Member News & Announcements, November IO 2025
Awards & Honorable Mentions
Emerald’s Amy Jones Recognised at the 2025 CIO 100 Awards
Emerald Group Publishing, Voting Member, October 8, 2025
Emerald Publishing is celebrating the recognition of Chief Transformation Officer, Amy Jones, who has received the Visionary Leadership in Technology award at the CIO 100 Awards UK. The award highlights Amy’s impact in driving purposeful transformation.
The CIO 100 Awards UK acknowledges the best and brightest technology leaders in the UK, celebrating their digital transformation achievements.
The University of Maryland Libraries Are Certified Sustainable
University of Maryland, LSA Consortia Member (USMAI), Press Release, October 2, 2025
The University of Maryland Libraries are the first in Maryland to complete the award-winning Sustainable Library Certification Program (SLCP) through the Sustainable Libraries Initiative (SLI).
Using the Sustainable Library Certification Program to share the story of over a decade’s worth of hard work, the University of Maryland Libraries provide an exemplary model for academic libraries looking to empower and support their campus community in developing a culture of resilience, eco-literacy, and collaboration.
New Products & Innovations
EBSCO Information Services Releases Science News Magazine Archive Dating Back to 1921
EBSCO, Voting Member, Press Release, October 21, 2025
EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO) introduces Science News Magazine Archive, offering cover-to-cover access to decades of issues of the iconic science and technology magazine, Science News, from its first publication in 1921 to 2010. The archive provides valuable insights for researchers exploring the historical development of scientific discoveries, topics, trends, and events. Through this one-time purchase, libraries will gain perpetual access to the archive.
Science News, published by Society for Science, delivers in-depth coverage of key developments in science, medicine, and technology from the early 20th century through today. Launched as a weekly newsletter and eventually evolving into a monthly magazine, each issue offers a wide array of topics, featuring high-quality writing and compelling imagery.
CAS Unveils Science-Smart Agentic AI to Revolutionize Research Workflows
CAS/American Chemical Society, Voting Member, Press Release, October 7, 2025
CAS, a division of the American Chemical Society specializing in scientific knowledge management, today announced the pending launch of science-smart agentic AI experiences in CAS BioFinder® and CAS SciFinder®. These capabilities introduce intelligent agents trained on scientific content to automate complex research workflows. Scientists can ask direct questions and receive reliable, evidence-backed responses grounded in the curated data of the CAS Content Collection™, unlike generic AI tools that rely on unverified or incomplete sources.
In the upcoming months, CAS BioFinder users will gain access to a conversational AI agent that allows researchers to pose complex scientific questions and follow up on responses. To support CAS BioFinder’s global reach, users can interact with the agent and receive detailed responses in their preferred language. A literature review agent is also planned, designed to summarize relevant publications and support broader exploration. CAS SciFinder will introduce similar agentic AI capabilities before the end of 2025, expanding support for chemical research workflows.
Open Access, Open Research
Adoption of Open Research Practices Exceeding Expectations
Taylor & Francis Group, Voting Member, News Announcement, October 23, 2025
New analysis of open research practices suggests that researchers are increasingly motivated to share their data by factors beyond policy mandates, such as enhanced visibility, impact, and collaboration. The investigation by Taylor & Francis and DataSeer found that over half of authors included a Data Availability Statement (DAS) in their journal article, explaining whether and how readers can access data, and a third of researchers in some disciplines openly shared their data.
Open research (or ‘open science’) makes all the outputs of a research project available for others to read, reuse, and build upon. Sharing outputs such as data, code, and software supports the transparency, reproducibility, and replicability of results. This in turn encourages trust in research and allows for stronger, more rigorous academic debate.
UMass Amherst Libraries Announce New Journal, The Open Journal for Students’ and New Scientists’ Research (OJSSR)
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, LSA Consortia Member (BLC), News Announcement, October 8, 2025
The University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries are pleased to announce a new journal, The Open Journal for Students’ and New Scientists’ Research (OJSSR). OJSSR is a peer-reviewed, open-access academic research journal that empowers undergraduate, ambitious high school students and beginning scientists to go beyond the classroom and engage in real-world, data-driven primary and secondary research and publication.
The editorial board consists of Founding Editor Jedaidah Chilufya-Scalessa (Lecturer, Biology) and Executive Editors, Dong Wang (Associate Professor, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology) and Favorite Iradukunda (Assistant Professor, College of Nursing).
Partnerships & Collaborations
PALNI and PALCI Partner with IOI to Build Hyku Co-investment and Decision-Making Model
Private Academic Library Network of Indiana (PALNI) and Pennsylvania Academic Library Consortium, Inc. (PALCI), Voting Members, Press Release, October, 2025
The Private Academic Library Network of Indiana (PALNI) and the Partnership for Academic Library Collaboration and Innovation (PALCI) are pleased to announce a new partnership with Invest in Open Infrastructure (IOI) to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Hyku, the open-source digital repository platform. Through this project, the Hyku for Consortia team—along with key stakeholders in the Samvera Hyku Community and IOI—will support the development of a co-investment and community decision-making model designed to ensure the Hyku platform remains robust, community-driven, and financially sustainable.
Hyku enables libraries, archives, and cultural institutions to manage, preserve, and provide access to digital collections—from research outputs to archival materials—without relying on commercial systems. Initially developed and advanced through grant funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), Hyku for Consortia has provided libraries with an affordable, flexible repository option while cultivating a strong collaborative community. This partnership with IOI marks the next step in Hyku’s evolution, transitioning from grant funding and siloed development streams to a sustainable, community-focused co-investment and decision-making model.
AI Adoption & Implementation
Clarivate Pulse of the Library Report Reveals Link between AI Literacy, AI Implementation, and Confidence
Clarivate Analytics, Voting Member, Press Release, October 30, 2025
Clarivate Plc (NYSE:CLVT), a leading global provider of transformative intelligence, today released the Pulse of the Library 2025 report. The report examines how libraries globally are adapting to fast-moving opportunities and challenges such as AI adoption, open science and geopolitical pressures.
The findings reveal a steady rise in artificial intelligence (AI) adoption, with 67% of libraries exploring or implementing AI tools, an increase from 63% in 2024. While the majority remain at the initial stages of evaluation, early adopters are pressing ahead and reporting greater optimism, particularly as they progress through implementation phases.
Industry Events
Boston Library Consortium (BLC) Announces Launch of the Digital Lenders Forum
Boston Library Consortium (BLC), Voting Member, News Announcement, October 30, 2025
Boston Library Consortium is excited to announce the launch of the Digital Lenders Forum, a conversation series about shaping the future of digital lending in libraries. The Digital Lenders Forum brings together library innovators and practitioners to spark practical solutions and visionary ideas that will drive actionable change across the digital lending ecosystem.
This forum builds on BLC’s digital lending work as part of our 2023 National Leadership Grant from IMLS, resulting in the Digital Lending Toolkit, Digital Lending Summit, and a number of other publications on e-book interlibrary loan, controlled digital lending, and resource sharing systems.