ORCID in the Open Science scenario: opportunities for academic libraries

Abstract

The persistent identification of authors and contributors plays a decisive role within the Open Science landscape. The increasing number of published research products and new open publishing models and infrastructures requires author identification which goes beyond fields or infrastructures and guarantees interoperability. ORCID iD is presented as a persistent identifier for researchers in this context. As information managers and organisers, many academic libraries have taken the lead in offering ORCID-related services and implementing it in their systems. This paper scans the implementation models across Europe and the actions carried out by libraries. Finally, it also depicts perspectives for integration in the Austrian library and research context.

Discontinuity between journals' registration and submission requirements for Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID)

“…Having an ORCID would also allow authors to be correctly matched to their published articles, 3 an important factor when considering authors who may have identical names, especially those that are culturally popular, for example, John Smith, and thus easy to confuse. The next phase of the ‘globalization’ of author identity archival, tracking and indexing involved implementing ORCID at the journal and publisher levels, and to fortify the base of adherents, it was promoted as an open science tool 4 . To that end, ORCID is touted as a trustworthy ‘integrity’ tool because it supposedly ensures the veracity of the author's identity, offering a reliable background to their publishing portfolios 5 …”

“…it was promoted as an open science tool. 4 To that end, ORCID is touted as a trustworthy 'integrity' tool because it supposedly ensures the veracity of the author's identity, offering a reliable background to their publishing portfolios. 5 Nowadays, many journals employ manuscript submission systems (MSSs) (Two commonly used OSSs are Clarivate's ScholarOne [https://clarivate.com/products/scientific-and-academic-research/ research-publishing-solutions/scholarone/] and Aries Systems Corporation's Editorial Manager [https://www.ariessys.com/about/privacy-policy/]) that allow authors to securely submit their papers, a process that involves registering their names and, depending on the MSS and journal, their ORCID.…”

Dystopian Cases of Orcid Identifiers: Animal-Associated Accounts

“…ORCID emerged as a tool not only for author identification [4], but as an integral part of academic publishing ecosystem's integrity [5]. ORCID was even touted as a component of the open science movement by claims that it fortified trust [6]. There are currently over 15.7 million live ORCID accounts [7].…”