Contents and Leader i Researchnformation October/November 2021 l Issue 116 Covid-19: A catalyst for change? 4


Eighteen months into the pandemic, Rebecca Pool asks: do libraries face an exclusively digital future?


Sponsored content: Springer Nature case study


Flexible eBook solutions and the Coronavirus Staying open to open


science needs


When it comes to platforms, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, writes Hannah Heckner


‘It was time for a fundamental change’


Publisher De Gruyter describes a digital transformation of its business News: publishing platforms


Octopus platform ‘will change research culture’


Sponsored content: Pensoft case study


to embrace new era 14 16 17


ARPHA Platform: the right home for the Metabarcoding and Metagenomics journal Tech focus: Platforms ready


18


Novel content formats are facilitating many different ways to configure the publishing process


More than just a number The future of 20


Citations are much more than just a metric used to price journal subscriptions or APCs, writes Josh Nicholson


evaluative metrics


Gali Halevi discusses the impact of new publishing outlets and formats


Editorial and administrative team Editor: Tim Gillett tim.gillett@europascience.com +44 (0) 1223 221040 Specialist reporter: Rebecca Pool Design: David Houghton/Zöe Andrews Partnership & events executive: Charlie Mitchell charlie.mitchell@europascience.com


Advertising team Advertising manager: Mike Nelson mike.nelson@europascience.com +44 (0) 1223 221039


Corporate team Managing director: Warren Clark


Research Information is published by Europa Science Ltd, 4 Signet Court, Cambridge, CB5 8LA l ISSN 1744-8026 Tel: +44 (0) 1223 211170 l Fax: +44 (0) 1223 213385 Web: www.researchinformation.info


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While every care has been taken in the compilation of this magazine, errors or omissions are not the responsibility of the publishers or of the editorial staff. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the publishers or editorial staff. All rights reserved. Unless specifically stated, goods or services mentioned are not formally endorsed by Europa Science Ltd, which does not guarantee or endorse or accept any liability for any goods and/or services featured in this publication.


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www.researchinformation.info | @researchinfo October/November 2021 Research Information 3 22 10 12


Language as a barrier to publishing?


24


Hilde van Zeeland and Juan Castro describe how natural language processing is changing the game


Malicious mislabelling at the 26 expense of embracing DEI


Diversity, equity and inclusion are at the forefront of every conversation in higher education and academia, writes Nick Newcomer


How can open science help achieve sustainability?


The time for action is now, write Nicola Jones and Nick Campbell


Facing up to digital pollution 34 Liz Martin asks: what can publishers do about the environmental impact of digital content?


Relaunching the academic seminar


Andrew Preston and Ben Kaube tell us about their new venture, Cassyni News


A machination of missives from the scholarly communications industry


Suppliers directory 43 38 40 30


Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) are at the forefront of every conversation in higher education and academia. But for many years DEI has not been a priority, with much of the scholarly landscape created from a Euro- and US-centric viewpoint. In a hard-hitting article on


Page 26 of this issue of Research Information, Nick Newcomer expresses his concern at how organisations happy to embrace under-represented researchers have sometimes been mislabelled by industry commentators, and how an effective ‘boys’ club’ is limiting English-as-a-second language academics, early career researchers and international researchers. The role of the library has been


dramatically affected by the pandemic over the last 18 months – particularly in terms of digital output – and in our lead feature on Page 4 Rebecca Pool ponders whether academic libraries are inevitably moving towards a cloud-based future, and what that will mean for institutions and researchers alike. Elsewhere in this issue there are


articles on publishing platforms, metrics, open peer review, natural language programming and environmental sustainability – and we are delighted to have secured an in-depth interview with Andrew Preston and Ben Kaube about their new project Cassyni, which is aimed at shaking up the world of academic seminars, and building a vibrant and connected ecosystem that enables millions of online (and hybrid) events. One to watch, to be sure.


@researchinfo


Leader: Tim Gillett DEI: help or hindrance?


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