SSP 2025 and the Power of Value-Driven Innovation
The 47th Annual Meeting of the Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP), held May 28–30 in Baltimore, served as a vital touchpoint for the global academic publishing community. Themed "Reimagining the Future of Scholarly Publishing at the Intersection of Value and Values," the conference offered attendees a timely look at both the challenges and opportunities facing academic publishing. From the keynote to the final breakout, SSP 2025 proved that while the landscape may be shifting, the scholarly publishing community is anything but standing still.
The conference opened with a powerful keynote from Dr. David Shiffman, a marine conservation biologist and passionate science communicator. Shiffman’s presentation tackled a core question for all of us in scholarly publishing: Is our work reaching the people it needs to? Using stories from his own career studying and advocating for sharks, Shiffman challenged the audience to think beyond journal articles and impact factors. His call to action—communicate research in ways that scale, resonate, and unify—set the tone for a meeting focused not just on adapting to change, but on leading it.
If the keynote was a call to connect more broadly, Thursday’s plenary was a deep dive into the internal pressures shaping scholarly communication. Bringing together executive leaders from across the publishing spectrum—commercial, society, university press, and library—the session offered an honest look at important questions: Are our current business models sustainable? How should we respond to increasing mandates and AI-driven disruption? What does research integrity mean in an age of mistrust?
This wasn’t just another panel; it was a refreshingly candid conversation about whether our foundational values still serve us, and if not, how we evolve them. Attendees walked away with clear insights, but also a shared sense of purpose and resilience.
One of SSP’s greatest strengths has always been the richness of its concurrent sessions, and 2025 was no exception. From practical workshops on metadata, DEI strategies, and AI tool integration to thought-provoking panels on global inclusivity, research evaluation, and the future of peer review, the program was as diverse as the community that SSP serves. A few standout sessions included:
- “What’s Next for AI in Publishing?” where panelists explored both practical implementations and ethical guardrails.
- “Rethinking Value in Open Access Models,” which examined emerging economic structures and their implications for equity and sustainability.
- “The Researcher Experience: From Submission to Discovery,” offering publisher, librarian, and author perspectives on how to make workflows truly researcher-centric.
Across the board, the speakers were informed, dynamic, and grounded in real-world experience. It was clear that every session had been curated not just for trendiness, but for real-world impact.
The theme of SSP 2025—value and values—was not just aspirational. It was woven into every hallway conversation, Q&A session, and networking reception. In a time when the industry is being asked to do more with less, to innovate while preserving trust, and to reach broader audiences than ever before, this year's meeting reminded us that the scholarly publishing community has the talent, tenacity, and vision to meet the moment.