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Weekly News Digest
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October 30, 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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NISO Names Alondra Nelson as Its 2026 Miles Conrad Lecturer
The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) announced that “Alondra Nelson, Harold F. Linder Chair in the School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study, is our 2026 Miles Conrad Awardee. The award is named for the founder of the National Federation of Abstracting and Indexing Services (NFAIS), which merged with NISO in 2019, and recognizes distinguished lifetime achievement in moving us toward a world where all can benefit from the unfettered exchange of information. Dr. Nelson will receive the award and deliver the Miles Conrad Lecture on February 17 during the 2026 NISO Plus conference in Baltimore.” For more information, read the press release.
NPR Reports on Books Restored to Five Military Base School Libraries
Elizabeth Blair writes the following in “Books About Race and Gender to Be Returned to School Libraries on Some Military Bases” for NPR: A federal judge ordered the Department of Defense Monday to return books about gender and race back to five school libraries on military bases. In April, 12 students at schools on military bases in Virginia, Kentucky, Italy and Japan claimed their First Amendment rights had been violated when nearly 600 books were removed from the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools they attend. The students are the children of active duty service members ranging from pre-K to 11th grade. For more information, read the article.
ZDNET Explores the Effects of AI on Open Source Software
David Gewirtz writes the following in “Why Open Source May Not Survive the Rise of Generative AI” for ZDNET:Nearly all of [digital infrastructure] is based on free and open source software, what the industry calls FOSS. This is code built by enormously collaborative communities, driven by coders who use the fruits of FOSS and who also actively contribute back bug fixes and improvements. … For my deep dive on the Sora 2 issues, I had the chance to speak with Sean O’Brien, founder of the Yale Privacy Lab at Yale Law School. … Sean says that AI code generation is now creating a culture of willful blindness to FOSS licensing in the first place, if not outright animosity toward licenses like the GNU GPL (one of the main licenses that govern open source code). For more information, read the article.
Sage and Sense about Science Create a Guide for Information Curators
Sage shares, “A guide championing the role of information curators … as they help people navigate today’s complex information landscape, has been launched by the campaigning charity Sense about Science and independent academic publisher Sage.”The press release continues, “The People’s Case for Curators makes the case for ‘public-good curators’ including librarians, editors, research integrity officers, specialist journalists. Their careful, principled work helps society find reliable information through transparent and accountable processes, standing in stark contrast to the hidden, algorithm-driven curation that shapes social media feeds.” It is based on insights from curators, who showcase “the urgent need to make their work more visible and valued with recommended actions for how to be a part of the solution.” For more information, read the press release.
Lucidea Helps Special Libraries Articulate Their Value
Lauren Hays writes the following in “How to Articulate the Value of Special Libraries Through Storytelling” for Lucidea’s Think Clearly blog: Communicating the value of special libraries requires ongoing effort, especially as technology evolves, workflows shift, and budgets tighten. As information professionals, we’re often called on to justify our work and explain how our efforts advance organizational goals. [In this blog post] are my ideas for how to share your library’s value through data, context, and storytelling to make its contributions visible and meaningful. For more information, read the blog post.
Open Library of Humanities Marks Its 10th Birthday
The Open Library of Humanities published an article in its journal to celebrate its 10th anniversary titled “Editorial Freedom in Academic Publishing: On the First Decade of the Open Library of Humanities.” It was written by editorial director Rose Harris-Birtill.Harris-Birtill shares, “On 28th September 2015, the Open Library of Humanities journal … published its first article, an editorial outlining a bold new venture in academic publishing. [T]his article launched a fledgling diamond open access megajournal, adapting the format to showcase peer-reviewed scholarship across the humanities. … [T]he journal would serve as the flagship title in an innovative new open access publishing model. This venture would set out to prove that scholarly journal publishing in the humanities could operate sustainably, without charging authors to publish their works, and without charging readers to access the articles—making knowledge freely available to all.” For more information, read the article.
IFLA Announces London as 2027 WLIC Location
IFLA announced that London, U.K., will be the site of its 2027 World Library and Information Congress (WLIC).“What started in Edinburgh in 1927 continues on to London in 2027!” IFLA notes. “2027 is IFLA’s Centenary year, marking 100 years since the original 15 library associations came together to create the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. From that moment in 1927, a global movement for libraries and librarians was born; one that continues to champion knowledge, librarianship and global library community. How fitting that IFLA WLIC 2027 brings us back to the country where it all began!” For more information, read the news item.
CABI Rolls Out an Evidence Synthesis Skills Framework
CABI launched an Evidence Synthesis Skills Framework. “It is designed to help people and organizations develop and embed a common language around evidence synthesis skills. Policy and practice are increasingly framed by evidence synthesis, so training in related best practices is key to strengthening capacity and supporting existing research networks,” CABI’s news item states.In addition, “The Evidence Synthesis Skills Framework sets out the skills needed across the range of job roles within evidence synthesis teams. It is aimed at researchers, students, librarians and information specialists. It is also intended for practitioners such as data scientists, information scientists and project managers. The framework can be used to develop job descriptions, to support personal career planning and training needs analysis, to find courses and identify gaps in educational provision.” For more information, read the news item.
Wiley Introduces Researcher-Backed Guidance on Responsible and Intentional AI Use
Wiley “set new standards for responsible and intentional AI use, delivering comprehensive guidelines specifically designed with and for research authors, journal editors, and peer reviewers.” The press release continues, “As AI usage among researchers surges to 84%, Wiley is responding directly to the pressing need for publisher guidance articulated by 73% of respondents in the most recent ExplanAItions study. Building on similar advisement for book authors published in March 2025, and shaped by ExplanAItions findings, Wiley’s new guidance draws from more than 40 in-depth interviews with research authors and editors across various disciplines, as well as the company’s experts in AI, research integrity, copyright and permissions.” For more information, read the press release.
ACRL Rolls Out New AI Competencies for Academic Library Workers
The ACRL Board of Directors approved new AI Competencies for Academic Library Workers in October 2025. The Foreword states, “In July 2024, the ACRL AI Competencies for Library Workers Task Force was created to develop comprehensive AI competencies for library workers that align with the evolving needs of academic libraries in the context of AI integration. … While AI offers opportunities for innovation and efficiency, it also presents significant ethical, social, and environmental challenges that academic library workers must critically engage with. This engagement is becoming unavoidable. …” For more information, read the competencies.
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Brandi Scardilli
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