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International News

📅 January 5, 2026 • ACM / Penn State University

ACM Moves All Publications to Full Open Access Starting 2026

The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) has officially transitioned its entire portfolio — over 75 journals, seven magazines, and proceedings from 170 conferences — to a fully open-access publishing model. This landmark shift eliminates article processing charges for researchers at affiliated institutions through new "read and publish" agreements. Penn State University and other leading universities are among the first to ratify these agreements, ensuring that all ACM peer-reviewed research is immediately freely accessible to any reader worldwide. The move marks one of the most significant transitions in computing science publishing history.

Source: Penn State University Libraries Read Full Article

AI Use in Peer Review Surpasses 50% Among Academics Globally

A Frontiers survey of 1,600 academics across 111 countries found that more than half of researchers now use AI tools while reviewing manuscripts — often despite explicit guidance against it from publishers including Springer Nature, Wiley, and Taylor & Francis. The findings have sparked urgent debate about scientific integrity and the future of the peer review process.

Nature (Dec 2025) Read More

Iraqi Academic

📅 August 9, 2025 • SITA Academy

Iraq Reaches 41 Journals in Scopus — Including 7 Ranked Q1

As of the August 2025 Scopus update, Iraq now has 41 peer-reviewed journals indexed in the prestigious database — an increase from 39 in July 2025. Among them, 7 journals achieve the highest Q1 quartile ranking. The Mesopotamian Journal of Computer Science leads with a CiteScore of 12.0, reflecting the growing international impact of Iraqi scientific publications.

SITA Academy (Aug 2025) Read More

Open Access

📅 August 2025 • The Royal Society

Royal Society Plans Full Open Access for All 8 Journals in 2026

The Royal Society — publisher of the world's oldest peer-reviewed journals — announced plans to convert its entire subscription portfolio to open access in 2026 via the Subscribe to Open model. This includes Philosophical Transactions A and B (founded 1665), making centuries of scientific discovery freely available to all researchers and readers without author charges.

Royal Society (Aug 2025) Read More

Policy & Technology

Policy

📅 January 2026 • US Federal Government

US Federal Open Access Mandate Comes Into Full Effect in 2026

The White House OSTP directive requiring all federally funded research to be made immediately and freely available — with no embargo period — came into full effect in 2026. This sweeping policy affects all US federal funding agencies including NIH, NSF, and DOD, reshaping the global academic publishing landscape and increasing pressure on subscription-based journals.

OSTP / US Government Read More

AI & Technology

📅 March 18, 2025 • Inside Higher Ed

Wiley, Elsevier & Springer Nature Adopt AI Tools to Bolster Research Integrity

The $19 billion academic publishing industry is embracing AI-powered tools across the editorial pipeline. Elsevier launched ScienceDirect AI for research discovery, while Springer Nature deployed an in-house AI editorial quality check system. Wiley also announced generative AI guidelines for authors and reviewers — all designed to speed up production while improving integrity checks as submission volumes surge.

Inside Higher Ed (Mar 2025) Read More

MIT Press Expands Direct to Open Program with Duke & Goldsmiths Press

MIT Press announced a major expansion of its Direct to Open (D2O) monograph program for 2026, partnering with Duke University Press and Goldsmiths Press. The collaboration adds humanities and social science titles to the catalog, offering over 100 scholarly books annually under a fully open-access library-supported model with no author charges.

MIT Press (Sep 2025) Read More

AI & Technology

📅 December 19, 2025 • Nature

AI-Generated Peer Reviews Evade Detection Tools, Researchers Warn

A new study published in Nature warns that AI-generated peer-review reports are increasingly undetectable by current automated tools — and the problem is getting worse. Researchers found that detection software failed to flag most AI-written reviews, raising serious concerns about the credibility and long-term sustainability of scientific peer review if left unchecked.

Nature (Dec 2025) Read More

Open Access

📅 October 30, 2025 • The Harvard Crimson

Harvard Launches Open Journals Program Amid Soaring Publishing Costs

Harvard Library has launched the Harvard Open Journals Program, directly funding researchers to create their own open-access journals as an alternative to the surging cost of article processing charges. Journal subscription prices are expected to rise over 5.5% in 2026 according to Library Journal. Harvard's DASH repository also lets affiliated researchers deposit papers freely accessible to anyone worldwide.

Harvard Crimson (Oct 2025) Read More

Iraqi Academic

📅 January 3, 2026 • Journal of Scientometric Research

Bibliometric Study Confirms Iraq's Higher Education Advancing Toward Global Standards

A new bibliometric analysis covering 42 years of Iraqi higher education research (1983–2024) — published in the Journal of Scientometric Research — confirms significant post-2003 progress in Iraq's research productivity and institutional quality. The study, drawing on Scopus and Web of Science data, shows Iraq's annual research output and international co-authorship have grown substantially, signaling alignment with global academic benchmarks.

J. Scientometric Research (Jan 2026) Read More

Open Access

📅 February 2026 • Lyrasis

Lyrasis Announces 9-Journal Diamond Open Access Cohort for 2025–2026

Lyrasis has unveiled the 2025–2026 cohort of its Open Access Community Investment Program (OACIP), selecting nine scholar-led journals that publish with no fees for authors or readers. The program — which has grown to support 26 journals since 2020 — includes two historic renewals for the first time, demonstrating the long-term viability of Diamond Open Access publishing as a sustainable scholarly communication model.

Lyrasis (Feb 2026) Read More