|
|
Weekly News Digest
 |
August 28, 2025 — 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.
|
Libby Rolls Out a New Type of Recommendation Engine to Support Book Discovery
OverDrive announced a new search and discovery experience for Libby called Inspire Me that will be available to patrons in September. It “supports book discovery within a user’s local library collection” and “adds a fun and engaging option for readers to discover a list of personalized recommendations from the virtual bookshelves of their local library’s digital collection.” The press release continues, “Unlike traditional search algorithms that prioritize generalized recommendations, Inspire Me is built upon each library’s unique digital collection. Patrons can explore books through guided discovery prompts called ‘inspirations’ and/or based on their previously saved titles in Libby. When a user taps an inspiration, Libby surfaces five relevant titles from their library’s digital collection, each accompanied by a brief explanation of how the book matches the inspiration. The feature prioritizes titles that are immediately available to borrow, allowing readers to start their newly discovered titles right away.” For more information, read the press release.
Author Lawsuit Against Anthropic Reaches Preliminary Settlement
Kate Knibbs writes the following in “Anthropic Settles High-Profile AI Copyright Lawsuit Brought by Book Authors” for WIRED:Anthropic has reached a preliminary settlement in a class action lawsuit brought by a group of prominent authors, marking a major turn in one of the most significant ongoing AI copyright lawsuits in history. The move will allow Anthropic to avoid what could have been a financially devastating outcome in court. The settlement agreement is expected to be finalized on September 3, with more details to follow, according to a legal filing. … Anthropic declined to comment. ‘This historic settlement will benefit all class members. We look forward to announcing details of the settlement in the coming weeks,’ Justin Nelson, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement to WIRED. For more information, read the article.
ACS Graduate Student Success Grants Support Federally Terminated Research Funding
The American Chemical Society (ACS) introduced the Graduate Student Success Grant, “a one-time, $2.5 million initiative that provides support for graduate students whose research has been disrupted as a result of terminated or cancelled research grants.” ACS plans to award up to 100 grants of $25,000 each to M.S. and Ph.D. students who are within 1 year of graduating. “Funds may be used by principal investigators for stipends and benefits necessary to maintain graduate student status, ensuring that affected students can complete their degree,” ACS notes. Grant applications will be open from Sept. 15, 2025 to Oct. 1, 2025, and the awardees will be told by Oct. 15. One grant will be awarded per research institution, “so principal investigators should coordinate with their department chair and the vice president for research to apply.” For more information, read the press release.
The Hill Reports on Objections to Smithsonian Exhibits That Are Not Aligned With Trump Administration Narratives
Ashleigh Fields writes the following in “White House Lists 20 Objectionable Smithsonian Exhibits, Artworks” for The Hill:The White House … unveiled a list of 20 Smithsonian exhibits the Trump administration alleges are being used to frame historical events through ‘ideological’ narratives instead of factual evidence. … The decision to highlight more than a dozen exhibits and artworks as ‘woke’ comes days after Trump criticized the history museum for its depiction of slavery and its impact on Black Americans. For more information, read the article.
CCC and Technology From Sage Offer Easier Copyright Management in Higher Education
CCC entered into an integration agreement with Technology From Sage enabling “academic institutions that subscribe to Technology From Sage’s Talis library resource list management system and CCC’s Annual Copyright License for Higher Education to verify CCC annual license coverage or acquire copyright permissions from CCC via its Pay-Per-Use Permissions services directly within the Talis platform.”“Our customers asked for a faster, easier way to manage copyright in their course materials, and we delivered,” says Emily Sheahan, CCC’s VP and managing director. “By embedding our licensing tools directly into Talis, we’re removing barriers, streamlining workflows, and giving librarians and faculty more time to focus on supporting student learning.” For more information, read the press release.
JSTOR Launches Publisher Collections as a New Book Acquisition Model
JSTOR announced the following:Beginning in 2026, JSTOR will offer Publisher Collections, a new model within the Books at JSTOR program. Publisher Collections will enable libraries around the world to acquire significant lists of new books from a growing set of 20+ publishers on the JSTOR platform. The model responds directly to the needs of libraries and publishers for diverse, affordable books acquisition models. … Each Publisher Collection will provide: - A perpetual JSTOR license to current year title sets from a press
- Access to all earlier press titles on JSTOR for active participants
- An innovative tiered approach to publisher-set fees based on JSTOR’s classification methodology
- International country savings aligned with JSTOR’s Archive program
For more information, read the news item.
PLA Rolls Out Free Tools to Measure and Analyze Patron Outcomes
ALA announced the following:The Public Library Association (PLA) … launched a suite of outcome measurement resources developed as part of the Project Outcome toolkit. The new webpages culminate a decade of work dedicated to sharing the impact of public library services and programs via simple surveys and an easy process to measure and analyze patron outcomes. The ‘Utilizing Outcome Measurement to Improve Library Services’ webinar on August 28 will guide participants through the templates and tools. … The new … landing page empowers both new and veteran library staff to get started; download surveys in Google and Microsoft formats; develop new survey questions and collect, analyze and visualize data; create reports; and gain the skills and confidence to use all the resources for evaluation and advocacy. For more information, read the press release.
Cengage Group Updates Its AI Portfolio to Better Serve Students
Cengage Group is doing “a significant expansion of its artificial intelligence (AI) product portfolio across all customer segments. This launch broadens the reach and impact of the company’s AI-powered learning tools for students and educators across higher education, workforce training and K–12.”The expansion includes the following: This fall, Cengage Group’s Student Assistant will support more than one million students across 100+ products in Cengage Higher Ed’s leading disciplines, offering personalized, always-available learning help. At the same time, Cengage Work is expanding its AI-powered Learning Assistant to Advanced Career Training courses. Cengage School is piloting an AI content leveler and exploring additional K–12 applications to support educators and learners. For more information, read the press release.
Beatoven.ai Unveils the Fair-Pay Maestro Gen AI Model
Beatoven.ai Unveils Maestro, the Largest Fully Licensed Generative AI Model for Music That Pays Artists for Every Output In contrast to other AI music licensing deals, this model will result in ongoing royalty payments to artists, composers, and rightsholders.  Beatoven.ai is announcing Maestro, its new generative AI foundation model for music. It’s the first such model to be fully licensed and fairly trained from the ground up, built on official partnerships with rightsholders and an ongoing revenue sharing component. This model, which powers Beatoven.ai’s suite of generative AI and Music Intelligence tools, will allow anyone to generate instrumental tracks, with sound effects and vocals coming soon. This model proves that AI companies can respect human creativity and existing copyright and still create innovations that promise to transform musicmaking.Maestro uses datasets licensed in collaboration with Musical AI, a rights management platform that allows AI companies to attribute generative outputs to specific tracks and pay music rightsholders accordingly. Data partners include Rightsify, Soundtrack Loops, Symphonic Music, Bobby Cole, Vadi Sound, and Pro Sound Effects, with more to come. “Human creativity and AI can go hand in hand,” says Mansoor Rahimat Khan, co-founder and CEO of Beatoven.ai. “Our vision at Beatoven.ai has always been to create a model that generates the world’s most interesting sounds. Most tools try to mimic humans, whereas AI should push human creativity forward by generating what we’ve never heard before. Hallucinations in foundation models are a feature in music, not a bug.” Beatoven.ai’s approach comes from a deep love and appreciation for music: Khan is a sitarist who hails from a 7-generation-old family of sitar players. The company has long sought to respect musical inputs, and its current trailblazing approach flows from that dedication. Its new foundation model will offer inspiring possibilities to Beatoven.ai’s existing 2 million registered users who have already generated more than 15 million tracks using the company’s previous models. Maestro also allows users to fine-tune the model, meaning Maestro can be trained to tackle new genres, styles, and sounds. Maestro includes powerful tools that go beyond the prompt and provide extra value for catalog owners. Labels, publishers, and rightsholders can analyze their tracks using Beatoven.ai’s Musical Intelligence, i.e., identifying instruments, generating metadata, and deepening search. It boosts exposure and supports rightsholders in surfacing music from their catalog apart from the well-known hits. Along with these B2B offerings, Maestro will open up generative use cases for individuals and businesses that are new to AI, including creative and entertainment professionals hamstrung by many generative models’ sketchy licensing status. “Beatoven.ai’s fully licensed model ensures that every track generated pays the rightsholders who made it possible, bringing ethical, professional-grade music production into creator workflows from gaming to virtual production,” reflects Khan. “With Maestro, Beatoven.ai unites creators and artists in a sustainable AI-powered music ecosystem where professional-quality tracks are generated ethically, and rightsholders share in the success. We’re building a creator economy that rewards creativity at every level.” Beatoven.ai continues offering its longstanding API that enables developers to build creative applications powered by music generation. Fully licensed, Beatoven.ai’s API is currently the world’s #1 generative music API and has been available since 2024, with a robust roadmap of API expansion this year to broaden access across creative industries, and deliver another revenue stream to musicians and rights holders. “This new model from Beatoven.ai is great to see. If you respect musicians, you license their music. Beatoven.ai is providing yet more compelling evidence that generative AI doesn’t need to be built by scraping the music of the world’s musicians,” says Ed Newton-Rex, CEO of Fairly Trained, former VP of Product at Stability AI, and founder of Jukedeck (acquired by TikTok). “In our partnership with Beatoven.ai, we’re building the future that everyone knows will result in real support for artists, composers, and rightsholders, while creating the best, most innovative AI possibilities,” notes Sean Power, CEO of Musical AI, Beatoven.ai’s license provider. “We’re showing the world what a fair AI deal looks like: attribution, respect of rights, and ongoing payouts every time a work contributes to an output. Maestro is a major step towards this better future.” About Beatoven.ai Beatoven.ai is a pioneering AI music company, offering a comprehensive suite of AI tools for music creation, search, and intelligence across the entire music ecosystem from creators to rightsholders and labels. Co-founded by serial entrepreneurs and musicians Mansoor Rahimat Khan (CEO, San Francisco) and Siddharth Bhardwaj (CTO, Bengaluru), the technology is built on ethically trained models using fully licensed music spanning all popular genres globally. The gen AI platform has scaled to millions of users while the B2B division is helping catalog owners unlock new revenues using Maestro, Beatoven.ai’s latest foundation model.
TLC Integrates StackMap Into Its Library Management Solutions for Better Discovery
TLC joined forces with StackMap “to bring more patron-centric tools directly into the library catalog experience. This collaboration makes it easier than ever for patrons to discover, locate, and access materials from the Library•Solution discovery layer, ensuring that the library remains a welcoming and navigable space. By integrating StackMap’s spatial discovery tools with TLC’s library management solutions, libraries can now provide a seamless journey from search to shelf,” the press release notes. “Within TLC’s latest software release, patrons can access StackMap directly from LS2 PAC, the Library•Solution catalog interface, with a single ‘Map it’ click. The new StackMap integration displays a button leading to a visual map of the item, instantly pinpointing the item’s location. For libraries, setup is straightforward, requiring only floor plans and range data.” For more information, read the press release.
Send correspondence concerning the Weekly News Digest to NewsBreaks Editor
Brandi Scardilli
|
