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Stephanie Ronan
Marine Institute, Galway, Ireland
What Happened
The joint PISA2025 conference marked our 21st EURASLIC Biennial Conference in Pisa on May7- 9 2025. We collaborated with ASFA-FAO (Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts from the Food and Agriculture Organisation), and GreyNet International, hosted by D4Science-CNR (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche/Italian Research Council).
We came together for three days of ideas, networking, and plenty of Italian hospitality. The theme “How Scientific Communication Practices are Evolving” set the tone for sessions that looked beyond traditional publishing to embrace datasets, software, and other grey resources as vital parts of the research ecosystem.
The ASFA Retreat
The conference kicked off with the OpenASFA retreat facilitated by Tamsin Vicary and Maria Kalentsits. It wasn’t just a technical meeting - it was a chance to shape the future of the OpenASFA platform. Participants brainstormed improvements, shared feedback on workflows, and explored how ASFA can better support open science.
A huge thank you to ASFA for generously sponsoring participants to attend both the retreat and the full PISA 2025 conference. That support made a big difference in ensuring broad representation and lively discussion.
Opening and Keynotes
Day 2 opened formally with welcome remarks from Pasquale Pagano (ISTI (Institute of Information Science and Technologies) ‑ CNR), followed by a keynote from Donatella Castelli (ISTI‑CNR) and an address by Olaf Siegert (ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economic /Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft).
We followed this with an opportunity for each organisation to introduce ourselves and discuss the relevance and impact of this joint collaboration on our communities and on our scientific communication practices. The discussion featured Donatella Castelli, Tamsin Vicary (ASFA), Stephanie Ronan (Marine Institute/EURASLIC), and Dominic Farace (GreyNet).
The conference progressed with engaging panels and posters exploring everything from diamond open-access models to practical workflows for repository integration. The atmosphere was collaborative and forward-looking - exactly what you’d hope for from a joint meeting of three networks.
Poster Prize
The conference featured a poster prize, which is an annual event for the GreyNet conferences, and a tradition we might want to keep going with for our own EURASLIC biennial conferences. The Pisa 2025 poster prize went to Francesco D’Antoni from Sapienza Università di Roma for his poster titled “Beyond the Tip of the Iceberg: Grey Literature …” - a fantastic example of innovative content and graphic design, chosen by a jury from ISTI‑CNR.
What We Learned
Some highlights from the presentations and the sessions that followed revealed some clear themes:
Metadata matters – Bravi et al. showed how richer metadata for grey resources improves visibility and reuse, while Danssen et al. focused on practical workflows for repositories.
Repositories under pressure – Farace et al. explored how to adapt institutional repositories to handle datasets and software alongside traditional publications.
Collaboration is key – Farace et al. and Plank et al. reminded us that partnerships between libraries, researchers, and tech providers are essential for sustainable open infrastructures.
The full proceedings will be published very soon—watch this space. The full programme is still available on the Pisa 2025 conference website: IAMSLIC - Pisa 2025 Programme
Why It Matters
Scientific communication is changing fast. Libraries aren’t just adapting—they’re leading. By embracing grey resources and open platforms, we’re helping research communities share knowledge more widely and more effectively. That’s good for science, and good for society
The Social Side
D4Science‑CNR didn’t just host us - they spoiled us! From arranging delicious coffee and lunch breaks to a fabulous social dinner featuring Tuscan delights, we were well fed and well cared for. The walking tour of Pisa was another highlight—history, architecture, and plenty of time for informal chats (and Leaning Tower selfies!).
Personal Reflection
For me, PISA 2025 was a reminder of why these gatherings matter. It’s not just about presentations - it’s about the energy in the room, the shared commitment to open science, and the sense that libraries are shaping the future of research communication. Add the warmth of our hosts and the beauty of Pisa, and it’s hard not to come away inspired.
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