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Weekly News Digest
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October 9, 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.
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Wiley Studies Researchers' Attitudes Toward and Usage of AI
Wiley released “key findings from its second ExplanAItions study, revealing a major course correction taking place.” It finds that “researchers remain optimistic about AI, with 85% reporting that it has improved their efficiency, and close to three-quarters saying it has enhanced both the quantity and quality of their work. Overall usage of AI tools surged from 57% in 2024 to 84% in 2025, including specific use for research and publication tasks, which grew significantly to 62% from 45%.” But “researchers are significantly scaling back their expectations of what AI can currently do as they gain firsthand experience, moving beyond hype toward nuanced, evidence-based adoption.” For more information, read the press release.
Banned Books Week Resources From ALA and PEN America
It’s Banned Books Week 2025! Visit ALA’s website for a variety of resources, including a short history of the week and an explanation of this year’s theme: Censorship Is So 1984. Read for Your Rights. You can access free downloads, products for sale, a list of how to get involved, and an invitation to join Unite Against Book Bans.PEN America also has a resources page for Banned Books Week featuring its latest research findings, library events, and ways to take action. 
W3C Debuts New Logo and Tagline
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) introduced a new logo. “This follows W3C’s formation in 2023 as a non-profit, public-interest organization, and the release of strategic objectives to support W3C’s roadmap,” the press release states. “In addition to creating a new logo, we have changed our tagline (‘leading the web to its full potential’) to ‘making the web work—for everyone’. … [For the logo,] we chose to keep W3C’s well-known blue. We designed [it] to express timelessness, reliability, connection, and community, and to project a sense of our global focus.”For more information, read the press release.
Research Solutions Updates Article Galaxy With AI Rights Management
Research Solutions provided an update on its activities, saying, “We’ve focused the past quarter on capabilities that help you confidently navigate AI rights compliance while streamlining the everyday tasks researchers rely on: discovering, accessing, and managing content across the platform.” For example, Article Galaxy built AI rights management “directly into your existing research workflow, allowing you to purchase and manage AI usage permissions for journal content without leaving the platform.”For more information, read the release notes.
OverDrive Offers Engagement Ideas for Banned Books Week
“This Banned Books Week (October 5–11), join us in celebrating the freedom to read, reflecting on the importance of open access to ideas, and reminding ourselves why protecting that freedom matters,” OverDrive states. “To support this initiative, we’re spotlighting the documentary Banned Together, available to your patrons on Kanopy. This eye-opening documentary examines two timely issues: book bans and curriculum censorship in public schools. It’s a powerful resource for sparking meaningful discussions around censorship, the freedom to read, and the role of storytelling in education and community life.” For more information, read the blog post.
Playaway Shares Banned Books in Its Collection for Banned Books Week
Playaway states, “Playaway Products knows access isn’t optional. For every reader, in every community, the freedom to read is a fundamental right.” It offers a banned books list in its “Wonderbook and Playaway collection [that] makes these powerful titles accessible to all learners. Whether through read-along books that build literacy confidence or pre-loaded audiobooks that travel anywhere, these formats ensure stories cannot be silenced. When we defend access, we affirm that all voices matter, all stories belong, and all readers deserve choice.”
SirsiDynix's Connections 2025 Conference Registration Is Now Open
SirsiDynix opened registration for Connections 2025, its “free online conference dedicated to uplifting library professionals everywhere.” The conference will be held Oct. 28–29, 2025, and offer more than 20 sessions covering “industry issues, library technology, and SirsiDynix products and services,” the press release states. “Hear from advocates, authors, library directors, professors, and product experts—and take meaningful strategies back to … staff and patrons.” For more information, read the press release.
CCC Caters to Authors in China With New Collaboration
CCC entered into “a collaboration with China Educational Publications Import & Export Corporation (CEPIEC), the leading distributor of international published content to the Chinese market and of Chinese language content to the rest of the world,” the press release shares. “As part of the arrangement, CCC will integrate CEPIEC’s SocoPay payment system into CCC’s Open Access (OA) workflow solution, RightsLink for Scientific Communications (RLSC), which enables scholarly journal publishers of all sizes to manage institutional OA agreements, collect article publishing charges (APCs), and facilitate Subscribe to Open (S2O) programs.”For more information, read the press release.
EveryLibrary Hosts Online Panels for Banned Books Week
“Join us for more than two dozen panels and author conversations featuring authors, editors, narrators, publishing pros, and free-expression leaders for EveryLibrary Live! Banned Books Week Fest 2025. This all-online festival runs Sunday, October 5 to Friday, October 10 and celebrates the joy of writing and the culture of reading, confronts today’s censorship challenges in schools and libraries, and champions the freedom to read. Make plans now to be part of a literary week where everyone is encouraged to read freely,” EveryLibrary shares.For more information, visit EveryLibrary’s calendar of events.
ARL Lists Library Events for Banned Books Week
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) marks Banned Books Week with a roundup of how some “ARL member libraries celebrate Banned Books Week with blog posts, resource lists, and special events.”For more information, read the blog post.
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Brandi Scardilli
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