15 April 2026
Incredibly, we find ourselves writing our first editorial of 2026, which means it must be April, and our annual Conference has recently taken place. The year is whizzing by, but, though time may feel like it has sped up, our authors have kept up the pace and provided us with an exciting and interesting selection of articles across a wide range of topics.
Since we last wrote, the festive Christmas break has come and gone, and the year has flipped over into a new one. And with that, we have been bringing you a wide selection of informative and stimulating articles from all corners of the scholarly publishing and information landscape.
From the library sector, Gali Halevi took a look at the importance of inclusive and balanced collections in libraries and archives, while Peter Barr outlined the collections concept adopted by the university of Sheffield Library and how it impacts their research collections, while Olivia Edmunds and Taran Johal took a fresh look at the digital library, with particular reference to how the University of Wales Trinity St David are attempting to redefine access and engagement. Cutting across the library and publishing spheres, Thom Blake, Andy Bussey and Kate Petherbridge walked us through their repository renewal project, presenting a case study from the White Rose Libraries consortium.
Looking more broadly across the sector, we were delighted when Rick Anderson agreed to revisit and update his ‘Quiet Culture War’ article from ten years ago, looking at how the publishing landscape has changed over the last decade and examining where it stands now.
Elsewhere from the publishing sector, academic author Andrew du Rocher presented his perspective on how scholar-led publishing could challenge, and maybe even overcome, the effect of the prestige economy which pressures many academics into a “publish or perish” mentality. Mailk Sallam challenged us all to go back to basics in an attempt to reimagine how scientific evaluation of research might operate in a world without peer review. More recently, Mihály Hegedűs, Mehdi Dadkhah and Lóránt Dénes Dávid took a data-driven approach to tackle the challenge of hijacked journals, presenting an approach that may help identify more such titles.
In the coming weeks, we are excited to bring you yet more high-quality articles, including Laura Tobler exploring the use of a role-play approach to practical learning, Alice Gibson looking at how systems change theory can be utilised to strengthen metascience, and David Watson outlining a workflow for assessing open monograph business models.
So, keep your eyes on Insights as we move forward through 2026. And don’t forget, there is always opportunity for you to become an Insights author yourself. Just drop us a line if you have a proposal for an article!
Lorraine and Steve