EN

Open access publishing in an African context: Notable improvements and recurring challenges

Posted on by Hans Dillaerts

Authors : Sodiq Onaolapo, Philips Ayeni, Siphamandla Mncube

Open access publishing has been promoted as a pivotal means of bridging the gap in knowledge access and usage. Despite the growing support for open access publishing globally, little is known about African scholars’ engagement with open access publishing and the barriers limiting their open access publishing practices.

Using a survey research design, data was collected from 241 researchers from selected universities in Africa, such as Nigerian, Kenyan and South African universities. The data was collected using online surveys and analysed using the descriptive statistics of frequency counts and percentages. T

he study reveals that while most of the respondents had published open access articles (78.01%) and had a positive perception of the quality of open access journals (73.45%) and editorial teams, more than half were still limited by article processing charges (58.51%) as they had no funding for their research.

Although African researchers are embracing open access publishing more now than they were historically, barriers such as article processing charges and the prolonged response time from reviewers continue to pose a serious challenge to open access uptake in Africa. This study proposes five recommendations for improving open access uptake in African and Global South countries.

URL : Open access publishing in an African context: Notable improvements and recurring challenges

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1177/03400352251351113

EN

Linking Data Citation to Repository Visibility: An Empirical Study

Posted on by Hans Dillaerts

Authors  : Fakhri Momeni, Janete Saldanha Bach, Brigitte Mathiak, Peter Mutschke

In today’s data-driven research landscape, dataset visibility and accessibility play a crucial role in advancing scientific knowledge. At the same time, data citation is essential for maintaining academic integrity, acknowledging contributions, validating research outcomes, and fostering scientific reproducibility.

As a critical link, it connects scholarly publications with the datasets that drive scientific progress. This study investigates whether repository visibility influences data citation rates. We hypothesize that repositories with higher visibility, as measured by search engine metrics, are associated with increased dataset citations.

Using OpenAlex data and repository impact indicators (including the visibility index from Sistrix, the h-index of repositories, and citation metrics such as mean and median citations), we analyze datasets in Social Sciences and Economics to explore their relationship. Our findings suggest that datasets hosted on more visible web domains tend to receive more citations, with a positive correlation observed between web domain visibility and dataset citation counts, particularly for datasets with at least one citation. However, when analyzing domain-level citation metrics, such as the h-index, mean, and median citations, the correlations are inconsistent and weaker.

While higher visibility domains tend to host datasets with greater citation impact, the distribution of citations across datasets varies significantly. These results suggest that while visibility plays a role in increasing citation counts, it is not the sole factor influencing dataset citation impact. Other elements, such as dataset quality, research trends, and disciplinary norms, can also contribute to citation patterns.

URL : Linking Data Citation to Repository Visibility: An Empirical Study

DOI : https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2506.09530

EN

Works-magnet: Accelerating Metadata Curation for Open Science

Posted on by Hans Dillaerts

Author : Eric Jeangirard

The transition to Open Science necessitates robust and reliable metadata. While national initiatives, such as the French Open Science Monitor, aim to track this evolution using open data, reliance on proprietary databases persists in many places. Open platforms like OpenAlex still require significant human intervention for data accuracy.

This paper introduces Works-magnet, a project by the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research (MESR) Data Science & Engineering Team. Works-magnet is designed to accelerate the curation of bibliographic and research data metadata, particularly affiliations, by making automated AI calculations visible and correctable.

It addresses challenges related to metadata heterogeneity, complex processing chains, and the need for human curation in a diverse research landscape. The paper details Works-magnet’s concepts, and the observed limitations, while outlining future directions for enhancing open metadata quality and reusability.

The works-magnet app is open source on github this https URL

Arxiv : https://www.arxiv.org/abs/2506.14430

EN

Attitudes towards Open Access Books in the European Research Area

Posted on by Hans Dillaerts

Authors : Gabriela Manist, Maciej Mary, Magdalena Wnuk

This paper examines the challenges and opportunities of publishing Open Access (OA) books within the European Research Area (ERA), drawing on data collected through the PALOMERA project. Despite the growing interest in OA books, the landscape remains fragmented due to a lack of clear policies.

National policies are often sparse, with institutional and funder mandates typically focused on journal articles rather than monographs. An issue also highlighted is the marginalisation of non-English language works, which receive significantly less visibility than English-language publications.

Additionally, the perceived prestige of OA monographs remains a concern, with some scholars viewing them as less reputable than traditionally published works. This paper synthesises findings from 42 in-depth interviews to offer an overview of the current state of OA book publishing in Europe. It identifies areas for policy improvement to foster a more inclusive and sustainable OA landscape.

URL : Attitudes towards Open Access Books in the European Research Area

DOI : https://doi.org/10.53377/lq.21719

EN

Making Reproducibility a Reality by 2035? Enabling Publisher Collaboration for Enhanced Data Policy Enforcement

Posted on by Hans Dillaerts

Authors : Rebecca Taylor-Grant, Matthew Cannon, Allyson Lister, Susanna-Assunta Sansone

This paper describes a project which identified practical and pragmatic ways to increase the FAIRness and reproducibility of published research. Academic journals have supported Open Science through the implementation of data sharing policies for over ten years; some evidence has since emerged on the additional time, resources and expertise that policy enforcement requires as part of an editorial workflow.

A series of publisher workshops facilitated by the EC-funded TIER2 project aimed to identify the key checks needed to enforce strengthened journal data sharing policies and to understand which editorial roles have the capacity to undertake such enforcement. The intended outcome of this work was to establish the workflows and resourcing which can support academic journals to enforce stronger data sharing policies in future.

URL : Making Reproducibility a Reality by 2035? Enabling Publisher Collaboration for Enhanced Data Policy Enforcement

DOI : https://doi.org/10.2218/ijdc.v19i1.1064

EN

AI and Open Science: Implications and Library Practice

Posted on by Hans Dillaerts

Author : Nicole Helregel

With the increasing proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics research, what are the implications for open science?

As the open science movement advocates for increased transparency and openness in the research process, where do AI and machine learning fit in? And where does that leave library and information science professionals in roles related to open science?

This article explores several approaches and considerations for how AI impacts open science, including whether AI has sufficient openness and transparency to align with the goals of open science, whether AI can be used to further open science goals, and the effects of AI use on researcher and public attitudes and actions.

The article provides recommendations for library practice, including knowledge-building, connections and advocacy, consultations and liaison work, licensing, and science communication and engagement.

URL : AI and Open Science: Implications and Library Practice

DOI : https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/lib.2025.a961191

EN

Generative AI and Open Access Publishing: A New Economic Paradigm

Posted on by Hans Dillaerts

Authors : Leo S. Lo

The integration of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in scholarly publishing presents both opportunities and challenges for open access. AI can streamline workflows, reduce costs, and enhance the discoverability of research, potentially making open access more financially sustainable.

However, the same AI capabilities also raise concerns about exclusivity and the creation of a tiered system that limits access to knowledge. Publishers face a strategic decision between embracing open access and leveraging AI for proprietary content and services.

Libraries play a crucial role in advocating for open access and ethical AI use, building expertise, and influencing policy development. Balancing the benefits of AI with the principles of equity and inclusivity requires collaboration among stakeholders.

By working together, publishers, librarians, and policymakers can harness the power of AI to democratize access to knowledge while upholding ethical standards, fostering a more inclusive and equitable academic community.

URL : Generative AI and Open Access Publishing: A New Economic Paradigm

DOI : https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/lib.2025.a961190