Oxford Analytica acquired by FiscalNote

FiscalNote's strategic acquisition of Oxford Analytica should enhance FiscalNote's software, data and content offerings with Oxford Analytica's geopolitical intelligence and analysis.

Cabells becomes a member of United Nations SDG Publishers Compact

The United Nations SDG Publishers Compact, established at the end of 2020, encourages scholarly publishers in their activities to speed up progress towards the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

RBmedia Acquires Booka’s Audiobook Publishing Business to Expand Spanish-Language Offering Share Article

RBmedia, the largest audiobook producer in the world, has expanded its Spanish-language content by acquiring Booka's audiobook publishing business and its full catalog of Spanish language titles.

Sci-Hub meets resistance in India and a Twitter ban

Sci-Hub has been a thorn in the side of commercial publishers almost since its founding in 2011. Recent legal actions in India may succeed in curbing its activities, something that similar lawsuits in the U.S. have failed to accomplish.

Taxonomy Bootcamp Webinars

Need to take a bite out of your taxonomy efforts? Taxonomy Bootcamp London, a sister conference to Internet Librarian International, is hosting a Bite-sized version on 2 March 2021.

Wiley doubles down on OA by acquiring Hindawi

John Wiley & Sons, Inc. doubled down on its commitment to Open Access when, on 5 January 2021, it announced the acquisition of Hindawi Limited, one of the world's fastest growing OA scientific research publishers, for a total purchase price of $298 million. This is not a total surprise, as the companies have been publishing partners since 2016 and the OA movement has been growing in momentum. Wiley has a track record of recent acquisitions in the technology space, including zyBooks, Knewton Alta, and Atypon.

Lubuto Libraries in Zambia: 15 Years of Library Service to Children and Youth

The Lubuto Library Partners, working in Zambia for the past 15 years, established three libraries focussed on the needs of children and youth, providing books, technology, and library programming, as well as serving as safe havens. The pandemic has caused Lubuto Library Partners to consider new directions post-pandemic.

OA Switchboard: A central information exchange hub

[Editor's Note: If you heard Yvonne Campfens' inspiring keynote talk at Internet Librarian International 2019 all about creating, innovating, collaborating and what we can learn from startups, you won't be surprised to hear that she has taken her own advice and joined startup OA Switchboard as its executive director. I asked her to tell us about this new venture.]

Google Trends, Working from Home, and Digital Transformation

Google Trends presents excellent opportunities for Internet Librarians to examine differences in terminology and popularity of search topics over time.

Anticipating the future: Narrative writing workshops for library staff

Neil Dixon describes how he and his team at Anglia Ruskin University Library set up training workshops to explore the impact of AI on libraries, using fictional writing techniques.

The Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB) relaunches on the open source DSpace platform

Major Open Access Collaboration between Brill and ERC Project ‘Open Philology: The Composition of Buddhist Scriptures’

Hindawi and Maverick announce open access publishing services collaboration

Whose Bookcase Is This?

A Brainteaser for those intrigued by fictional characters and their imaginary bookcases.

The Bird Librarian

The "bird librarian" brings poisoners to justice.

Learn About Taxonomies in March

Need to take a bite out of your taxonomy efforts? Taxonomy Bootcamp London, a sister conference to Internet Librarian International, is hosting a Bite-sized version on 2 March 2021.