October 1 & 2, 2024
When we ponder what new directions lie ahead for the scholarly communications and publishing industry, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by predictions of radical change and dire risks that won’t be realized for decades into the future. Funding models are being transformed, digital publishing programs are evolving, and user expectations are diversifying. For strategic and pragmatic purposes, this year’s New Directions Seminar will focus on understanding today’s trends and considering their near-term impacts and implications. Instead of prognosticating what a total overhaul of our industry might encompass for future generations, our goal is to generate actionable insights and practical ideas we can use to address the realities of the next <5 years.
Program
Day 1: Tuesday, October 1
10:00 -11:15 am — Opening Remarks and Keynote: Emerging Traits in Scholarly Publishing
Like us, the systems we create evolve over time with selective pressure. Scholarly publishing—notoriously rigid and slow to evolve—now faces its own pressures for change. As researchers and institutions slowly begin to embrace innovation, we are witnessing the emergence of new traits: faster science but also greater transparency; more autonomy, but also more accountability. Preprints are at the core of this revolution. They have empowered scientists to control how, when, and to what extent they share their work and engage with feedback. Now that researchers can share work on their own terms, new possibilities lay before us. This new world of research communication is powered by intuitive tools, enabled by strong metadata, and enhanced by AI. It allows scientists to showcase not just static representations of their findings but the full richness of their work. No longer constrained by artificial limits, researchers can now present dynamic outputs that evolve alongside scientific discovery. But if this is the future we desire, it is up to institutions, funders to support those who make this new paradigm possible and reward those who embrace it. The evolution of scholarly publishing is inevitable, and the time has come. Now all we need is pressure.
Speaker: Michele Avissar-Whiting, Director, Open Science Strategy, HHMI
11:30 am-12:30 pm — New Paradigms in the Shift to Publishing-as-a-Service
In an era where digital transformation is reshaping industries, the publishing sector is evolving from traditional models to dynamic, service-oriented frameworks. This session explores publishing as a service from three perspectives: the evolving expectations of researchers, the adoption of B2C digital tools in open access environments, and the novel role of library publishers. We will discuss how insights from customer research can redefine what authors value, examine the adoption of traditional direct-to-consumer technologies in scholarly communication, and consider the motivations behind library-led publishing initiatives. Join us to understand how these elements enhance service delivery in the scholarly publishing landscape.
Moderator: Anne Gering, Publishing Editor, RTI Press, RTI International
Speakers: Corinne Guimont, Associate Director of Publishing and Digital Scholarship, Virginia Tech, Gwen Logan, Director, Customer Insights, AIP Publishing, Julie Nash, VP, Sales & Partnership Development, Wiley
1:30-2:45 pm — Reverse Roundtables
Reverse roundtable discussions will kick off the afternoon. In-person attendees stay in groups while seminar presenters and organizers rotate, facilitating discussions around three key themes of the conference:
- organizational transformation,
- how publishing is responding to a changing research landscape, and
- developing our workforce.
Facilitators will also be available for virtual roundtables with online attendees. Small-group discussions will focus on changes and disruptions in these areas.
3:00-4:00 pm — Consolidation, Competition, and Cooperation
As the long tail of smaller publishers shortens, new entrants and partnerships are on the rise, plus new competitive dynamics are reshaping our industry. This panel brings together the perspectives of an information scientist, a marketing director, and an industry expert who will discuss the cycle and barriers of a partnership, a bold, new coalition built on purpose above profit, and the consolidation happening in publishing/technology and its impact on competition today. The panel will address problems in common that scholarly communication stakeholders face and would be better solved through partnerships, and the barriers to consolidating these partnerships due to challenges such as power imbalance, conflicts of interest, and competition.
Moderator: Jon Gurstelle, Senior Director of Publications, American Political Science Association
Speakers: Janaynne do Amaral, Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Meredith Lemasurier, SVP, Editorial Development, Taylor and Francis, Laura Ricci, Senior Consultant, Clarke & Esposito, Sara Rouhi, Director of Open Science and Publishing Innovation, AIP Publishing
4:15-5:15 pm — AI: The Scholarly Ally – From Open Science to Global Dissemination
Artificial Intelligence is impacting the world of scholarly publishing from all angles: shaping research and scientific methods to writing manuscripts to peer review and publication. Today we hear from 3 distinct voices across the scientific publishing spectrum—a professor and principal investigator leading AI in open science and governance methods using AI; an industry service provider on AI technologies combined with XML and production; and a publisher’s perspective on AI in publishing with an eye on the author experience. The group will also discuss their views on what the near future will hold.
Moderator: Jamie Devereaux, Senior Journals Manager, Medicine & Public Health, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. Publishers
Speakers: Susan Aaronson, Research Professor and Director, Digital Trade and Data Governance Hub, co-PI NSF Trustworthy AI Institute for Law and Society, George Washington University, Deepika Bajaj, Director, Demand, Field and Channel Marketing, DataCore Software, Daniel Berger, Product Manager, American Chemical Society, Marianne Calilhanna, VP Marketing, Data Conversion Laboratory
Day 2: Wednesday, October 2
9:00-10:00 am — Changing Research Landscapes
Speakers: Jennifer Kemp, Director, Consulting Services, Strategies for Open Science, Jenny Peng, Executive Publisher, Oxford University Press, Maurice Johnson, Social Scientist, FDA, Anna Hatch, Program Officer, Open Science StrategyHoward Hughes Medical Institute
10:15-11:15 am — Adapting Your Workforce
Is AI more of a collaborator than a replacement? Hear from others in the industry on how they see the human touch remaining crucial for creativity, strategic thinking and emotional intelligence and how the publishing workforce will need to adapt to new skillsets to work alongside these technology tools.
Moderator: Zsolt Silberer, Senior Technology Consultant, Delta Think
Speakers: Etzer Botes, Senior Director, Strategy, Wiley, David Sampson, Vice President, Chief Publishing Officer, NEJM Group, Jeff Strohschein, Chief Information and Digital Officer, IEEE
11:30 am-12:20 pm — Researcher Panel: A Discussion of First-Hand Publishing Experiences
Time to break out of our echo chamber! This panel of experts working as investigators and/or instructors in academic, corporate, or governmental organizations will share first-hand insights into researchers’ experiences within the scholarly realm, answering questions such as 1) How do you select a journal? 2) What role does artificial intelligence play in teaching, research, and publication? 3) How do funding mandates impact your publishing decisions? We will host a diverse line-up of professionals with varied backgrounds, career levels, research disciplines, industry involvement, and other contexts, who can reflect on their experiences as authors, editors, and reviewers. We will discuss the role of AI in research and publishing; experiences with open-access publishing; economic factors that impact publishing journeys; and much more!
Moderator: Avriel Liccardi, Publisher, Life Sciences, Wiley
Speakers: Donny Persaud, Doctoral student, Geography, Cornell University, Science and Technology Studies, Faith Tissot, RN, CCRN,MSN-Ed- Doctoral of Nursing Science Student, Texas Women’s University, Kristin Poinar, Assistant Professor, University at Buffalo, John Warren, Director and Associate Professor, Publishing, George Washington University
Sponsors
Thank you to our sponsors: Cadmore Media, Data Conversion Laboratory, Dimensions, Origin Editorial, and Silverchair.
New Directions Seminar Working Group
Ginny Herbert, AIP Publishing (co-lead)
Lettie Conrad, LibLynx (co-lead)
Janaynne Carvalho do Amaral, University of Illinois
Matthew Cannon, Taylor & Francis
Neil Blair Christensen, Morressier
Jamie Devereaux, Mary Ann Liebert Publishers
Betsy Donohue, Silverchair
Anne Gering, RTI International
Jon Gurstelle, American Political Science Association
Avriel Licciardi, Wiley
Laura Martin, Wiley
Jordan Schilling, Springer Nature
Zsolt Silberer, Delta Think
Sophie Reisz, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (Education committee co-chair)
David Myers, Wolters Kluwer (Education committee co-chair)
Heather Ruland Staines, Delta Think (SSP President)
