Project MUSE announced that 50 journals from more than 20 publishers have committed to participating in the launch of its Subscribe to Open (S2O) program for journals in 2025. S2O is an open access (OA) model that enables scholarly subscription journals to make content open access without article processing charges. “Each year, MUSE will set the minimum sustainability threshold required to fund the participating S2O journals that year [via subscription fees]. If the sustainability threshold is reached, the current year’s content will be opened to all readers,” Project MUSE’s website explains, noting that the program does not require new investment from libraries.

Clarivate Plc, the parent company of ProQuest, Web of Science, ScholarOne, and several other information and analytics companies, announced a partnership with nonpartisan library advocacy organization EveryLibrary “to support and nurture libraries in the U.S.,” according to a press release. “We are deeply appreciative of the support provided by Clarivate,” said EveryLibrary Executive Director John Chrastka. “This commitment will significantly enhance our ability to advocate for libraries. It will also help us assist libraries secure the funding necessary to ensure they can continue to serve their communities effectively.”

Springer Nature acquired the science division of Slimmer AI, a Netherlands-based artificial intelligence company that Springer has been working with since 2015. A Springer announcement said that the acquisition would further expand the publisher’s AI capabilities, and that AI has already helped speed up and improve the publishing process by “identifying appropriate editors to guide a manuscript through the submission process, increasing reviewer acceptance rates by recommending the best people to peer review a manuscript, and safeguarding the integrity of the scientific record by automating the identification of potential problems with papers, such as plagiarism.”

EBSCO Information Services has introduced EBSCOlearning, a new division focused on developing learning products both for people in the workforce—including public library users—and for students in secondary schools, trade schools, colleges, universities, and graduate schools. “Leveraging EBSCO’s evidence-based approach to skills development and collaborating with leading subject matter experts in various fields, our focus is on empowering futures and ensuring success,” EBSCO SVP and General Manager of EBSCOlearning Mike Laddin said in an announcement. “With EBSCOlearning’s products and services, we look to equip people and organizations with enhanced productivity, greater efficiency, lower turnover, improved employee satisfaction, career and life advancement. We have a focus on ‘real-time learning’ in bite-sized increments to meet the needs of how people learn and work today.”

Sage has launched the Literacy Information Microsite, a new resource aimed at countering the rise of online misinformation and deceptive content. Featuring open access and free access articles from Sage journals on topics including digital literacy, censorship, propaganda, digital society, media ethics, and misinformation, the microsite “takes a holistic look at where the information age requires critical thinking and better attention to oversight and governance practices due to real-world implications.”

Separately, Sage, in collaboration with virtual reality (VR) platform provider Bodyswaps, has launched a series of VR simulations on negotiation and conflict management targeted at higher ed business students. The VR experience, which includes three 25-minute modules, was created with input from Kevin Rockmann, professor of Management at George Mason University Business School and coauthor of the Sage textbook Negotiation: Moving from Conflict to Agreement.

Gale, part of Cengage Group, debuted Environmental History: Conservation and Public Policy in America, 1870–1980, the first installment in the company’s new Environmental History series of digitized primary sources. “With Environmental History, researchers can examine unique primary sources that trace the evolution of land rights, resource usage, trade rules, and environmental protections that mark the beginning of the modern conservation movement” via digitized correspondence, reports, memos, pamphlets, newsletters, circulars, legislation, and more, according to the company’s announcement.

Separately, Gale announced that updates have been made to Gale Presents: Peterson’s Test and Career Prep Suite, a comprehensive online resource for standardized test prep, researching colleges, finding tuition assistance, and exploring careers. The updates include a newly redesigned interface with “simplified navigation and improved accessibility”; a new goal-setting feature that enables users to set goals and save tests, videos, courses, articles, schools, scholarships, and jobs to their personal profiles; a user interface for Spanish speakers; and new video lessons and interactive content.

The Consortium of Ohio Libraries (COOL), a group of 13 public library systems, is implementing the open-source Aspen Discovery solution with the help of the Equinox Open Library Initiative. COOL has worked with Equinox since 2011 for implementation, hosting, and support of the consortium’s shared Evergreen open-source integrated library system. To implement Aspen Discovery, Equinox helped train COOL staff, integrate Aspen with COOL’s electronic resources, and assist with the configuration of the discovery layer.

Equinox also announced a new partnership with collectionHQ, the collection analysis platform owned by Baker & Taylor. “The partnership will be of particular benefit to libraries that use the Evergreen and Koha Integrated Library Systems supported by Equinox and subscribe to collectionHQ to manage their collection,” according to the announcement.

Cornell University announced that arXiv, the free distribution service and OA archive for scholarly articles, has received more than $10 million in grants from the Simons Foundation and National Science Foundation. The funding will enable the platform “to migrate to the cloud and modernize its code to ensure reliability, fault tolerance, and accessibility for researchers,” the announcement explained. The repository currently hosts more than two million articles.

The University of Texas Libraries announced the official opening of its Scholars Lab. Featuring a 32-seat Data Lab equipped with high-end Apple computers and data analysis software; six medium-sized AV-equipped Project Rooms for meetings and collaboration; four “huddle spaces” for group discussions; and “abundant collaborative and individual study areas featuring modular furniture, whiteboards, and quiet seating for focused research,” the new Scholars Lab is located on the entry level of the university’s Perry-Castañeda Library. Assistant Director of Research Support and Digital Initiatives Jenifer Flaxbart said, “The Scholars Lab is the culmination of almost a decade of prototyping, iteration, and planning, informed by inputs from users of the Scholars Commons pilot space, and conversations with students, colleagues, and faculty involved in digital project work. This campus-wide resource fulfills a shared vision, introducing a creative hub for campus efforts at the intersection of engaged learning and digital scholarship.”

Monmouth University, NJ, announced that the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music at Monmouth University will be building a new 30,000 square foot facility “to house the Archives, the Center for American Music, related exhibition galleries, and a 230 seat, state-of-the-art theater.” The new facility is expected to open in the spring of 2026. “Our institution will offer exciting research opportunities for students, journalists, and historians and give Springsteen fans the chance to explore his music and the role it plays in American history like never before,” Robert Santelli, executive director of the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music, said in the announcement. “Teachers will also find the Archives and Center for American Music a valuable educational resource. Lesson plans, teaching strategies, and online programs will be available to teachers and enable them to bring American music into the classroom.” The new center was designed by New York–based architectural firm COOKFOX.

The San Francisco Public Library launched “Bay Beats,” a free music streaming service, with an event featuring local musicians at its main library on October 28. The initiative was “born of a desire to support local musicians affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in partnership with local retailer Amoeba, offer[ing] them a platform for wider exposure,” according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Multnomah County Library, OR, opened a new temporary branch location on the University of Oregon’s campus in northeast Portland. As the library system modernizes and expands, it has temporarily had to close three branches in neighborhoods near the campus. This new location, which offers “holds pick up, a 24/7 book return, computer stations, Wi-Fi, free printing, faxing, scanning,” and a small collection of books in English and Spanish for adults and children, is currently expected to operate through the summer of 2024.