Journal Article: “The Paper Mill Crisis is a Five-Alarm Fire For Science: What Can Librarians Do About It?”
The full text article linked below was recently published by Insights.
Title
The Paper Mill Crisis is a Five-Alarm Fire For Science: What Can Librarians Do About It?
Authors
Curtis Brundy
Iowa State University
Joel B. Thornton
University of Utah
Source
Insights
July 2, 2024
DOI: 10.1629/uksg.659
Abstract
The paper mill crisis, which is polluting the scholarly literature with fake papers, has led to record-breaking article retractions and continues to erode trust in science. While publishers and other scholarly publishing stakeholders have mobilized to address this grave threat to research and publishing integrity, action from the library community has been lacking. This article explores the ongoing impact of the paper mill crisis and its causes. It also reviews the steps being taken across the sector to address it. This includes actions taken by publishers, integrity sleuths and organizations like Retraction Watch, NISO and STM. Based on the severity of the crisis and the current response, this article recommends actions libraries can take to help address the crisis and clean up the mess paper mills have made in the scholarly literature. At a time of declining trust and growing threats facing society, it is critical that all scholarly publishing stakeholders, including librarians, help hold the line on publishing integrity and restore trust in science.
Direct to Full Text Article
Filed under: Associations and Organizations, Companies (Publishers/Vendors), Journal Articles, Libraries, News, Publishing

About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.