Unanticipated Metadata in the Age of the Net & the Age of AI

he NISO Annual Members Meeting took place online on Tuesday, June 25, from 10:00–11:30 am EDT/3:00–4:30 pm BST. This program was open to the public, and all (members as well as nonmembers) were welcome to participate. You will hear from our Executive Director, Todd Carpenter, and other NISO staff about important organizational issues, including an update on our new strategic plan, the NISO Plus conference, our organizational finances, NISO’s international engagement, and our standards program. It was also a chance for you to ask us any questions you have about our organization and how we operate as well as to share your own feedback about NISO and our work.

How adaptable have organizations and institutions in the information community proven themselves to be — in terms of COVID-19, and also in general during this period of technological and social change? How well are associations, government agencies and other funders, academic institutions, and other stakeholders managing? To what extent are they willing to innovate, whether through policy or practice? This roundtable will bring together industry professionals and observers, to offer their insights on the impact of disruption, and to share their success stories for negotiating change. Confirmed speakers for this event include among others: Roger Schonfeld, Director of the Ithaka S+R Libraries, Scholarly Communication and Museums Program Ithaka; Denise Stephens, Dean of the Libraries, University of Oklahoma; Alix Vance, CEO, AIP Publishing; and Jaime Wittenberg, Assistant Dean for Research & Innovation Strategies, University of Colorado - Boulder.

In the wake of a global pandemic, it becomes increasingly obvious that solutions to the complex problems facing us require a fully integrated and collaborative approach. Irrespective of discipline, it’s essential that the high-quality research being undertaken everywhere is brought to the fore. How can we better ensure that the important work being done in less visible locations or facilities is more discoverable and properly recognized? How can we best leverage the value of preprint services? What networks or platforms are needed? The speakers in this virtual conference will offer plenty of food for creative thought in terms of innovation — though they may have more questions than answers! Among others, confirmed speakers include Gali Halevi and Ross Potter, Clarivate Analytics; Carolina Tanigushi, SciElo; Lombe Tembo, ORCID; Ylann Schemm, Elsevier Foundation; Juan Pablo Alperin, Public Knowledge Project, Simon Fraser University and Erika Valenti, Emerald Group Publishing.

In order to implement artificial intelligence in a meaningful way, organizations with large collections of data must ensure that they have the support they need for processing, analyzing, and extracting meaningful data. Typically, this involves working with a technology provider with AI expertise. But what do you need to know before engaging their services? This event will help you answer this question by learning from the experience of others, as speakers from a variety of backgrounds address the practical needs, barriers, and benefits of embarking upon this process. Confirmed speakers in this event include Jake Zarnegar, Chief Business Development Officer, Silverchair; Ruth Pickering, Co-Founder and Chief Business Development and Strategy Officer, Yewno; and Stuart Maxwell, Chief Operating Officer, Scholarly iQ.

Over the past few months, everyone has had to become accustomed to meeting in virtual environments, as well as mastering other technologies that allow us to continue to work together collaboratively — within and outside our organizations. This roundtable discussion will address both the fun side of learning new ways of working together and the deeper issues of setting expectations, accommodating different requirements, and identifying the constraints that made clear where boundaries would be needed.