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Wiley journal renewal now includes open access publishing options

As part of Washington State University Libraries’ renewal of their Wiley journal contract, WSU authors can now have articles published in roughly 1,400 different Wiley journals using an open access license without paying an article processing charge (APC). The service is available until the end of 2024, barring a cancellation of the Wiley package.

To cover publication costs, Wiley open access journals typically charge a publication fee. The APC is the price an author, institution, or funder pays on acceptance for publication of an open access article.

“Based on WSU’s past publishing patterns, it is estimated that if all WSU authors were to pay APCs for each of the articles published in these Wiley journals in this upcoming year, it would have cost WSU researchers $518,560,” according to Joel Cummings, WSU Libraries’ head of collection development. “The estimated savings to WSU researchers who have been paying APCs is roughly $150,000 a year. Through this renewal, WSU will continue to have the expansive access to Wiley journals, which remains one of the most used journal platforms at WSU.”

WSU Libraries received support this fiscal year from WSU’s Offices of the President and Provost to offset journal price inflation and to prevent cancellation of large journal packages. As a result, the libraries were able to renew their contract with Wiley, which would have been difficult without additional funding, Cummings said.

“Selecting the open access option in this renewal will cost the WSU Libraries a little more, but the price was still significantly below the average serial price increases that academic libraries face,” he added. “Overall, this should save WSU money by removing the need for researchers to individually fund APCs for their research, as many have been doing.”

Other publishers besides Wiley are entering into “transformative deals” like this one, Cummings said. The WSU Libraries haven’t entered into many open access publishing agreements to date; current agreements are described in an online library guide.

The Wiley open access publishing agreement is intended to promote the research being published by WSU researchers by making it accessible to everyone with an internet connection free of charge, he said. In general, research has shown that open access research tends to increase citation impact.

“Additionally, this service assists researchers in meeting funder mandates that may require funded research to be published open access,” Cummings said. “Researchers will not have to use their own grant funds or other funds to publish their research under an open access license via this publisher.”

To make an article open access within the Wiley submission process, please refer to a brief guide available online.

Research Square and Aries Systems Support Authors, Publishers through AI-based Digital Editing

Research Square, an innovative quality service provider for the global research community, is pleased to announce its partnership with Aries Systems, a leading technology provider of workflow management solutions for scholarly publishers, to improve the quality of submitted research.

Hundreds of thousands of hours are spent each year drafting proposals and manuscripts for publication. To support researchers with scientific and technical writing, Research Square’s Digital Editing tool, an artificial intelligence-based language check service, will be integrated with Aries’ Editorial Manager® (EM), the leading cloud-based manuscript submission and peer-review tracking system. The integration will automate the improvement of language quality of scholarly content while maintaining accuracy – saving Authors valuable time and strengthening confidence in their submissions.

Authors taking advantage of this feature within Editorial Manager will enable the rapid evaluation of their content through the AI-based editing service, providing a language quality score indicating the extent to which Digital Editing would improve their manuscript. Authors can review and implement suggested changes to grammar, diction, clarity, consistency, phrasing, punctuation, spelling, and word choice, and then proceed in the editorial workflow with the improved version.
Authors who subscribe to Digital Editing can automatically edit an unlimited number of research manuscripts, dissertations, grant proposals, and other technical and scientific works for a full year.

Research Square Digital Editing tool has been trained across more than 2,000 areas of study and through millions of edits by expert editors with degrees across hundreds of scientific disciplines. A subscription is a perfect fit for the iterative nature of research.

“Integrating digital editing into editorial workflows benefits everyone involved in the research publication process,” said Rachel Burley, President of Research Square Company. “It makes it easier for editors and peer reviewers to assess the research, reduces the time it takes for manuscript triage and increases the chances of the paper being accepted by the journal.”

“Aries is thrilled with the addition of Digital Editing to our growing ecosystem of integrated manuscript evaluation tools through our collaboration with Research Square,” stated Aries Vice President of Product Management, Nathan Westgarth.

“This best-in-class machine learning technology will not only enhance the quality of published research but make the editorial workflow more efficient and accurate for Editorial Manager users.”

Springer Nature and Figshare announce pilot to improve data sharing

Springer Nature and Figshare have launched a free pilot to better support authors in making their data openly available. Authors submitting to a number of Nature research journals and Academic Journals will now be able to easily opt into data sharing, via Figshare, as part of one integrated submission process.

The availability of data is central to open science and integral to the reproducibility of research and therefore the advancement of knowledge. Research on the impact of data sharing shows that when data is openly available, articles receive over 25% more citations. However, despite the positive impact of sharing data and willingness from authors, less than 40% actually make their data available. Reasons for this include a lack of understanding, difficulties in how to deposit data, convoluted processes, or challenges around correctly linking data and articles.

This pilot builds on a longstanding commitment from Springer Nature to open data – including automatic deposition of supplementary Information for BMC and SpringerOpen journals, enhanced curation support for authors and integration at our flagship data journal Scientific Data. 

Speaking of the pilot, Meredith LeMasurier, Vice President Journals, Fully OA Portfolio commented:

“Open Data has an essential role in increasing the credibility of research – validating data so that researchers can trust it, and combating scientific misinformation so that wider society can trust it. Yet there are still some barriers and hesitations around both the development and adoption of open data and open research solutions. 

“Integrating data sharing more seamlessly into an author’s submission workflow removes the challenge faced by many authors of having to find a suitable repository, registering and linking data – all admin heavy tasks. It supports straightforward and simple guidance, drives best practice, improves data sharing and creates a better foundation for reader engagement. We are incredibly proud to be collaborating further with Figshare to help develop standards, tools and services to better support sustainable open research, and therefore open science practice.“

The pilot will initially include Nature research journals and Academic Journals portfolios, across the fields of neuroscience, ecology and evolution, chemistry, energy, cancer and transplantation. Working closely with researchers throughout, the pilot will explore and test out more integrated ways for data sharing.

“It’s inspiring to see incremental leaps in the Nature Research and Academic Journals team. The fact that hard work is going into making life easier for researchers, as well as moving towards sustainable, open research data is massively encouraging”, said Mark Hahnel, Figshare CEO.

Scientific journal Nature to expand presence at Hay Festival, bringing science communicators together to inspire and inform

Leading international journal of science, Nature – part of publisher Springer Nature – will this year expand its partnership with Hay Festival. Events at Hay Festival 2022, running 26 May – 5 June in Hay-on-Wye, will support a wider range of exceptional communicators of science to attend and present their work.

For the fourth year running, Nature will support the John Maddox Science lecture, one of the festival’s headline lectures and a staple of the Hay Festival calendar. Named in honour of John Maddox, Nature’s editor-in-chief for a total of 22 years,this year’s lecture will be presented by Professor Devi Sridhar, drawing from her book Preventable: The Politics of Pandemics and How to Stop the Next One. Sridhar has risen to prominence for her vital roles in communicating science to the public and speaking truth to power. Dr Ritu Dhand, Chief Scientific Officer at Springer Nature, will introduce the lecture, which takes place on Sunday 29th May at 1pm.

This year, the association between Nature and the festival will take in a wider variety of topic areas under the theme ‘Imagine…Nature’. Forming part of the Hay Festival’s larger programme of Imagine events, Nature will support three sustainability-themed talks and panels on climate crisis and denial, nature as a human right and the relationship between birds and people through history.

Andy Fryers, Sustainability Director of Hay Festival, said “It has never been more important for scientists and researchers to present their work, accessibly, to the general public and as a Festival we’ve seen an increased interest in sustainability-related topics in recent years. We’re delighted to have Nature partner with us on bringing some vital and fascinating topics to our Hay Festival audience this year.”

Thea Sherer, Director of Sustainability at Nature’s publisher Springer Nature said “We’re proud of our association with Hay Festival, and of supporting brilliant science communicators who can inspire people to take action on issues like climate change and biodiversity loss. We also greatly appreciate the opportunity to demonstrate the power of publishing when it comes to influencing positive change to visitors coming to Hay-on-Wye from all around the world.”

Frontiers announces first journal acquisition: Oncology Reviews

The open-access publisher Frontiers has acquired the journal Oncology Reviews from PAGEPress. The acquisition marks a significant milestone for Frontiers. It is the first journal the publisher has acquired since it was founded in 2007. Oncology Reviews is also Frontiers’ first proprietary Reviews journal, aiming to publish highly impactful reviews, thought-provoking editorials and opinion pieces.

Dr. Frederick Fenter, chief executive editor of Frontiers, said: “Our successful experience with supporting the journals of learned societies on our open-science platform has now made it possible to pursue our mission via the strategic acquisition of existing journals. The quality and reputation of Oncology Reviews is excellent, and I look forward to welcoming its outstanding panel of editorial board members and its editor-in-chief, Dr. Camillo Porta, to our community.” 

Launched in 1970, Oncology Reviews publishes authoritative reviews on preclinical and clinical aspects of oncology. Commenting on the acquisition, editor-in-chief, Dr. Porta said: “Working with Frontiers and their open-access platform is an important moment for our journal. I am confident their platform and their passion for quality, collaboration, and open access is the start of something exciting that will enable us to reach new heights.”

Oncology Reviews is a popular choice for authors seeking an impactful venue for Reviews and Mini-Review article types. Amongst others, it is indexed in The Emerging Sources Citation Index; PubMed Central; Directory of Open Access Journals; and Scopus. 

Dr. Franck Vazquez, director of partnerships at Frontiers, commented: “We are excited to take over the publication of Oncology Reviews from PAGEPress and to welcoming it onto our open access platform. We are also pleased to be able to offer Oncology Reviews as an additional option in the Frontiers’ oncology journal portfolio and expand our service to the oncology research communities.”

Elsevier Foundation invests in early career researchers

The Elsevier Foundation, funded by Elsevier, a global leader in research publishing and information analytics, is investing more than half a million dollars this year to support inclusive career progression through a series of innovative partnerships, which will nurture early career researchers’ (ECRs’) ability to secure funding, expand their networks, gain recognition and increase representation in their field.

The newest set of partnerships build upon Elsevier’s 2022 I&D Advisory Board Report, which highlights the need to support women and other underrepresented groups in academic research. Evidence from Elsevier’s global gender report, “The researcher journey through a gender lens”, published in 2020, indicates that while the representation of women in research is increasing, substantial inequality remains in terms of output, citations, awarded grants and collaborations—especially in the physical sciences and engineering. Women researchers and scientists were further disadvantaged during the pandemic, often bearing a disproportionate burden of family care; structural racism also continues to be a prevalent stressor for researchers of color, who already feel isolated in many fields and disciplines.

Based on these findings, the Elsevier Foundation is investing in seven new partnerships in Japan, China, Singapore, Germany, the UK and the US that will address the specific challenges faced by ECRs in their regions, providing localized approaches. The new partnerships will each receive up to $50,000 USD a year and build on the Foundation’s existing ECR portfolio, which includes the OWSD Elsevier Foundation Awards for Early Career women scientists from developing countries, Water First! workshops for African women scientists, TWAS – Women in Climate Action research grants and theChemistry for Climate Action Challenge, in addition to many STEM pipeline programs focused on today’s youth.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to address the issues that underrepresented researchers face as they embark on their careers. Challenges differ around the world: this is why the Foundation has elected to support a variety of partners ranging from the Falling Walls Foundation to the Asian Scientist Magazine and Vitae, a UK nonprofit that champions the needs of ethnic minority ECRs.

Dr. Juliana Chan, Publisher of the Asian Scientist Magazine, said: “‘The Asian Scientist-Elsevier Foundation Salon for Leadership in STEM’ is anchored on raw conversations. With support from the Elsevier Foundation, we will create a safe space for women in STEM to exchange ideas, find inspiration and support one another in their professional journeys.”

Ylann Schemm, Director of the Elsevier Foundation, added: “To really build a sustainable future, we need researchers to be representative of all of society – ensuring that talented people are not disadvantaged because of their gender, race or ethnicity. 

“By taking an integrated, intersectional and evidence-based approach to supporting career progression, we can work with the research community to help build a truly inclusive research landscape. Ultimately, our goal is to capture the learning from our new set of projects and disseminate them widely, so that the research community can benefit and leverage our investment even more.”

Finland and Frontiers establish a national Open Access agreement 

Finland expands Frontiers’ Nordic cohort and joins ranks with Norway and Sweden in their commitment to Open Science.

Facilitated by FinELib consortium and commencing on 1st April, this three-year agreement will allow academics from participating institutions to utilize all the benefits of open access while enjoying simplified processes and discounted fees for their institutions while publishing with Frontiers, the world’s third most-cited publisher.  

“As more Finnish researchers choose to publish their research with Frontiers, we are delighted to be able to offer significant benefits to the community of scholars. We already have successful collaboration with a few Finnish institutions and look forward to welcoming new ones to Frontiers’ partnerships program,” says Ronald Buitenhuis, Frontiers’ head of institutional partnerships. 

In addition to easy compliance, immediate access, and rapid dissemination, the Article Processing Charges (APCs) for authors affiliated with the participating institutions and paid for by the institution will be granted a 10% partnership discount. Ten organizations have already joined, including leading universities and hospitals, and we expect more Finnish research institutions and universities to follow. All participating institutions will benefit from the same terms and conditions, regardless of size or research output.  

“This partnership with Finland reinforces Europe’s leading and visionary transition to Open Science,” comments Dr. Frederick Fenter, chief executive editor at Frontiers. “By providing immediate and unrestricted access to the latest research, we can amplify Open Science’s power to inform, educate, and progress.”  

Arja Tuuliniemi, head of services at FinELib consortium, mentions, “Facilitating cooperation with gold open-access publishers is an important route to reaching the goal of immediate Open Access. The agreement with Frontiers is our first partnership with a pure OA publisher, and it certainly puts us in a stronger position of accomplishing Finnish research community’s executive plan of Open Access to Scholarly Publications.” 

For Frontiers, this agreement becomes the eighth national publishing partnership adding to the current set of national arrangements with Austria, Luxembourg, Norway, Qatar, Sweden, the UK, Switzerland and 10 additional consortia partnerships, including three with leading funders (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Austrian Science Fund [FWF], and the Luxembourg National Fund), providing seamless and cost-effective access of Frontiers’ services to over 600 individual institutions worldwide. Frontiers’ bold engagement in supporting institutions in building the frameworks and infrastructure necessary for a global transition to Open Access continues.  

SPIE chooses Charlesworth to provide WeChat marketing services in China

SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, has chosen Charlesworth to provide WeChat marketing services to promote their journals and events in China.

SPIE, a not-for-profit society, advances emerging technologies through interdisciplinary information exchange, conferences and exhibitions, continuing education, publications, patent precedent, and career and professional development.

Charlesworth will provide WeChat marketing services via their marketing agency team based in Beijing. The Charlesworth team has extensive experience of the STM research market matched with knowledge of the latest marketing thinking to create a WeChat presence that engages the researcher community.

The Charlesworth Group CEO Michael Evans commented, “Charlesworth is excited to be working with SPIE to manage and create a WeChat experience that supports the optics and photonics research community in China through engaging them with SPIE journal content and promoting SPIE events.”

“SPIE has a large cohort of Chinese members, authors, and volunteers, and we’re excited to be able to communicate with them about our publications and conferences on a familiar and widely used platform,” said Patrick Franzen, SPIE Director of Publications and Platform.

Springer Nature expands fully OA portfolio with new medical technologies title 

As the largest publisher of open access (OA) primary research, Springer Nature continues to explore new outlets and platforms for the advancement of scientific discovery. BMC’s (part of Springer Nature) latest addition to the fully OA journal portfolio BMC Digital Health, is a key example of that. Providing a venue for research on virtual healthcare, wearable technology, as well as the role of social media and other communications technology in digital health – this journal will sit at the cutting edge of research around developments in digital medical practice. 

Speaking on the launch of the new title, Maria Hodges, Executive Editor at BMC said:

“BMC has been leading on open access publishing for more than 20 years, having been the first commercial publisher to pioneer a sustainable OA model. That model soon became the industry standard, and today we continue to take a progressive, innovative and community led approach, expanding our commitment to open research. Joining our portfolio of some 300 peer-reviewed journals, Digital Health is an exciting new area. The journal will enable multiple stakeholders – from clinicians and researchers to policymakers and health informaticians – to connect, discover and access information that can transform medical and health practices.” 

Launching in April, BMC Digital Health, led by Dr Alison Cuff, will be operating under transparent peer review and open data policies. In alignment with the WHO’s Global Strategy on Digital Health, BMC Digital Health will drive forward evidence-based innovation in healthcare and medicine by bringing together researchers from diverse disciplines and industries. As a new fully OA title, the journal will complement Springer Nature’s comprehensive portfolio of around 600 OA journals, including Nature Communications and Scientific Reports.

Alison Mitchell, Chief Journals Officer, Springer Nature said:

“We remain committed to playing an active role in the OA transition, by developing sustainable routes to publication, or through the launch of new OA books or journals. We know that there are real benefits to authors when publishing OA, from increased citations, higher numbers of downloads and greater overall impact. Expanding our fully OA offering enables us to continue to support authors with the outlet they want, in the format they need, for the development and engagement of the latest robust and insightful research. Our OA offering also helps us support the development of new areas of knowledge, making ideas and information accessible around the globe.”

More on the portfolio of fully OA and hybrid titles can be found at the respective links, more on BMC’s portfolio can be foundhere.

cOAlition S and ALPSP publish toolkit to foster Open Access agreements

Smaller independent publishers, libraries, and consortia can now more easily enter into Open Access agreements thanks to a set of new tools published by cOAlition S and the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP). Commenting on the publication of the toolkit, Colleen Campbell, coordinator of the OA2020 Initiative, said: “In order to foster a diverse, open scholarly publishing landscape, libraries and consortia need to broaden the scope of their negotiation strategies to embrace smaller independent publishers, but tailoring each agreement can take considerable time and resources. Shared standards and greater automation are required, and these tools give us a sound foundation from which to build.”

The toolkit addresses this need for automation with the following materials: 

  • • A report (download or view), containing shared principles for developing an OA agreement; a data template; six example licences ready to be used and adapted as necessary; and a list of the many librarians and publishers who have contributed to the development of the toolkit. 
  • A detailed workflow (download or view) providing an overview of the entire process, from contract negotiation to achieving compliance with funder policies and reporting to libraries.

The toolkit was developed by Information Power, working together with librarians, publishers and library consortia in the framework of the third phase of the Society Publishers Accelerating Open Access (SPA OPS 3.0) project, commissioned by cOAlition S and the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP).

PubHive Eases Aggregate Reporting Oversight with KPI Analytics

Cloud-based software platform PubHive Navigator boosts existing aggregate reporting oversight capabilities with addition of key performance indicator (KPI) analytics for global and local periodic product safety report tracking

PubHive Ltd., a cloud-based software company, today announced a new enhancement to its cloud software platform, unveiling a new aggregate reporting tracker analytics dashboard with interactive charts that provide drug safety teams with anytime-anywhere visibility into the status of reports by product, geographic location, report type and other variables. The platform’s new tracker analytics capabilities are available to PubHive customers that maintain an active software subscription license to either the platform’s drug safety and pharmacovigilance module or the module’s individual end-to-end solutions for aggregate reporting, pharmacovigilance literature search and management, and safety signaling.

“Aggregate reporting oversight procedures that are employed by most drug safety and pharmacovigilance teams todayare complex, matrixed, and highly manual, which makes it increasingly difficult to maintain compliance with requisite global and local regulations and requirements,” said Raj Vaghela, President and CEO at PubHive Ltd. “As a robust workflow automation platform, PubHive Navigator makes strategic oversight and the complex work that is being performed much easier, both for aggregate reporting and medical writing. The platform’s recent on-demand aggregate report tracker analytics and automated report scheduling enhancements are just the newest ways that PubHive is delivering unique value to life science organizations that license access to our flexible platform.”

As part of aggregate reporting responsibilities, cumulative safety information from multiple sources is reviewed on a periodic basis with findings submitted to regulators. Reports focus on an overview, assessment of the safety profile and benefit-risk evaluation of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and Serious Adverse Event (SAEs) for post-marketed and pre-marketed products. Supported report types include Periodic Safety Update Reports (PSUR), Periodic Benefit Risk Evaluation Reports (PBRER), Development Safety Update Reports (DSUR), Periodic Adverse Drug Experience Report (PADER), Suspected Unexpected Serious Adverse Reaction (SUSAR), and others.

PubHive Ltd. is a cloud-based software company with a mission to make healthier literature and scientific information pathways for life science companies across all stages of the commercialization lifecycle – from discovery to post-market. PubHive Navigator, the company’s scientific workflow automation platform, optimizes existing business processes and automates repetitive work for teams in drug safety and pharmacovigilance, medical affairs, regulatory affairs, research and development, information management, and other divisions. 

To learn more about PubHive and the PubHive Navigator platform, visit the company’s website at pubhive.com.

Health Education England has arranged for BMJ Best Practice to continue to provide clinical decision support to all NHS staff and learners in England for a further two years

All healthcare professionals need to be able to use the latest evidence-based information so that they can be confident in making sound clinical decisions to improve patient outcomes. At the same time generalists, early career professionals and learners all value the opportunity to gain a quick overview of a topic, revise their knowledge, reflect on and share reliable information with patients. 

Given the sheer volume of new health information and the time pressures on teams, Health Education England provides BMJ Best Practice as a practical tool to help NHS staff and learners meet the changing and more complex needs of patients, and maximise NHS resources, together resulting in better care for patients.

BMJ Best Practice is an award-winning resource. It gives healthcare professionals quick and easy access to the latest clinical information to underpin diagnosis and treatment decisions. Updated daily, it draws on the latest evidence-based research, guidelines and expert opinion to offer step-by-step guidance on diagnosis, prognosis, treatment and prevention. It can also be integrated with electronic health record systems for fast access within clinical workflows. 

BMJ Best Practice is the only Clinical Decision Support tool that has been procured at a national level for England. Please visit bestpractice.bmj.com for further information.

Sue Lacey Bryant, National Lead for NHS Knowledge and Library Services, said:

“It was an extraordinary step forward for HEE to enable equitable access to clinical decision support as a core reference within the digital knowledge resources offered right across England. Over the past three years, we have seen how successful the rollout of BMJ Best Practice has been. We want to keep that momentum going, focusing next on increasing the level of integration of BMJ Best Practice into the clinical workflow. It is so important that multidisciplinary teams and all healthcare learners, including doctors in training, are confident to reach out to clinical evidence summaries for patient care and to help with their learning, wherever they work and whatever their profession or specialty.”

Louise Crowe, Director of Knowledge, BMJ, said: 

“We are thrilled to see the positive impact BMJ Best Practice has on the daily practice of healthcare professionals across England. This is a result of the strong partnership between HEE and BMJ, with the shared goal of creating a better supported and knowledgeable clinical workforce and ultimately leading to better health outcomes for patients.

Available on web and app, and increasingly as part of the clinical workflow through electronic health systems, we have seen engagement and usage of BMJ Best Practice significantly increase since over the past three years.”

There is growing evidence of the effectiveness of integrating clinical decision support into electronic systems that healthcare professionals use. A recent study by Tao et al. showed that the clinical decision support systems (CDSS) integrated with BMJ Best Practice improved the accuracy of clinicians’ diagnoses. Shorter confirmed diagnosis times and hospitalisation days were also found to be associated with CDSS implementation in retrospective real-world studies. 

All NHS staff and learners in England can use BMJ Best Practice for free, funded by Health Education England (HEE). Find out more at bmj.com/hee or log on at bestpractice.bmj.com. NHS staff click ‘Log In’ then select ‘OpenAthens’. Once logged in, create a personal account to download the app. 

Help and support: Contact your local NHS library and knowledge service: https://www.hlisd.org or BMJ support: support.bmj.com. To register for a free NHS OpenAthens account go to https://openathens.nice.org.uk/. 

Feedback: As stewards of national investment in digital knowledge resources for the NHS, HEE welcomes feedback from individuals, Trusts and partner organisations to help us understand the value and impact of this resource in practice. Please share your feedback with your NHS regional library lead by emailing kfh.england@hee.nhs.uk. For more information about our work go to https://www.hee.nhs.uk/our-work/library-knowledge-services.

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