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Beyond Closed Research Metrics: Rethinking Research Discovery and Rankings (part 2 of 2)

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Traditionally, academic publishing has been closed, which means that readers can only access research outputs if you or the institution you are affiliated with pay for them through subscriptions. However, research metrics – approximate measures of how many papers have been published and how often they have been cited – are created by the same companies that publish and index the research.  These commercial interests mean that research metrics such as Clarivate’s “Journal Impact Factor” and the Scopus “CiteScore” are biased in such a way that they reward publishing and citing sources within these same companies. This means that university ranking systems based on these metrics are also biased; therefore, proprietary research metrics and commercial university rankings are all part of the same closed research infrastructure. Recently, many institutions have started to withdraw from this closed, commercially-driven research infrastructure, as detailed in part 1 of this post , which als...
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Beyond Closed Research Metrics: Rethinking Research Discovery and Rankings (part 1 of 2)

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Major commercial research indexing services such as Web of Science ( Clarivate ) and Scopus ( Elsevier/RELX ) have transformed research discovery and benchmarking over the past few decades. However, many institutions are now reassessing their use of these services, due to considerations around cost, transparency, governance, and alignment with open research values.  For example, institutions such as the Sorbonne, the University of Utrecht, the University of Zurich, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are dropping their subscriptions to these expensive, for-profit indexing services.  They are also withdrawing from venture-capital driven league tables such as the “Times Higher Education World University Rankings”, controlled by Inflexion Private Equity , and commercial rankings including “Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings” (QS WUR), operated by Quacquarelli Symonds (which also runs topuniversities.com ) and “US News and World Report Best Global Univ...
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University of Galway joins international open research initiatives

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University of Galway has recently signed three international initiatives that reflect the University’s wider commitment to Open Research and align with our Research Publishing Policy . These initiatives are: (1) the Barcelona Declaration on Open Research Information , (2)  OurFuture Memory , and (3)  OA2020 . Joining these movements is part of a wider direction of travel to support more open and transparent research information, strengthen the systems and infrastructure that underpin Open Research, and make high-quality research outputs more visible, accessible, and reusable. Barcelona Declaration As a Barcelona Declaration signatory, University of Galway are taking a lead in transforming the way research information is used and produced. The research information landscape requires fundamental change. Openness of information about the conduct and communication of research must be the new norm. The Barcelona Declaration has four commitments: We will make openness the defaul...
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Book Launch - The Strategic Positioning of Academic Libraries: Global Challenges, Local Politics and Strategy Development by John Cox

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John Cox retired as University Librarian at the University of Galway in November 2023 and has since written a book on The Strategic Positioning of Academic Libraries: Global Challenges, Local Politics and Strategy Development , which was recently launched at University of Galway.  John has written extensively about issues affecting libraries and their strategic positioning within academic institutions, drawing on more than 30 years of leadership experience. John is not new to writing on his observations of libraries and the pivotal role they play in the life and progress of academic institutions. His previous publications include a SWOT analysis of academic libraries, as well as a case study examining the evolution and politics of a library capital project.  I had the privilege of sitting down with John to discuss his new book and began by asking what inspired him to write it at this time.   Although writing had always been an interest of his, a busy work schedule had p...
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Sunsetting Reading and Search History on ScienceDirect

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  Sunsetting Reading and Search History on ScienceDirect While we have received no official notification from ScienceDirect / Elsevier, the following update has been posted to the Science Direct Support Centre website : Last updated on February 27, 2026 As part of our ongoing efforts to improve our services and streamline our offerings, we decided to sunset the search history and reading history features on ScienceDirect. By retiring these features, we can focus our resources on improving other areas of our product that provide greater value. Effective date:  Starting  March 31, 2026 , the Search History and Reading History features will no longer be available. What you need to know You will no longer be able to access Search History and Reading History after  March 31, 2026 . All personal data related to these features will be erased after the feature removal is completed. Should you wish to keep a record of your search / reading history you can download this via Do...
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Updated 31st March 2026: Access to Euromonitor (Passport) - Access to be renewed.

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  Update: Following negotiations with Euromonitor, IReL and Euromonitor have reached an acceptable arrangement and access will continue. Over recent months, the IReL consortium has been in negotiations with Euromonitor (Passport) to renew our subscription agreement, which expired on December 31st. Unfortunately, Euromonitor has introduced new liability terms that neither IReL nor the University of Galway can accept. As a result, access to Euromonitor resources will end on March 31st.
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Donation of Ukrainian Books to the Library

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The University of Galway recently marked the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with a series of public events on campus. As part of the the program, the Ukrainian Cultural Centre of Ireland donated a collection of Ukrainian literature and scholarship books to the University of Galway Library. These have all been catalogued and currently on display in the Library foyer along with a number of other Ukrainian titles from the Library's collection. All books are available to borrow.   The books are:   Ukraine the forging of a Nation  by Yaroslav Hrytsak The Gates of Europe by Serhii Plokhy Looking at Women Looking at War by Victoria Amelia We Were Here by Arthur Dron A Ukrainian Christmas by Nadiyka Gerbish & Yaroslav Hrytsak Virshi z biĭnyt︠s︡i : poezïï by Maksym Kryvt︠s︡ov "Dali Slova i kuli : zbirka intervʹi︠u︡   by Natali︠a︡ Kornii︠e︡nko . Carbide by Andriv Lyubka How Fire Descends by Serbiy Zhadan War in Europe , Special Issue ...
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Book Launch - A Guide to Academic Writing, How to tame your Essay by Ira Ruppo

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  Book Launch - A Guide to Academic Writing,  How  to tame your Essay  by Ira  Ruppo             Ira is the  Academic Writing Centre Manager in the Library.     Drawing on her many years of experience  as an academic, teacher, and manager of  the Academic Writing Centre ,  Ira has  written  a book which will  help   students of many disciplines with their Academic Writing.      I asked Ira what inspired her initially to  write  this book .  Ira explained that her work over the years  greatly motivated  and guided her to  write  a book which would be accessible to all. Ira has many years' experience with students from many disciplines, and she wanted to help  them   to   develop  techniques which have helped her  in her own work over the years. Many of these techniques are inspired by the research that Ira...
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