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Publishing Pulse
A Monthly Newsletter of Publishing Matters
Quarter 1 (January – March) 2025 Edition
Dear Readers,
Welcome to the Inaugural Quarter 1 (January – March) 2025 edition of our newsletter, bringing you the latest insights from the academic and scientific publishing industry. In this issue, we explore news, key trends, major policy changes, open access initiatives, publisher acquisitions, research integrity challenges, and upcoming industry events. All information is drawn from reputable sources and official announcements from 2025.
1. Publishing Industry News
ONOS - One Nation One Subscription – An Initiative of Government of India
The One Nation One Subscription (ONOS) intends to acquire national licenses for e-journal/database subscriptions from most of the prominent journal publishers. A total of 30 major international journal publishers have been included in ONOS. All the journals published by these publishers will be accessible to the students, faculty members and researchers of the participating institutions.
The initiative will open a goldmine of knowledge available in top quality scholarly journals to nearly 1.8 crore students, faculty members, researchers and scientists of all disciplines, including those in tier 2 and tier 3 cities, thereby encouraging core as well as interdisciplinary research in the country.
The ONOS has started its operation from January 1, 2025. ONOS phase-I has been approved for the calendar years 2025, 2026 and 2027. Govt. of India
Elsevier launches ScienceDirect AI to transform research with rapid mission-critical insights from trusted content
Elsevier, a global leader in advanced information and decision support, today launches ScienceDirect AI, a cutting-edge generative AI tool for researchers. It is designed to transform the way researchers work by enabling them to instantly extract, summarize and compare trusted insights from millions of full-text articles and book chapters on ScienceDirect, the world's largest platform for trusted, peer-reviewed research. PR Newswire
Clarivate's New Subscription-Based Access Strategy for Academia
In February 2025, Clarivate unveiled a transformative subscription-based content access strategy aimed at providing broad and affordable access to academic resources, including eBooks and primary digital collections. This initiative seeks to simplify access to scholarly content for learning and research purposes. ir.clarivate.com
arXiv's Ongoing Impact on Scientific Communication
Nearly 35 years since its inception, arXiv continues to be a transformative platform in scientific publishing. The repository allows researchers to share findings instantly prior to peer review, significantly accelerating the dissemination of scientific knowledge. Despite challenges such as bureaucratic hurdles and low-quality submissions, arXiv remains central to academic discourse. WIRED
2. The Rise of Open Access: Major Developments in 2024 and 2025
Springer Nature Forecasts Revenue Boost Amid Open Access Growth
Springer Nature projects a revenue increase for 2025, anticipating sales between €1.89 billion to €1.94 billion. This growth is driven by their open access journals portfolio, which accounted for 50% of their primary research article publications last year. In 2024, Springer Nature invested €177 million in technology and AI to enhance their publishing processes. Reuters
MIT Press Releases Report on Open Access
On November 18, 2024, MIT Press released a comprehensive report titled "Access to Science & Scholarship 2024: Building an Evidence Base to Support the Future of Open Research Policy." MIT News highlighted that the report is the outcome of a National Science Foundation-funded workshop held on September 20, 2024, addressing critical issues in open access publishing and how to maximize their positive impact on the research ecosystem. The report examines how open access policies shape research and identifies key questions to advance open science and scholarship. MIT Press
Taylor & Francis and Michigan State University’s Open Access Partnership
In April 2024, Taylor & Francis and Michigan State University (MSU) Libraries announced a transformative three-year open-access agreement. This partnership enables MSU researchers to publish open-access articles in over 2,500 Taylor & Francis and Routledge journals at no cost, significantly enhancing the accessibility of high-quality research. MSU Libraries
Cambridge University Press’s Open Access Initiatives
Cambridge University Press (CUP) continues to advance its Open Access (OA) initiatives in 2025. As part of this commitment, CUP has announced the transformation of an additional 79 journals to OA for 2025. This follows the 41 journals that were flipped to OA in 2024, marking significant progress toward the goal of converting most of its research publishing to OA by 2025. Cambridge University Press
New Oxford University Press license provides more access, support for open access publishing
Morris Library and the SIU School of Medicine’s Medical Library have a “read and publish agreement” with Oxford University Press (OUP). The 3-year agreement enables all corresponding authors affiliated with SIU Carbondale to publish open access (OA) in more than 500 Oxford University Press journals. There are no open access fees and no limits on the number of OA articles that can be published during the term of the agreement, Andrea Imre, Morris Library’s electronic resources and interim collections librarian, said. The agreement also delivers reading access to the Oxford Full Journals Collection of 350-plus subscription-based titles, which span the humanities, social sciences, law, medicine, mathematics, physical and life sciences, and other subjects. Oxford University Press
Royal Society's Open Access Progress
As of March 2025, the Royal Society has reported continued progress in its transition to open access (OA) publishing. In 2024, OA output across its research journals increased to 71%, up from 66% in 2023. This advancement is largely attributed to the expansion of Transformative Agreements, with over 400 institutions participating in 2024. Additionally, more than 100 low- and middle-income countries benefited from the Royal Society Open Access Equity scheme, which provides free access to journal content and waivers for article processing charges.
Looking ahead, the Royal Society plans to further enhance its OA initiatives in 2025. The Society is conducting a review of the future of STEM publishing, with findings to be discussed at an event in summer 2025. These findings will inform future strategies for OA publishing and engagement with the global academic community. Royal Society
Australia Advocates for Open Access to Publicly Funded Research
As of March 2025, Australia has made significant strides in advocating for open access to publicly funded research. The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has revised its Open Access Policy, mandating that all peer-reviewed publications resulting from NHMRC-funded research be made freely available immediately upon publication, removing the previous 12-month embargo. This policy, applicable to new grants awarded from September 20, 2022, was fully implemented by January 1, 2024. NHMRC
3. Industry Acquisitions and Strategic Partnerships
Bloomsbury Publishing's Strategic Growth
Bloomsbury Publishing has surpassed market expectations due to strong sales in both fiction and academic publishing. The company's success is driven by high demand for "romantasy" fiction, particularly works by Sarah J. Maas. The acquisition of Rowman & Littlefield has further bolstered their market position, especially in the US academic sector. Publishers Weekly provided details on the acquisition, noting it as Bloomsbury's largest to date, valued at $83 million, and emphasizing the enhancement of their academic publishing presence in North America. The Times
Penguin Random House Acquires Text Publishing
The Guardian reported on January 22, 2025, that Penguin Random House (PRH) acquired Text Publishing, a prominent Australian independent publisher. Despite the acquisition, Text Publishing will retain creative control over book acquisitions, editing, curation, and marketing. The Guardian
4. AI, Research Integrity and Retractions: Challenges in Scholarly Publishing
Publishers Adopt AI Tools to Enhance Research Integrity
In response to challenges in the peer-review process and increasing retractions, major publishers like Wiley, Elsevier, and Springer Nature have integrated AI-powered tools to improve research quality and expedite publication. These tools assist in detecting issues such as plagiarism and data manipulation, aiming to uphold research integrity. While AI offers efficiency, concerns remain about maintaining human oversight in the peer-review process. Inside Higher Ed
The Predatory Publishing Problem
Despite efforts to curb predatory journals, deceptive publishing practices remain a significant concern. Retraction Watch identified over 400 journals flagged for unethical publishing in 2024. These journals often claim to provide rapid peer review while charging high article processing fees without rigorous editorial oversight. Efforts to combat predatory publishing include strengthening blacklists and whitelists for legitimate journals, increasing awareness campaigns among researchers, and developing AI-based tools to detect predatory practices in real time.
Addressing AI-Generated Submissions
Neurosurgical Review, a Springer Nature journal, retracted numerous commentaries and letters suspected of being AI-generated. This underscores the growing concern over the authenticity of AI-assisted manuscripts. Publishers are developing AI authorship policies to ensure transparency and responsible use. The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) has released guidelines recommending clear disclosure of AI-generated content, which publishers like Elsevier, Cambridge University Press, and Wiley are integrating into their editorial policies. Retraction Watch
Embracing AI’s Evolution: The Rise of Personalized Software in Scholarly Publishing
AI is evolving at an astonishing pace. In just the past few weeks, we’ve seen major advances in agent-based software development, new model releases, and a growing push toward AI-driven automation. These developments point to a future where software is no longer just built for users but shaped around them—what GitHub’s CEO recently described as the age of personalized software. Robots Cooking
5. Upcoming Publishing Conferences and Book Fairs
London Book Fair 2025: Scheduled for April 8-10, 2025, at Olympia London, this event will gather publishing professionals from around the world to discuss industry trends and showcase new titles.
Association of American Publishers (AAP) Annual Meeting: Set for May 15, 2025, in New York City, this conference will address current challenges and opportunities in the publishing industry.
· Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP) 47th Annual Meeting: Scheduled for May 28-30, 2025, at Baltimore, MD, USA will be discussing, “Reimagining the Future of Scholarly Publishing at the Intersection of Value and Values”.
Open Access Scholarly Publishing Conference (OASPA) 2025: Planned for September 23-25, 2025, in Stockholm, Sweden, focusing on the latest developments in open access publishing.
European Conference on Ethics and Integrity in Academia (ECEIA) 2025, co-organised by the Centre of Research Ethics & Bioethics at Uppsala University in Sweden as the 11th annual conference of the European Network for Academic Integrity (ENAI). This esteemed event will take place from 16th to 19th June 2025 in Uppsala, Sweden.
Frankfurt Book Fair 2025: The largest book fair worldwide, with dedicated sessions on scholarly publishing and digital transformation, scheduled for October 15-19, 2025, Frankfurt, Germany.
STM Week 2025: A leading conference focused on science, technology, and medical (STM) publishing advancements, scheduled in December 2025, Amsterdam, Netherlands
6. Other Opinion Articles
· Academic publishers warn against AI copyright plans - Research Professional News
· CCC Announces AI Systems Training License for the External Use of Copyrighted Works Coming Soon
· DEI Under Threat: The Battle for Inclusive Research - The Scholarly Kitchen
· Improving gender balance in editorial boards: A perspective from the Communications journals series
· Advancing PDF in Scholarly Publications
· Come ROR with us: Using ROR IDs in place of Funder IDs
· Diversification and Decentralization of Peer Review: Part 1—Initiatives at the Forefront
· Diversification and Decentralization of Peer Review: Part 2—Tools That Facilitate
· Looking Ahead: The Research Nexus and the State of Metadata in 2050
· Open repositories cannot ignore retractions and corrections - Impact of Social Sciences
· The Levers of Sharing Research Data: Moving from Aspiration to Action with AI Support
· China’s supreme court calls for crack down on paper mills
· The benefits of inclusive publishing and why we need more inclusive journals
· U.S. federal research integrity teams take hits with departures
· ‘Omg, did PubMed go dark?’ Blackout stokes fears about database’s future
7. Looking Ahead: What to Expect in 2025
As the academic publishing landscape evolves, several key trends are expected to shape the industry in 2025:
Greater Adoption of AI in Publishing: More publishers will integrate AI tools for manuscript submission, peer review, and content discovery.
Stronger Regulations on AI-Generated Content: COPE, publishers, and research institutions will likely formalize AI disclosure requirements to ensure transparency.
Expansion of Open Data Initiatives: FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) will drive new open science policies.
Increasing Institutional Support for Open Access: More universities will negotiate transformative agreements with major publishers.
Keeping in stride the development at the Publishing Industry, Clarivate has announced enhancements to its Web of Science platform, introducing AI-driven citation analytics to help researchers assess the real impact of their work. The company is also expanding its journal indexing criteria to improve transparency and reduce predatory journal inclusions.
And finally, a note on the importance of Impact Factor:
The impact factor landscape is also changing, with Web of Science shifting towards greater emphasis on citation context and article influence rather than sheer citation count. This development is expected to reshape journal rankings and evaluation metrics for researchers and institutions worldwide.
The publishing industry continues to evolve rapidly, driven by technological advancements, open access initiatives, and ongoing discussions about research integrity. Staying informed about these developments is crucial for professionals navigating this dynamic landscape.
We will continue to monitor these trends and provide up to date information in future editions.
Best regards,
Sagarika
Editor, Publishing Pulse
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