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Weekly News Digest
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September 14, 2017 — In addition to this week's NewsBreaks article and the monthly NewsLink Spotlight, Information Today, Inc. (ITI) offers Weekly News Digests that feature recent product news and company announcements. Watch for additional coverage to appear in the next print issue of Information Today.
CLICK HERE to view more Weekly News Digest items.
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GPO Does Its Part to Protect the Environment
The Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP) re-certified the plant operations of the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) for meeting its sustainable environmental standards—energy savings, waste reduction, emission reduction, and reduced source consumption—for the third time since 2012. Some of the efforts the GPO has made are the installation of new bindery equipment, the implementation of a pre-press waste chemical discharge treatment unit, and continuing to recycle paper and metals.For more information, read the press release.
Monkey Selfie Case Ends in Settlement
The so-called monkey selfie lawsuit ended in a settlement between People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and David Slater, whose camera the macaque used to take the selfie back in 2011. PETA filed the lawsuit in 2015. NPR reports that Slater agreed to donate 25% of future revenue from the photo to organizations that protect crested macaques and their habitats. PETA and Slater both asked the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to dismiss the case and reject a previous ruling that nonhuman animals can’t own copyrights.For more information, read the article.
Call for Papers: Publications' Special Issue on Scholarly Communication
The OA journal Publications announced a Call for Papers for its special issue, Scholarly Communication—A Vision for Tomorrow. Topics can include open science, the reading and writing process, the influence of artificial intelligence on scholarly communication, blockchain, new models of peer review, and the future form of scientific articles. The deadline for submissions is Dec. 20, 2017. Publications is fully OA (it has no article-processing charges), peer-reviewed, and indexed in databases such as the Web of Science.
ASIS&T Supports Cambridge University Press' Decision to Resist Censorship
The Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T) released a statement endorsing Cambridge University Press’ decision “to resist censorship and reinstate the China Quarterly articles previously censored by the Chinese government. ASIS&T stands behind the many academics and scholars who petitioned Cambridge University Press to take this action.”It continues: “ASIS&T condemns censorship and the limitation of access to information in all forms. We value academic freedom and the right of authors to have their work published without restriction. ASIS&T will oppose any efforts by governments or other authorities to restrict the free flow of scholarship and information throughout our global society.” For more information, read the statement.
Pew Research Center Studies Information Engagement
Pew Research Center’s Internet & Tech division released a new report, “How People Approach Facts and Information.” Several elements stand out when it comes to people’s enthusiasm for learning new information: “their level of trust in information sources and their interest in learning, particularly about digital skills. It turns out there are times when these factors align—that is, when people trust information sources and they are eager to learn, or when they distrust sources and have less interest in learning. There are other times when these factors push in opposite directions: people are leery of information sources but enthusiastic about learning.” The report finds that 38% of adults “are in groups that have relatively strong interest and trust in information sources and learning,” and 49% are in “groups that are relatively disengaged and not very enthusiastic about information or about gaining more training, especially when it comes to navigating digital information.” There are 13% of adults in the middle: “They are not particularly trusting of information sources, but they show higher interest in learning than those in the more information-wary groups.” For more information, read the report’s summary.
Sci-Hub Is No Longer Available in Russia
The Bookseller reports that Sci-Hub founder Alexandra Elbakyan removed access to the site in Russia, allegedly in response to criticism from Russian scientists. She was also unhappy that a newly discovered parasitic insect was named after her—Idiogramma elbakyanae. According to The Bookseller, she said, “If you analyse the situation with scientific publications, the real parasites are scientific publishers, and Sci-Hub, on the contrary, fights for equal access to scientific information.”For more information, read the article.
bibliotheca Shares Its Support for ALA's LGBT+ Roundtable
bibliotheca announced that it has raised $1,625 for ALA’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table (GLBTRT). As part of its Diversity Wall project at this year’s ALA Annual Conference, bibliotheca donated $5 to the GLBTRT for every brick signed by an attendee (a total of 325 signatures).“The American Library Association’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table thanks bibliotheca for its continued support of diversity in libraries and in the workplace and making our spaces Welcome To All!” says Jennifer Maguire-Wright, chairperson of the GLBTRT. For more information and to view photos of the Diversity Wall, read the press release.
Springer Nature Uses Peer Review to Give Back
Springer’s Environmental Earth Sciences journal partnered with the humanitarian organization Filter of Hope to bring people in developing countries access to safe drinking water. When a peer reviewer completes a project for the journal, Springer Nature makes a donation to Filter of Hope. (The reviewer can choose to be acknowledged in a special year-end edition of the journal.) This collaboration, which started in early 2017, has resulted in nearly 600 water filters going to communities in Liberia, Nicaragua, Haiti, Honduras, Russia, Cuba, and India.“Every review counts! This is the message we wanted to send when we began this initiative,” says Annett Buettner, a senior editor at Springer. “Our reviewers are fundamental to ensuring the scientific integrity and accuracy of our publications. Numerous surveys and market research have shown that monetary incentives for reviewers are not wanted. So this scheme allows us to acknowledge our reviewers with a small gesture, while at the same time having an impact on families in developing countries, who through the household water filters have access to clean drinking water. I hope other journals may consider this partnership model.” For more information, read the press release.
Reprints Desk and RedLink Integrate Major Products
Reprints Desk joined forces with RedLink to give Reprints Desk customers access to RedLink’s article subscription analytics and visualization tools (as part of its Library Dashboard). Library Dashboard complements Reprints Desk’s Article Galaxy research intelligence platform to help users with collection decision making and data analysis.“Our agreement with Reprints Desk is an excellent opportunity for RedLink to extend its reach to help corporate librarians and researchers,” says Kent Anderson, RedLink’s CEO. “Via this partnership, scholarly content can now be acquired and optimized using best-in-class document subscription delivery and analysis tools, on boarding services, and training.” For more information, read the press release.
Industry Vet Forms Internet of Things Thought Leadership Board
Laura Borgstede, founder of the Calysto marketing communications firm, plans to create an IoT (Internet of Things) Thought Leadership Board that will meet twice a year as well as communicate online. It will be composed of IoT influencers James Brehm (analyst advisor), Carl Ford (moderator and influencer), Jim Morrish (industry advisor), and John Feland (IoT industry and marketing expert).The board’s mission is to provide clear definitions for the IoT field, share the economic impact that IoT will have on the world, make IoT a mainstream concept, determine the future of the IoT, and frame the internal IoT industry’s agenda (i.e., the next five things the industry should address). For more information, read the press release.
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Brandi Scardilli
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