4 July 2025
Summer Reflections and What’s Ahead for Insights
As many of us look forward to a well-deserved summer break, it’s the perfect time to reflect on the diverse and timely content we’ve published since the spring. Our contributors have brought fresh perspectives on critical topics ranging from TikTok to open infrastructure, exploring the evolving landscape of scholarly communication.
Engaging Students through TikTok
In her compelling case study, Chelsea Humphries shares how the Ferriss Hodgett Library at Memorial University’s Grenfell Campus is using TikTok to build stronger, more meaningful connections with students. By creating a library profile and sharing engaging video content, academic librarians are finding innovative ways to meet users where they are.
Supporting Open Infrastructure
Two articles focus on the foundational role of open infrastructure in scholarly publishing. Pierre Mounier and Johan Rooryck introduce the European Diamond Capacity Hub (EDCH), which aims to coordinate diamond open access (OA) capacity centres across Europe. This initiative supports a scholar-led publishing infrastructure that operates without fees for authors or readers.
Meanwhile, Olena Zimba, Katrine Sundsbø, Nataliia Kaliuzhna and Iemima Ploscariu, examine how the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) is helping to increase the visibility and accessibility of Ukrainian academic journals – particularly important in the face of war and economic hardship.
Equity and Challenges in Open Access
Despite open access being a core value in librarianship, not all library and information science (LIS) journals have adopted equitable OA models. Teresa Schultz, Rachel Borchardt and DeDe Dawson delve into the barriers and opportunities involved in making this transition.
Looking ahead, Maryna Nazarovets will provide a literature review of trends, challenges and directions for future research in university journal publishing.
Towards Fairer Publishing Models
While OA opens content to readers worldwide, many authors and institutions still face steep financial hurdles. In our most recent publication, Alicia Wise, Dave Jago, Herman Mentink, and Lorraine Estelle propose a model for globally fair and transparent pricing that could help bridge this divide.
Coming This Autumn
Insights will take a brief break over the summer, but we’ll be back in the autumn with more thought-provoking articles. Look out for:
- Faizhal Arif Santosa and Barbara S. Lancho Barrantes on multilingual research dissemination and its challenges
- Andrew Johnson on interlibrary loans, subscriptions and copyright in the UK academic library context
- Cath Dishman and Rebecca Wojturska on what library hosting services can offer academic publishing—appropriately titled, ‘Shine Bright Like a Diamond’.
Join the Conversation
Do you have an opinion, a case study, or an innovative practice to share? We’d love to hear from you. Please take a look at our call for papers and consider contributing to Insights.
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