This week, hundreds of librarians, publishers, and vendors have congregated in the UK city of Glasgow to attend the annual UK Serials Group (UKSG). A fixture on the scholarly communications events circuit for many years, there was a clear sense this year that things are under strain, and a once vibrant industry is going through a period of transition.
First, there is the name – does anyone really talk about ‘serials’ these days? Then there were a myriad stories of people leaving the industry, budget cuts meaning librarians couldn’t afford to take the trip to Glasgow, and geopolitical events that gave the overriding impression of uncertainty and concern about our collective long-term future.
Twin aspirations
Two themes that were constant, though, were issues of trust and integrity. These have, of course, been ever-present concerns at such gatherings as UKSG, but rather than being very much in the background, they are now front and center. You could see this with the plenaries that were delivered at the conference, which focused on sustainability, funding for Open Access, digital preservation, and even disaster readiness.
Indeed, in her introduction to delegates in the conference program, UKSG Chair Charlie Rapple identified ‘Big Hairy Problems’ facing the industry, such as de-funding, censorship, fraudulent behavior (e.g., predatory publishers), and even natural disasters. It was difficult in the face of such monumental issues to argue with her rallying call for collaboration in the industry to meet these challenges head-on, especially when it comes to growing trust in research and building integrity into education systems and workflows.
Future focus
For our part, Cabells has endeavored to tackle some of these issues by engendering trust in its data and platform for its users, especially when it comes to the integrity of journals. While the threat to that integrity can be clearly seen in the 20,000+ journals that are now listed in our Predatory Reports database, we have always tried to identify where integrity and trust can be found in the journals we index across our Journalytics suite of products.
At UKSG, we highlighted this with the publication of our first White Paper, which looked at optimal pathways for researchers, librarians, research managers, and funders in choosing which publications offer the best fit when it comes to social media influence and citation sentiment. The White Paper – which can be downloaded for free below – includes three case studies that help users see how new technology can help with decision-making processes across a curated set of publications. This is only possible due to the strategic partnerships Cabells has developed with other information providers.
The scholarly communications industry is very different from what it was nearly 50 years ago when Cabells started out as a publisher of journal directories. However, the importance of trust and integrity has never been greater, and if further collaboration in the industry through partnerships, task forces, and the like can mitigate the threats coming from all sides, there is hope for the future for all concerned.