The planning committee of the joint PISA 2025 conference is excited to invite you to join us in Pisa, Italy on 7-9 May 2025.  This is the first time our networks have collaborated to bring together this prestigious event. We are ASFA-FAO, EURASLIC and GreyNet International, hosted by D4Science-CNR.  

This conference represents: 

The PISA 2025 conference theme is “How Scientific Communication Practices are Evolving”, with a focus on Grey Resources. A deep transformation is underway in how scientific knowledge is shared, validated, and built upon. Traditionally, scientific communication has centered on publishing research papers in peer-reviewed journals, expecting that these papers would contain all the necessary details for understanding and replicating the research. However, as science becomes increasingly complex, collaborative, and interdisciplinary, as in the case of marine and aquaculture science, the need to communicate beyond the text of research papers, and outside of commercial publishers has become clear.

This is where Grey Literature and Grey Resources such as datasets, software, methods, and protocols play an integral role. Moreover, new editorial models are emerging, reflecting a shift towards more inclusive and transparent dissemination practices. The Diamond Open Access model is gaining particular attention. Scientific libraries are increasingly involved with institutional publishers or even taking on the role of managing Diamond Open Access journals themselves. This shift is accompanied by efforts to reform traditional copyright management practices, for example with rights retention policies or secondary publication rights. These changes are essential for fostering a more equitable and accessible scientific landscape.

As the scientific communication landscape evolves, so must the role of scientific libraries. Libraries have traditionally served as repositories for published works, but the increasing importance of data, software, and methods means that libraries must adapt to facilitate broader forms of knowledge sharing and preservation. We must examine our Institutional Repositories, and Thematic Repositories such as OpenASFA considering their role in hosting grey resources. 

The ASFA-EURASLIC-GREYNET  joint event aims to discuss grey resources as a tool for scientific communication and how we can contribute to shaping the future role of scientific libraries and institutions, facilitating the free flow of scientific knowledge ensuring that research is reproducible, transparent, and accessible. Libraries must become comprehensive service providers for scholarly publications, including grey resources and all the data, software, methods, and protocols that enable modern research.

In this evolving ecosystem, libraries could help break down the traditional silos between disciplines and research outputs, promoting a more integrated, collaborative, and transparent scientific community. As they do so, they’ll need to work closely with researchers, publishers, and other stakeholders to ensure their infrastructure is supportive, sustainable, and forward-thinking.

The ASFA-EURASLIC-GREYNET joint conference will take place at CNR-Area di Ricerca in Pisa (Italy) on May 7 - 9, 2025.