

Web Services Team Lead at Iowa State University

The Team Lead will develop and maintain code, build shared frameworks, and help ensure platforms are reliable and accessible. They will supervise web development staff and student employees, lead user experience projects informed by testing, analytics, and audits, and serve as a technical liaison with vendors to coordinate front-end changes, integrations, and accessibility improvements.

https://tinyurl.com/2zfapemv

“Untangling the Future of Diamond Access: Discussing Quality Standards for the Re-Communalization of Scholarly Publishing”

This paper examines the future of Diamond Open Access as a non-commercial, community-driven model for scholarly publishing that challenges the growing marketization of research dissemination. Drawing on recent initiatives such as DIAMAS, Craft-OA, and the Diamond Future project, it analyzes tensions between academic autonomy and the heteronomy imposed by commercial publishers. The study reviews existing definitions and standards for diamond journals, highlighting efforts in Europe and Latin America to establish common criteria for quality, sustainability, and visibility. It emphasizes the need to move beyond universal rankings and impact factors toward context-sensitive, federated indexing systems-such as Latindex, SciELO, Redalyc, Biblat, and DOAJ-that reflect the diversity of academic communities. The paper argues for a re-communalization of scholarly publishing through institutional support, reliable indexation, and recognition of multi-indexed journals as legitimate indicators of quality. Ultimately, it proposes reclaiming academic control from corporate infrastructures by reinforcing autonomy, multilingualism, and bibliodiversity in global research evaluation and publication practices.

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17552531

Elsevier: Researcher of the Future* — a Confidence in Research Report*

This report reflects the voices of more than 3,000 researchers worldwide. Their insights reveal resilience, collaboration across borders and an unwavering commitment to integrity, even under growing pressure. They also show optimism about how AI can accelerate discovery — provided researchers have the right support, and tools that are built on quality, transparency and trust. . . .

Most (58%) say AI tools save them time, but are selective about where they see greatest impact. Researchers currently use AI tools to:

Find and summarize the latest research (61%)

Perform literature reviews (51%)

Analyze research data (38%)

Draft grant proposals (41%)

Draft research papers or reports (38%). . . .

Despite the challenges, peer review remains the cornerstone of research integrity. Researchers emphasize the need for trust markers to strengthen confidence in research and AI tools alike:

Transparency and clear citations (59%)

Recency of data and inclusion of up-to-date literature (55%)

Training on high-quality, peer-reviewed content (55%)

Regular human validation of AI outputs (49%)

https://tinyurl.com/3jfcvvv7

Head, Data Services at Emory University

Reporting to the Director of Collections and Open Strategies within the Research, Engagement, and Scholarly Communications (RESC) division and overseeing a new team of experienced data specialists, the Head of Data Services provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for the Libraries’ data-related services. This highly collaborative position advances the library’s mission to support research, teaching, and learning by developing, managing, delivering and promoting scalable and aligned services in such areas as research data management, data literacy, data visualization, geospatial data, and computational research support.

https://tinyurl.com/3uuhb9pn

University Librarian at University of British Columbia

The University Librarian serves as a key member of UBC’s senior academic leadership and provides strategic oversight of one of Canada’s most comprehensive and advanced academic library systems. With responsibility for the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses, the University Librarian leads a multifaceted portfolio encompassing digital scholarship, research and teaching support, collections strategy, and library operations. This role is pivotal in aligning library services with UBC’s academic mission, enhancing institutional research capacity, and stewarding physical and digital infrastructure in support of open access, equity, and innovation.

https://tinyurl.com/js2n28wt

Springer Nature: “Strong Business Performance in the First Nine Months of 2025. Full Year 2025 Guidance Reiterated”

Research, the company’s largest segment, reported revenue of €1,112.6 million (9M 2024: €1,044.4 million) with underlying growth of 7.0% driven by the Journals portfolio, with particular strength in Full Open Access (FOA). The number of published articles rose by more than 10% across the whole portfolio and over 25% in FOA journals.

In the first nine months, Springer Nature completed its 2025 contract renewals and the new contract renewal season, which began in September, is progressing as expected. During the first nine months of 2025, Springer Nature has signed 18 transformative agreements to further accelerate the shift to open access, with one new agreement signed in Q3, bringing the total of transformative agreements in place to 84.

Book revenues grew in the first nine months in both digital and print book formats. Print growth reflects the comparison against a weaker performance last year and positive phasing of distributor orders in the third quarter of 2025. Digital continues to represent around 70% of book sales. Services revenues benefited from good growth in text and data mining (TDM) solutions for corporate customers, offset by a more challenging market for talent-related services in the US.

The company continued to invest in a range of initiatives to support growth and ensure research integrity. It also maintained a focus on developing AI tools to transform the publication process, provide more value to our communities and create new revenue streams. Nature Research Assistant, an AI tool designed to speed up some of the most time-consuming parts of the research process, has been well received and is now being used by more than 8,000 beta users.

Adjusted operating profit in Research grew 8.2% in underlying terms to €351.5 million, exceeding the growth in revenue during the period.

https://tinyurl.com/2s3nm2t4

Digital Ingest Conservator at Victoria and Albert Museum

The Digital Ingest Conservator role supports the Removable Asset Migration Project (RAMP), a time-limited project to locate, assess, and migrate at-risk digital collections stored on obsolete removable media (USB drives, CDs/DVDs, hard drives, floppy disks, tapes) into the Digital Conservation Studio’s preservation storage and enterprise systems.

https://tinyurl.com/2773njvj

“University Presses and Libraries, Teaming Up to Innovate”

The case studies [described here] consider:

Brown University Digital Publications, a library-based program through which Brown, in partnership with scholarly publishers, supports the digital publication of open access, multimodal scholarship. . . .

Trailblazers, a new open access initiative from Liverpool University Press, run in partnership with Lancaster University, University of Liverpool, and University of Salford (UK), that champions early-career researchers.

North Broad Press, a joint imprint from Temple University Press and the Temple University Library that publishes peer-reviewed open textbooks by Temple faculty.

https://tinyurl.com/yc7phd6c

Digital Asset Specialist at East Texas A&M University

Coordinates the lifecycle of digital assets within the digital asset management system and establishes metadata standards according to best practices.

Establishes institutional standards and guidelines for creating, managing, preserving, describing, and delivering digital resources. . . .

Contributes to the ongoing creation, migration, quality control, and assessment of digital resources and their associated metadata.

https://tinyurl.com/ys6nhh2e

“Ethical and Practical Implications of AI in Academic Library Research”

This article offers a critical and integrative review of how artificial intelligence (AI) is being incorporated into academic library systems, particularly in the context of scientific research production. Based on 29 studies, the review explores ethical practices, institutional boundaries, and epistemological challenges surrounding AI adoption. Findings reveal that AI is reshaping scholarly workflows, such as metadata creation, information retrieval, and literature review, while also introducing unresolved ethical concerns, including data privacy, algorithmic bias, academic integrity, and diminished human agency. The study identifies a misalignment between the rapid pace of AI implementation and the capacity of academic institutions to regulate its use responsibly. Librarians are situated at the intersection of innovation and ethical mediation, often without formal training or institutional support. The review concludes that AI should not be viewed merely as a functional tool but as a socio-technical agent requiring ethical governance, critical AI literacy, and structural accountability across academic ecosystems.

https://doi.org/10.1177/03400352251391753

Head of Preservation and Reformatting at University of Houston

Reporting to the Associate Dean for Special Libraries and Preservation, the Head of PARD collaboratively develops preservation policies, priorities, initiatives, and workflows for the UH Libraries. This position coordinates and engages in collections preservation, including oversite of: digitization and reformatting, digital preservation, environmental monitoring, emergency preparedness, and disaster mitigation planning for collections. The Head of PARD manages department personnel, providing coaching and support for effective goal setting and professional development.

https://tinyurl.com/2362n2kj

“How AI Browsers Sneak Past Blockers and Paywalls”

Atlas [OpenAI] and Comet [Perplexity] were able to read the article for two reasons. The first is that, to a website, Atlas’s AI agent is indistinguishable from a person using a standard Chrome browser. . . . Publishers can selectively block certain crawlers using the Robots Exclusion Protocol—and indeed many do. . . .

Furthermore, the MIT Technology Review. . . uses a client-side overlay paywall: the text loads on the page but is hidden behind a pop-up that asks a user to subscribe or log in. While this content is invisible to humans, AI agents like Atlas and Comet can still read it.

https://tinyurl.com/3na3knev

Electronic Resources Librarian at OCAD University

Reporting to the University Librarian (UL), the Electronic Resources Librarian oversees the Library’s electronic resources collection. This includes acquiring, managing and evaluating e-resources, implementing e-resource management workflows, making recommendations to the UL, and promoting e-resources to the OCAD University community. The Librarian also assists colleagues with supporting infrastructure tasks related to electronic resources.

https://tinyurl.com/3t3t7maw

“Game Developers’ Perspectives on Licensing Digital Games to Libraries for Curation and Access”

The article reports on exploratory research conducted with independent game developers to better understand their attitudes and perspectives on major aspects of electronic resource licensing and collection management. The research finds that independent game developers are largely in line with library practices and values, indicating a strong foundation for generative collaboration.

https://doi.org/10.1080/1941126X.2025.2581381

Open Research Team Manager at University of Hertfordshire

As the Open Research Team Manager you’ll champion open research, ensure compliance with funder policies, and support preparations for the Research Excellence Framework (REF). Collaborate across departments, manage key projects, and strengthen partnerships with external organisations. Oversee the University’s research information systems and the UH Press and support the delivery of training to empower researchers at all levels.

https://tinyurl.com/mte4y7u8

“Artificial Intelligence Regulation Matures: Landscapes of the USA, European Union, and China”

Between 2023 and July 2025, artificial intelligence (AI) governance in the USA, European Union, and China shifted from programmatic statements to actionable instruments. The USA moved from Executive Order 14110 to three July 2025 executive orders on data-center permitting, export promotion, and procurement neutrality. The European Union completed the AI Act, initiated staged application in 2025, and issued a code of practice for general-purpose AI. China consolidated domestic controls on public-facing generative AI and launched a Global AI Governance Action Plan with United Nations-centered cooperation, standards work, and capacity-building. The UK continued a regulator-led, assurance-first model. This essay compares these trajectories and distils implications for libraries: stronger accountability in procurement and vendor management; lawful, well-described training data; the publication of assessment artifacts; and AI literacy as a core service. The analysis highlights convergence on safety, transparency, and inclusion, alongside divergence in regulatory technique and international posture, which will shape library strategy.

https://doi.org/10.1177/03400352251384915

Open Access Advisers (2 Posts) at University of Cambridge

We are recruiting two posts to work within the Open Research team at the University Libraries and Archives- one on a permanent basis and one on a fixed-term, 4-year basis, both full time.

https://tinyurl.com/2zarksrr

“Secondary Publishing Rights for Canadian Open Access Implementation”

This paper examines the potential of Secondary Publishing Rights (SPR) as a legal solution to safeguard Green Open Access (OA) and promote free and global access to Canadian research. SPR grants journal article authors the right to deposit a version of a finished article in an institutional or disciplinary repository, regardless of publisher agreements. If implemented in Canada, SPR will empower researchers, allowing them to make their work OA while also providing them with an easy path to ensuring compliance with OA funder mandates. In this paper, we compare SPR to alternatives like Rights Retention Strategies (RRS) and collective licensing, highlighting the variations of SPR implemented in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Italy, Spain and Bulgaria. Adopting SPR in Canada will significantly improve public access to research, strengthen Canada’s global research impact, and create a more equitable scholarly publishing landscape.

https://doi.org/10.17161/jcel.v8i1.23101

Director, National Library of Medicine at National Library of Medicine

This position offers a unique and exciting opportunity for an exceptional leader to provide overall executive direction and scientific leadership to transform NLM into an epicenter for health-related data science and be a convening hub relevant to data science and analytics, and training at NIH. This will require strengthening or building partnerships within NIH, other Federal agencies, data and AI companies, and integration organizations. The Director, NLM serves as a principal advisor to the NIH Director concerning matters related to biomedical informatics, data science, and access to biomedical information in partnership with the NIH Office of Data Science Strategy and the Center for Information Technology. The Director, NLM will oversee NLM’s operation and management, including being responsible for the world’s preeminent biomedical library and for electronic information and data resources that are used billions of times each year by millions of people and thousands of computer systems worldwide.

https://tinyurl.com/2mx9pfcb