The wholesale recycling by an author of their text from a previous publication into another work is usually regarded as major no-no in professional publishing, for all sorts of legal and ethical reasons. However, there are occasions when text recycling may actually be more appropriate when, for example, a pivotal reference work is behind a paywall.

‘Text Recycling in Scientific Writing: What Editors Need to Know’, is Ruth Isaacson’s report of a discussion session at the 2023 Annual General Meeting of the Council of Science Editors in which the speakers Cary Moskovitz and David Hansen have tackled this tricky area of publishing in an admirably clear and accessible way. The discussion was moderated by Kelly Hadsell, and the report of can be read at: https://www.csescienceeditor.org/article/text-recycling-in-scientific-writing/.