An overview of the NFAIS 2017 Annual Conference: The Big Pivot: Re-Engineering Scholarly Communication

This paper provides an overview of the highlights of the 2017 NFAIS Annual Conference, The Big Pivot: ReEngineering Scholarly Communication, that was held in Alexandria, VA from February 26–28, 2017. The goal of the conference was to examine the scholarly record and its current evolution in a digital world – both in how it functions and how it serves the information and scholarly research communities. The program stressed how in today’s environment, new and innovative advances in information technology are drafting a blueprint that will optimize the ways in which users create, access, and use data and information. New government mandates and policies continue to be implemented on a global basis to facilitate open access to research outputs while in parallel alternative methods for peer review and measuring impact are being utilized. Within the context of these changes, the conference attempted to look at where this blueprint may lead the information community over the next few years.