Researcher to Reader Conference

The image is a screen capture from an edition of The Lady, saying: There’s a wonderful quote by Bill Bryson, an American who has lived in Britain for many years, and author of the very funny Notes From A Small Island. In it, he writes of a wet afternoon in which a Mrs Gubbins came in with ‘a tray of tea things and a plate of biscuits of the sort that I believe are called teatime variety, and everyone stirred friskily to life, rubbing their hands keenly and saying, “Ooh, lovely”. To this day, I remain impressed by the ability of Britons of all ages and social backgrounds to get genuinely excited by the prospect of a hot beverage.’

We Brits do find humour in tiny things like being 50% down on Sarahs/Saras at the conference this year, or that having two people called Nancy Roberts is better than having one Phil Jones & one Phill Jones (in 2024).
We also revel in our tiny comforts, like a nice cup of tea.
YMMV

#R2RConf Ensures Long-term Future with SKS Knowledge Services

The long-term future of Researcher to Reader Conference has been ensured by an agreement for the company that operates R2R to become part of SKS Knowledge Services.

r2rconf.com/r2rnews/

The Researcher to Reader Conference is happening today and tomorrow. The official hashtag is #R2RConf - please use that.
But you may encounter interesting content by also searching for #R2RConf2026 or #R2R2026 some other variant.

We were wondering where you were!
Yes the correct tag is #R2RConf, but #R2R2026 is worth a quick search, folks.....

R2R Conference Banner

Next week's #R2RConf is now FULL, with more registrations than any previous R2R, and Registration is now closed.
If you missed out, make a note to register early for R2R 2027, in October.
If you have been able to secure a place this year, we look forward to seeing you.
r2rconf.com/r2r-conferen...

bsky.app/profile/r2rc...

R2R 2026 banner saying "I'm Facilitating"

R2R 2026 banner saying "I'm Speaking"

R2R 2026 banner saying "I'm Participating"

Very belatedly, #R2RConf now has "I'm participating" banners that you can add to posts, blurts, etc, if you want to....

Debate: Artificial Intelligence Tools Resolved: AI tools will provide a net benefit to scholarly communication Two debaters argue for and against the proposition. This will be a formal debate, with the result decided by the impact of the arguments on all the Conference participants. An initial ‘baseline’ vote is taken at the start of the debate, and another vote is taken at the end. The winner is the side that has swayed opinion in their favour. • Rick Anderson, University Librarian at Brigham Young University (moderator) • Darrell Gunter, Managing Director at Gunter Media Group (for the motion) • Amanda Licastro, Head of Digital Scholarship at Swarthmore College (against the motion)

What's on the Agenda at #R2RConf on 24-25 February in London?

Debate: Resolved: AI tools will provide a net benefit to scholarly communication

r2rconf.com/r2r-conferen...

@rickanderson.bsky.social
@amandalicastro.bsky.social

@nikeshgo.bsky.social

Presentations: AI in a Global Context Does AI Promote Equity or Division? Is AI democratising global knowledge or entrenching digital bias? Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing scholarly publishing; but most AI systems are trained on Western datasets. The inherent risks are not just amplifying bias and narrowing perspectives, but also marginalising voices from the Global South. This presentation explores how AI may democratise or divide global knowledge, and what safeguards are needed for equity and diversity in research. Are we accelerating equity or colonialism? • Nikesh Gosalia, Chief Partnership Officer at Cactus Communications Making AI Work for Global Research Integrity Using global data and early adoption lessons to guide responsible AI adoption worldwide New global data from a forthcoming white paper on the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) reveals stark regional differences in how researchers view AI’s role in global publishing. This presentation shares original survey findings alongside lessons from Frontiers’ early adoption of AI (AIRA – Artificial Intelligence Review Assistant) for integrity checks and peer review support. Together, these insights provide clear directions for what publishers, funders, and institutions must do next to ensure AI strengthens inclusion, equity and integrity across scholarly communication. • Simone Ragavooloo, Research Integrity Portfolio Manager at Frontiers

What's on the Agenda at #R2RConf on 24-25 February in London?

Presentations: AI in a Global Context

r2rconf.com/r2r-conferen...

Panel: Rethinking Peer Review How independent peer review models drive transparency, equity and innovation Independent peer review providers are transforming research evaluation through journal-independent, community-driven models. The discussion will highlight how these initiatives promote transparency, equity, and efficiency in scholarly communication. Panellists will address how independent peer review reduces re-review fatigue, supports early-career researchers, and integrates with preprint and publishing workflows. The panel will provide insights into the evolving peer review landscape and give practical ideas for engaging with these platforms to advance more inclusive and effective models of research assessment. • Dr Jonny Coates, Founder at Rippling Ideas (moderator) • Dr Katherine Brown, Publishing Director at The Company of Biologists • Thomas Guillemaud, Co-founder at Peer Community In • Dr Peter Rodgers, Chief Magazine Editor, eLife

What's on the Agenda at #R2RConf on 24-25 February in London?

r2rconf.com/r2r-conferen...

@katherine-brown.bsky.social

@loupeck.bsky.social

Case Study: S20: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Libraries, Readers, Researchers: What We Got Right, What We Got Wrong, and What’s Next Subscribe to Open (S2O) is often framed as community-driven, yet implementation typically centres on libraries and revenue. For the American Physiological Society, a small nonprofit publisher, this work was completely new. Initial efforts focused on renewals and workflows, with the assumption that value would naturally extend to authors and readers. Feedback from editors, researchers, and indexers revealed confusion, pushing us to experiment with lightweight feedback tools and revised messaging. In this session, a publisher, consultant, researcher and a community engagement expert share lessons learned for resource-constrained societies and thoughts on measuring impact beyond revenue • Stacey Burke, Senior Director of Publishing, Transformation & Engagement at APS (moderator) • Dr Dennis Brown, Chief Science Officer at the American Physiological Society • Prof Wolfgang M Kuebler, Chair at the Institute of Physiology at Charité–Universitätsmedizin • Lou Peck, CEO at The International Bunch

What's on the Agenda at #R2RConf on 24-25 February in London?

r2rconf.com/r2r-conferen...

Join us following the Researcher to Reader Conference on Wed Feb 25 in London! Tickets still available for the conference r2rconf.com/r2r-conferen...

You are welcome at Scholarly Social whether or not attending the conference. Grab a space now: www.tickettailor.com/events/schol...

All welcome!

#R2RConf is just 15 days away and registrations are higher than any year except Hybrid2023

But room for more: 24-25 Feb, London

And there are still some FREE tickets available for new people who work in academia.

r2rconf.com/why-register/

r2rconf.com/r2r-registra...

Muppet (Beaker) at a conference podium

#R2RConf

Springer Nature Logo

#R2RConf delighted to have @springernature.com as sponsor for 24-25 Feb.

SN's leading brands provide technology-enabled products, platforms and services that help researchers to uncover new ideas, health professionals to stay at the forefront of medical science, and educators to advance learning.

Graphic of the programme (text details on the website)

What’s on at #R2RConf ?
(24-25 Feb, London)

Case Studies, Workshops, a Keynote, Roundtables, a Debate, Presentations, Lightning Talks...

Covering Peer Review Incentives, Open Science, Integrity, S2O, AI (in Libraries, and in the Global South), Book Metadata.....

r2rconf.com/r2r-conferen...

Researcher to Reader 2026: structure, debate, and community - Research Information Themes include research integrity, open science infrastructure, peer review reform, business models

Great article about #R2RConf on @researchinfo.bsky.social

Really captures the essence of what R2R is about.

www.researchinformation.info/news/researc...

Research Information logo

#R2RConf delighted to have Research Information as a Bronze Sponsor

Research Information is an independent B2B platform covering scholarly publishing, research policy, libraries, and academic technology.

R2R is on 24-25 Feb in London.
r2rconf.com/r2r-conferen...

Pie chart of registrations by sector

Who goes to #R2RConf? (R2R 2026 is 24-25 February in London)

We work to ensure that R2R includes people from across scholarly communications, to make our conversations more informed and meaningful.

Currently we are:
Publishing: 40%
Libraries: 25%
Research: 15%

r2rconf.com/r2r-registra...

Pie charts showing 2024 and 2025 feedback as 99% to 100% positive

Thinking about #R2RConf, but wondering if it is going to be worth it?
For R2R 2025 and R2R 2024, almost everyone said that it was Valuable and Relevant (50% of delegates completed our survey).
r2rconf.com/2025/04/03/p...

R2R registration graph

#R2RConf Participant numbers for 24-25 February in London are booming, with registrations about 15% higher than this time in 2025 and 2024. But some tickets are still available.
r2rconf.com/r2r-conferen...

PA EDitorial, a new sponsor for #R2RConf, partners with global Publishers and Societies to deliver expert peer review management, research integrity support, and change management across complex journals, workflows, and editorial systems.
Register for R2R on 24-25 Feb
r2rconf.com/r2r-conferen...

KnowledgeWorks Global is sponsoring #R2RConf (24-25 Feb, London)
KGL is the premier industry provider of peer review, production, consulting, online hosting, association management, institutional sales & marketing, and transformative solutions for every stage of the content lifecycle.
r2rconf.com

MDPI Logo

Delighted that MDPI is #R2RConf Silver Sponsor!

MDPI is a pioneer in scholarly, open access publishing, that has supported academic communities since 1996. Based in Basel, Switzerland, MDPI has the mission to foster open scientific exchange in all forms, across all disciplines

r2rconf.com/r2rnews/

#r2rconf | Mark Carden "So, Mark, once you have the R2R Conference Programme finalised, how do you work out the Timetable, with the running-order, the breaks etc? Do you have a cool software tool that you use?" Ah, no. In t...

We are currently working on turning the #R2RConf Programme into a Timetable.
More here: www.linkedin.com/posts/markca...
Meanwhile, get registered, as the early-bird discounts are only available until the end of NOVEMBER!