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Weekly News Digest

August 8, 2024 — 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.

STEM Magazine for Students Adds Digital Collection to Exact Editions

OYLA is designed for students ages 12 and older and aims to make STEM topics more accessible and enjoyable through clear language and imaginative graphics.

For more information, read the press release.

SirsiDynix Now Provides Access to Beamafilm Streaming Content for Libraries

“This integration underscores our commitment to supporting libraries in their role as vital community resources, offering educational and entertaining content to their patrons through the power of innovation,” says Louise van Rooyen, Beamafilm’s managing director.

For more information, read the press release.

BMJ Group and OpenAthens Open Doors to Seamless Federated Access to BMJ Impact Analytics

31 July 2024—Leading global healthcare knowledge provider, BMJ Group, and experts in federated single sign-on services, OpenAthens, are excited to announce that OpenAthens’ advanced authentication technology is now available on BMJ Impact Analytics.  

BMJ Impact Analytics joins the growing number of BMJ Group products accessed via OpenAthens, including BMJ Journals and BMJ Best Practice. BMJ Group customers that support federated authentication can now offer their users a more simple and consistent access experience. Healthcare researchers across the world can move seamlessly between the BMJ Group suite of products with a single login. They can also access other subscribed medical resources that support the same standards-based authentication technology. 

BMJ Impact Analytics is the most comprehensive tool available worldwide for tracking and sharing the real-world impact of medical and health research. Launched in 2023, it was developed in collaboration with pioneering start-up, Overton. ALPSP declared the new product the winner of its 2023 Award for Innovation in Publishing and it was also a finalist in OpenAthens’ 2024 UX Award. 

BMJ Group’s integration with OpenAthens offers benefits on a global scale:

• Seamless access worldwide—Healthcare professionals can enjoy streamlined access to critical analytics and insights, enhancing their ability to improve healthcare outcomes.
• Security—With increases in cyber-attacks in the education and research sector it is vital that medical and healthcare resources are kept safe. OpenAthens helps protect against this threat by working with publishers and library organisations to identify and act on any signs of misuse.
• Personalisation—Users can now benefit from personalisation features such as saved searches and recommendations whilst protecting their privacy.
• Enhanced efficiency—Increased efficiency with quick access to frequently updated evidence of real world impact, including citations in local guidelines and tools.

This innovative tool is valued for its ability to support academic institutions and funders in discovering where research has been cited in clinical guidance and health policies worldwide. It does this by providing citations in context and uniquely showing the impact of research on patient care (citing BMJ Group’s clinical decision support tool, BMJ Best Practice).

Michelle Phillips, Senior Product Manager at BMJ Group, shared her enthusiasm about this collaboration with OpenAthens:

Since launching in January 2023, user feedback has been the cornerstone of our product development. We are thrilled that organisations that support federated authentication can now access BMJ Impact Analytics through OpenAthens as this will enhance our users’ experience. This partnership allows us to provide our customers with seamless access to the invaluable insights that BMJ Impact Analytics offers.

Ian Wareing, Senior Product Manager at OpenAthens, highlights the positive impact of seamless access:

Integrating OpenAthens’ advanced authentication with BMJ Impact Analytics is a game-changer for medical organisations. The seamless access to critical analytics and insights allows healthcare professionals to enhance outcomes and efficiency effortlessly. This collaboration significantly supports our mission to remove barriers to knowledge and leads to better patient care by leveraging comprehensive data on medical research impact.

This collaboration underscores both companies' commitment to leveraging innovative solutions to support the healthcare community. 

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Read the press release at openathens.net/news/bmj-group-and-openathens-open-doors-to-bmj-impact-analytics.

HARRASSOWITZ Becomes Certified Partner of OA Switchboard

HARRASSOWITZ, a leading provider of scholarly periodicals and e-resources for academic libraries, is pleased to announce it is a Certified Partner of OA Switchboard, a safe place for publication metadata which simplifies the sharing of information between publishers, institutions and funders. This partnership will enable HARRASSOWITZ and OA Switchboard to further explore opportunities for integration of publishing data in Fokus, the HARRASSOWITZ system for acquisition and management of scholarly resources. Merging subscription data with detailed information about their institution’s publication output will provide libraries with a more comprehensive overview and help them in their internal reporting efforts.

For more information, read the press release.

Sage Continues Its Partnership With Universal Write Publications to Bolster Black Scholarship

Since the partnership began in 2021, Sage has helped UWP gain greater visibility for Black scholars in academic publishing, and UWP has implemented diversity-focused editorial guidelines and expanded its pool of Black reviewers for a more-inclusive peer-review process.

For more information, read the press release.

HBCUs and Tribal Institutions Gain Free Access to Path to Open Titles

America’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) are now able to provide their more than 300,000 students and faculty with immediate access to the diverse, groundbreaking university press books being published on JSTOR as part of Path to Open. …

Path to Open fees for HBCUs and TCUs are being covered for the full pilot period (2024-2026) through grant funds provided to the University of North Carolina Press by the Mellon Foundation to incentivize and support participation in Path to Open by historically marginalized communities including authors, libraries, and readers. …

HBCUs and TCUs do not need to be existing JSTOR participants to sign up for this opportunity. Interested institutions are encouraged to contact JSTOR to sign up.

For more information, read the news item.

ResearchGate Gets Five Tech Science Press Journals to Kick Off Partnership

For more information, read the press release.

Former Presidents and First Ladies Join America250 Initiative as Co-Chairs

For more information, read the press release.