DigitalKoans – Page 2 – What Is the Sound of One E-Print Downloading?

Open Research Services Librarian at University of the West of England Bristol

Providing guidance to research staff and Post-Graduate Research students on research data preservation and sharing, and the deposit of research data sets to the UWE Bristol Research Data Repository

Day-to-day administration of the UWe Bristol Research Data Repository.

Developing and delivering training sessions to researchers and PGR students.

Reporting on compliance with various open access policies including UK Research and Innovation, and the Research Excellence Framework.

https://tinyurl.com/35x4kpec

Paywall: “How Does the Academia Refer to Open Research Information Data Sources? A Review Study Based on OpenAlex and Microsoft Academic Series”

In this study, we thoroughly review the existing relevant literature and distinguish their different ways of referring to ORIDS. We perform thematic and geographical analyses to outline the current research landscape of ORIDS in academia. Furthermore, we discuss the role of various stakeholders in advancing the development and utilization of ORIDS, and provide recommendations informed by an analysis of the challenges that these stakeholders encounter.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-025-05347-6

E-Resources Librarian at Yale University

Working collaboratively with other librarians and staff, this person supports the ongoing life cycle of e-resource maintenance, with a focus on publisher and package changes and ensuring uninterrupted access to licensed resources. This person collaborates across units in ERSM to provide coordinated, expert management of e-resources, paying particular attention to high-value and high-use packages. Works with key stakeholders to actively manage the full life cycle of subscription resources, including product evaluation, title list management, title changes, publisher and package changes, renewals, and post-cancellation access. Supports the creation and management of accurate data about complex subscription holdings across a variety of systems, including the LMS and discovery system, in support of uninterrupted access.

https://tinyurl.com/23svk9wz

“Scholarly Publishing’s Hidden Diversity: How Exclusive Databases Sustain the Oligopoly of Academic Publishers”

Global scholarly publishing has been dominated by a small number of publishers for several decades. This paper revisits the data on corporate control of scholarly publishing by analyzing the relative shares of scholarly journals and articles published by the major publishers and the “long tail” of smaller, independent publishers, using Dimensions and Web of Science (WoS). The reduction of expenses for printing and distribution and the availability of open-source journal management tools may have contributed to the emergence of small publishers, while recently developed inclusive databases may allow for the study of these. Dimensions’ inclusive indexing revealed the number of scholarly journals and articles published by smaller publishers has been growing rapidly, especially since the onset of large-scale online publishing around 2000, resulting in a higher share of articles from smaller publishers. In parallel, WoS shows increasing concentration within a few corporate publishers. For the 1980–2021 period, we retrieved 32% more articles from Dimensions compared to the more selective WoS. Dimensions’ data showed the expansion of small publishers was most pronounced in the Social Sciences and the Arts and Humanities, but a similar trend is observed in the Natural Sciences and Engineering, and the Health Sciences. A major geographical divergence is also revealed, with English-speaking countries and/or those located in northwestern Europe relying heavily on major publishers for the dissemination of their research, while the rest of the world being relatively independent of the oligopoly. Finally, independent journals publish more often in open access in general, and in Diamond open access in particular. We conclude that enhanced indexing and visibility of recently created, independent journals may favour their growth and stimulate global scholarly bibliodiversity.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0327015

“Bridging the Gap: Improving Data Sharing Practices in Surgical Research”

Of the 1094 articles, only 141 (12.89%) included DSS, with higher rates in clinical trials (18.05%) compared to cohort studies (5.20%). Studies funded by government or industry and open-access articles (18.95%) were more likely to include DSS. Journals with higher impact factors were more likely to comply. Thematic analysis revealed recurring issues of gatekeeping, conditional data access, and privacy concerns. Out of 96 corresponding authors contacted, only 18 shared data.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2025.04.036

“Ask The Chefs — New Court Decisions Issued in Cases Addressing AI Training and Copyright”

Last week saw the release of two court decisions in cases addressing the use of copyrighted material for training of artificial intelligence (AI) platforms, Bartz et al., v. Anthropic, and Kadrey et al., v. Meta. We asked the Chefs for their thoughts on these decisions and the potential impacts on publishers and authors. . . .

[Roy Kaufman] Of the 40-plus AI training cases in the US, we now have preliminary decisions in three. And have moved backwards in terms of clarity. To vastly oversimplify the results, training AI is non-transformative infringement (Thomson Reuters v Ross), training is transformative and mostly fair use with a major caveat (Bartz), or training is mostly not fair use– but was fair use in this case because the lawyers did not plead correctly (Kadrey).

[Rick Anderson] First, as to the “fair use” nature of using copyrighted texts to train AI large language models: it seems clear to me that such applications represent a transformative use of the copyrighted content.

[Todd Carpenter] My expectation is—and has been for some time—that these cases will drive the AI vendor community (or at least those with the resources) to seek content agreements with the publishing world as quickly and efficiently as possible.

https://tinyurl.com/4w8ttcux

“Categorizing Methods and Approaches for Generating and Identifying Paradata”

Documenting the processes and practices of making and processing research data has been identified as key prerequisite of data reusability and intelligibility. A large number of methods and approaches for generating and identifying such information have been proposed, however, dispersed across the literature. Consequently, the current understanding of what types of approaches have been envisioned, how they differ and relate to each other, and what kind of paradata they produce is limited. This paper reports an initial study to increase understanding of the methods landscape through review and categorization of paradata generation and identification methods. We identified three major temporal categories of (1) prospective, (2) in situ, and (3) retrospective methods and approaches, and five categories of paradata artifacts generated: (1) structured metadata, (2) narratives, (3) snapshots, (4) diagrammatic representations, and (5) standard procedures.

https://doi.org/10.1177/09610006251342811

AAAS Report: “What Scientists Need to Know About Sharing—and Protecting—Their Published Work”

When authors publish papers behind a paywall, reuse is generally limited. In contrast, paid open access typically comes with a Creative Commons (CC) license that delineates how others can use the content of the paper. . . .

But only about half of the 224 scientists who responded to a AAAS survey released today [Survey Reveals Researchers’ Interests,Concerns and Knowledge Gaps]—two-thirds of whom work in the United States—consider themselves familiar with the terms of these licenses.

https://tinyurl.com/4cn2ey6y

Senior Digital Archivist at the Welsh Government

The objective of this post is to lead, co-ordinate and provide strategic support to the local archive sector to develop the capacity to collect, preserve and make accessible digital collections, and to develop digital services.

The post holder will support the local sector to address the development of skills, policies, infrastructure and workflow procedures for the management digital content from acquisition to dissemination.

The post holder will facilitate collaboration between national and local services where there are opportunities for co-operation and efficiency in digital delivery. The post holder will also provide advice and support to local museums and libraries as they develop their capacity to manage both born digital and digitised collections and adapt their service delivery models.

https://tinyurl.com/2jbh2n83

“The Current State of Female Representation in Library Leadership: A Comprehensive Analysis of Over 13,000 Open U.S. Libraries by Library Type, Collection Size, and State”

Women are underrepresented in leadership by 8.2 percentage points (pp) at academic libraries, 5.5 pp at special libraries, 10.7 pp at school libraries, and 14.7 pp at government libraries. This corresponds to a male being 28.6%–185.5% more likely to be director.

https://doi.org/10.1080/01930826.2025.2518008

Electronic Resources and Discovery Librarian at Miami University Libraries

The Electronic Resources & Discovery Librarian manages ongoing technical access to electronic resources and collaborates with other librarians and staff to maximize discovery of resources for patrons; Works with the Library Systems team to configure discovery services and coordinate troubleshooting; Takes lead in gathering and making usage data accessible; Supports, recommends, and implements workflows, initiatives, and emerging tools (such as A.I.); Works closely with library consortia to manage shared electronic collections, serials and discovery; Supports acquisition and accessibility of varied electronic materials, and budgetary management, reporting and analysis activity . . .

https://tinyurl.com/3ct33z7c

Paywall: “NIH-Funded Science Must Now Be Free to Read Instantly: What You Should Know”

From 1 July, researchers funded by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) will be required to make their scientific papers available to read for free as soon as they are published in a peer-reviewed journal. . . .

Several publishers, including Elsevier and Springer Nature, require that papers published in closed-access journals remain available only to subscribers for an embargo period — 6 or 12 months, for instance — before they can be placed in repositories such as PubMed Central. . . .

These publishers might steer authors towards their OA journals (or the OA parts of their hybrid journals) to comply with the policy. .. .

“Authors should know that in advance, and if they don’t want to pay the APC, but still want to comply with the NIH policy, then they have to go somewhere else,” [Peter] Suber says.

https://tinyurl.com/5dbwzw9n

Digital Scholarship Coordinator at University of Georgia

The Digital Scholarship Coordinator will assist researchers in navigating a changing technology and policy landscape, consulting on techniques and practices for data gathering, organization, analysis, and visualization for their data-driven project needs. The Digital Scholarship Coordinator will also assist researchers by connecting them to applicable resources, including promoting policy information; collections as data; research data management, publishing, and archival resources; as well as research funding and collaboration opportunities.

https://tinyurl.com/yhwwv487

“ChatGPT in Academic Writing: A Scientometric Analysis of Literature Published Between 2022 and 2023”

This paper reviews the disruptive role of ChatGPT in academic writing, focusing on its implications for scholarly practices and emerging ethical challenges. Using document co-citation analysis (DCA), it maps the thematic and intellectual structure of the discourse on ChatGPT in academic knowledge production. Drawing on a dataset of 171 peer-reviewed articles from Scopus, the analysis, conducted using CiteSpace, identified 10 major thematic clusters, including ethical risks, practical applications, and pedagogical innovations. The resulting high-modularity network (Q = 0.8989, S = 0.9466), comprising 866 nodes and 2,274 edges, ensured methodological rigor and thematic clarity. The findings reveal widespread recognition of ChatGPT’s value in enhancing writing and supporting innovative educational frameworks, especially for non-native speakers. Concerns persist regarding hallucinated references, plagiarism, authorship ethics, and the reliability of AI-detection tools. Our paper accentuates the need for proactive oversight and policy development to ensure responsible integration of generative AI in research and education.

https://doi.org/10.1177/15562646251350203

Scholarly Communications Librarian for the Performing Arts and Humanities at Miami University Libraries

Duties and responsibilities include supporting research output visibility and impact through a new service embedded within the Marta and Austin Weeks Music Library; collaborating with subject liaison librarians and faculty stakeholders to build the Scholarship@Miami knowledge base, ensuring bibliographic citations of research outputs are represented in campus research information management systems, discovery systems, and search engines; working with Research Impact and Assessment Librarians to identify methods and workflows to address gaps in the capture of research outputs; promoting the Libraries’ research information hub, Scholarship@Miami, as a place to host creative works and other research and creative output for faculty and students; will also involve teaching and promoting open access digital publishing services and initiatives.

https://tinyurl.com/4k3by55a

“Generative AI and Open Access Publishing: A New Economic Paradigm”

The integration of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in scholarly publishing presents both opportunities and challenges for open access. AI can streamline workflows, reduce costs, and enhance the discoverability of research, potentially making open access more financially sustainable. However, the same AI capabilities also raise concerns about exclusivity and the creation of a tiered system that limits access to knowledge. Publishers face a strategic decision between embracing open access and leveraging AI for proprietary content and services. Libraries play a crucial role in advocating for open access and ethical AI use, building expertise, and influencing policy development. Balancing the benefits of AI with the principles of equity and inclusivity requires collaboration among stakeholders. By working together, publishers, librarians, and policymakers can harness the power of AI to democratize access to knowledge while upholding ethical standards, fostering a more inclusive and equitable academic community.

https://tinyurl.com/2d52e37d

“Understanding the Influence of Predatory Journals Articles Included within Systematic Reviews: A Scoping Review”

The primary objective of this study is to understand the extent of our current knowledge on how predatory publishing impacts evidence syntheses. The secondary objective is to collect and implement a set of strategies to minimize the inclusion of predatory journals. . . . Different strategies were discussed [in relevant articles|, such as tools to assess quality and common indicators of predatory articles, information on indexing and its significance, and a team based approach with experts in the field to establish correct research protocols.

https://doi.org/10.1080/0361526X.2025.2523389

Digital Projects and Metadata Coordinator at University of Kansas

Ensure preparation and delivery of Dole [ Institute of Politics] Archives material for inclusion in the Portal through effective project management, including:

Understanding and implementing existing workflows, and assisting with evaluating and improving workflows moving forward to more effectively accomplish grant objectives

Training, supervising, and reviewing student transcription, digitization, and metadata work for digital photographs, documents, audio, and video

Working with archives staff to coordinate and manage any materials sent off site for digitization

Ingesting, reviewing, and publishing items and metadata in Omeka-S and other digital platforms

https://tinyurl.com/4y3w2nt3

“How Are Us Institutions Putting Public Access Into Practice? Insights from Our ‘Reasonable Costs’ Institutional Research”

Today, we [Invest in Open Infrastructure] are releasing the results of this collaboration in three documents:

“Between the Memo and the Mandate: Institutional Perspectives on Public Access Readiness”: a summary of the survey responses, including which policies and practices institutions already have in place, and what units are responsible for different actions.

A packet of workflows, constructed in collaboration with colleagues at each institution, illustrating a variety of approaches to sponsored project administration for different institution sizes and types. . . .

“Preparing for Public Access: Mapping Institutional Workflows for Sponsored Research Success”: a full methodology and results summary from conducting the surveys and interviews and constructing the workflows. . . . This document also contains four appendices containing the text of each of the two surveys and two interviews.

https://tinyurl.com/bdzptfkk

Digital Projects Librarian at Colorado State University

The Digital Projects Librarian will apply advanced professional practices to oversee and manage digitization projects and metadata creation and acts as a liaison with vendors for outsourced digital projects and ensures their successful implementation.

https://tinyurl.com/3d956yby

“Meta Secures Bittersweet Fair Use Victory in AI ‘Piracy’ Case”

In a pivotal moment for artificial intelligence and copyright law, Meta has secured a bittersweet partial fair use victory in its defense of a ‘piracy’ lawsuit filed by several book authors. . . .

The court denied the authors’ motion to hold Meta liable for direct copyright infringement after it obtaining pirated books from shadow libraries via BitTorrent.

Judge Chhabria also granted Meta’s cross-motion for partial summary judgment, concluding that Meta’s use of the copyrighted books for LLM training indeed qualifies as fair use based on the arguments presented. . . .

The motion only covers part of the copyright claim, as Meta’s alleged distribution of pirated books was not part of it. In addition, the ruling only applies to the thirteen named authors included in this case.

https://tinyurl.com/3mrham8e

“Scoop: Trump Admin Cuts Contracts with Scientific Publishing Giant”

The Trump administration has terminated millions worth of funding for Springer Nature, a German-owned scientific publishing giant that has long received payments for subscriptions from National Institutes of Health and other agencies, Axios has learned.

https://tinyurl.com/yww23ks8

“Introducing CC Signals: A New Social Contract for the Age of AI”

Based on the same principles that gave rise to the CC licenses and tens of billions of works openly licensed online, CC signals will allow dataset holders to signal their preferences for how their content can be reused by machines based on a set of limited but meaningful options shaped in the public interest. They are both a technical and legal tool and a social proposition: a call for a new pact between those who share data and those who use it to train AI models.

https://tinyurl.com/psxrvc8f

Paywall: “AI and Systematic Reviews: Can AI Tools Replace Librarians in the Systematic Search Process?”

Focusing on the search stage of the systematic review process, the author examines the features and viability of select AI-based tools, evaluates their integration into existing systematic review workflows, and addresses issues related to transparency, reproducibility, and trustworthiness. The study also assesses whether these AI tools can be effectively and reliably incorporated into systematic review processes and discusses the evolving roles and responsibilities of librarians in using these technologies.

https://doi.org/10.1080/0194262X.2025.2521519

“Large Language Models for Automated Scholarly Paper Review: A Survey”

Large language models (LLMs) have significantly impacted human society, influencing various domains. Among them, academia is not simply a domain affected by LLMs, but it is also the pivotal force in the development of LLMs. In academic publication, this phenomenon is represented during the incorporation of LLMs into the peer review mechanism for reviewing manuscripts. LLMs hold transformative potential for the full-scale implementation of automated scholarly paper review (ASPR), but they also pose new issues and challenges that need to be addressed. In this survey paper, we aim to provide a holistic view of ASPR in the era of LLMs. We begin with a survey to find out which LLMs are used to conduct ASPR. Then, we review what ASPR-related technological bottlenecks have been solved with the incorporation of LLM technology. After that, we move on to explore new methods, new datasets, new source code, and new online systems that come with LLMs for ASPR. Furthermore, we summarize the performance and issues of LLMs in ASPR, and investigate the attitudes and reactions of publishers and academia to ASPR. Lastly, we discuss the challenges and future directions associated with the development of LLMs for ASPR. This survey serves as an inspirational reference for the researchers and can promote the progress of ASPR for its actual implementation.

https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.10326