"Confronting the Crisis in Scientific Publishing: Latency, Licensing and Access"

Jorge L. Contreras has self-archived "Confronting the Crisis in Scientific Publishing: Latency, Licensing and Access" in the American University Washington College of Law Digital Commons.

Here's an excerpt:

In this article, I propose an alternative private ordering solution based on latency values observed in open access stakeholder negotiation settings. Under this proposal, research institutions would collectively develop and adopt publication agreements that do not transfer copyright ownership to publishers, but instead grant publishers a one-year exclusive period in which to publish a work. This limited period of exclusivity should enable the publisher to recoup its costs and a reasonable profit through subscription revenues, while restoring control of the article copyright to the author at the end of the exclusivity period. This balanced approach addresses the needs of both publishers and the scientific community, and would, I believe, avoid many of the challenges faced by existing open access models.

| Digital Scholarship Overview | Digital Scholarship |

Current News: Twitter Updates for 10/190/12

  • Academic Publishing Giant Springer for Sale, http://t.co/DqVLLKxQ
  • Canada Joins TPP as a Second-Tier Negotiator: Entertainment Lobby Approves, Civil Society Does Not, https://t.co/S9IBEeJj
  • Patron Driven Acquisition: A Model for Providing Complete Access to Electronic Content While Limiting Costs for Libraries, http://t.co/2PSNb3Tc
  • E-books Grab 16% Share of Canadian Book Purchases, http://t.co/gsHakWhr

| Digital Scholarship |

New Open Access Series from UC Berkeley: California Classical Studies

The University of California, Berkeley's Department of Classics has established a new open access series, California Classical Studies.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

The series is intended to provide a peer-reviewed open-access venue for disseminating basic research, data-heavy research, including archaeological research, and highly specialized research of the kind that is either hard to place with the leading publishers in Classics or extremely expensive for libraries and individuals when produced by a leading academic publisher. . . .

Apart from aiming to publish 15 titles in the first three to four years, the startup phase will also test different workflows for production and assess the impact of various pricing models for Print on Demand and ebook versions. Some works will have images, plans, datasets, or other material offered only online. While every work will be available in full for page view from the date of first appearance, the series will experiment with the feasibility of shorter and longer embargo periods, or no embargo period, before free download of a full PDF is made available. Finally, the project is intended to find a path to sustainability, which will depend partly on how much revenue can be generated from sales and how far down production costs can be driven, but also on the willingness of institutions, administrators, and individual scholars with access to research grants to make an initial investment in open-access scholarly communication rather than bear the costs of library purchases and especially of ongoing licensing fees for digital material controlled by major publishers.

| Transforming Scholarly Publishing through Open Access: A Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

Hathitrust Wins Authors Guild, Inc. et al. v. Hathitrust et al. Case

James Grimmelmann reports in "HathiTrust Wins" that Hathitrust has won the Authors Guild, Inc. et al. v. Hathitrust et al. case .

Here's an excerpt:

On every substantive copyright issue, HathiTrust won:

  • Section 108 on library privileges doesn't limit the scope of fair use.
  • A search index and access for the print-disabled are both fair uses.
  • Search indexing is a transformative use.
  • The libraries aren't making commercial uses, even though they partnered with Google to get the scans.
  • The plaintiffs haven't proven that HahiTrust is creating any security risks.
  • There is no market for scanning and print-disabled access, nor is one likely to develop.
  • UM is required under the ADA to provide equal access to the print-disabled, and is allowed to under Section 121 of the Copyright Act.

| Reviews of Digital Scholarship Publications | Digital Scholarship |

IT Specialist (INET) at Smithsonian Institution

The Smithsonian Institution is recruiting an IT Specialist (INET).

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

This position is located in the Digital Services Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives (SIA). The employee is responsible for the technical development, coordination, administration, management, and maintenance of various internet and intranet web-based technologies and applications.

| Digital Scholarship |

Systems Administrator at Texas A&M University Libraries

Texas A&M University Libraries are recruiting a Systems Administrator.

Here's an excerpt from the ad ( N.O.V. number: 121535 ):

Function as a systems administrator engaged in developing, maintaining, installing, and using complex operating systems or subsystems and provide consulting, technical support, and training to users and technical staff; may support certain critical subsystems. The responsibilities for this position include the support of all Digital Initiative enterprise grade servers, enterprise grade storage, and enterprise grade networking equipment (layer 2 and 3 switches and load balancers) that are used to run and develop the many projects Digital Initiatives has undertaken on behalf of the TAMU Libraries.

| Digital Scholarship |

ACTA—The Ethical Analysis of a Failure, and Its Lessons

The European Centre for International Political Economy has released ACTA—The Ethical Analysis of a Failure, and Its Lessons.

Here's an excerpt:

In this article, I wish to contribute to the post-ACTA debate by proposing a specific analysis of the ethical reasons why ACTA failed, and what we can learn from them. I argue that five kinds of objections—namely, secret negotiations, lack of consultation, vagueness of formulation, negotiations outside any international body, and the creation of a new governing body outside already existing forums—had only indirect ethical implications. This takes nothing away from their seriousness but it does make them less compelling, because agreements should be evaluated, ethically, for what they are, rather than for the alleged reasons why they are being proposed. I then argue that ACTA would have caused three ethical problems: an excessive and misplaced kind of responsibility, a radical decrease in freedom of expression, and a severe reduction in information privacy. I conclude by indicating three lessons that can help us in shaping ACTA 2.

| Digital Scholarship's Digital/Print Books | Digital Scholarship |

Emerging Technologies & Computer Science Librarian at Carnegie Mellon University Libraries

Carnegie Mellon University Libraries are recruiting an Emerging Technologies & Computer Science Librarian .

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Emerging Technologies & Computer Science Librarian works in special collaboration with library faculty, administrators, and the greater University community in support of the Libraries' new initiatives. The Emerging Technologies and Computer Science Librarian is the liaison to the School of Computer Science (SCS). This individual will lead the development of policies and procedures for data curation and management services on campus with an eye to ensuring that the university complies with federal mandates. As a member of the Science Libraries team, this position pays particular attention to emerging technological trends and supports the Libraries' reference and instruction functions. T

| Digital Scholarship |

Digital Archivist at Rollins College Library

The Rollins College Library is recruiting a Digital Archivist.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Rollins College is looking for a service-oriented library archivist to help with the design, development and implementation of a digital archive and record management program at Rollins College. Reporting to the Head of Archives & Special Collections and collaborating with the Collections & Systems Department, the Digital Archivist will play a key role in collecting, organizing, and making accessible digital resources relating to the history of the institution.

| Digital Scholarship |

Scholars’ Lab Releases BagIt and SolrSearch Plugins for Omeka

The Scholars' Lab has Released BagIt and SolrSearch Plugins for Omeka.

Here's an excerpt from the BagIt announcement:

BagIt is a specification by the Library of Congress for creating containers of files with metadata. . . .

The first part of this release is the BagIt PHP library. This is a generic PHP library for working with BagIt files. . . .

The second part is the BagIt Omeka plugin. This is built upon the BagIt library and provides an easy-to-use user interface for it.

Here's an excerpt from the SolrSearch announcement:

SolrSearch allows you to replace Omeka's default search with Solr. Solr is a standard, popular, open source, fast text search engine server. It handles hit highlighting, date math, numeric aggregation functions (mean, max, etc.), indexing for 33 languages, replication, and many, many more things.

| Scholarly Electronic Publishing Weblog | Digital Scholarship |

"The Impact of Social Media on the Dissemination of Research: Results of an Experiment"

Melissa Terras has published "The Impact of Social Media on the Dissemination of Research: Results of an Experiment" in the latest issue of the Journal of Digital Humanities.

Here's an excerpt:

From now on, I will definitely post anything I publish straight into our institutional repository, and blog and tweet it straight away. After all, the time it takes to undertake research, and write research papers, and see them through to publication is large; the time it takes to blog or tweet about them is negligible. .

| Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography 2010 | Digital Scholarship |

Systems and Web Librarian at Indiana Wesleyan University’s Jackson Library

Indiana Wesleyan University's Jackson Library is recruiting a Systems and Web Librarian.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

To actively support student and faculty learning and research through web and electronic systems and services. Is responsible for administering and managing various library systems to ensure they are operating effectively. The tasks involved include: installing, configuring, administering, testing, enhancing, and maintaining the software and hardware associated with Innovative Interfaces, ILLiad, the Jackson Library website, and other systems.

| Digital Scholarship |

Web Application Developer I at Bucknell University Library and Information Technology

Bucknell University's Library and Information Technology is recruiting a Web Application Developer I.

Here's an excerpt from the ad (requisition number: 07132):

The Web Application Developer is a member of the Enterprise Systems team within Library and Information Technology and has a primary responsibility to develop, integrate, and/or implement web-based applications.

| Digital Scholarship |

ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2012

EDUCAUSE has released the ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2012.

Here's an excerpt:

Findings and recommendations reflect four general themes:

  • Blended-learning environments are the norm; students say that these environments best support how they learn.
  • Students want to access academic progress information and course material via their mobile devices, and institutions deliver.
  • Technology training and skill development for students is more important than new, more, or "better" technology.
  • Students use social networks for interacting with friends more than for academic communication.

| Reviews of Digital Scholarship Publications | Digital Scholarship |

Sr. Programmer at Kansas State University Libraries

Kansas State University Libraries are recruiting a Sr. Programmer.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Kansas State University Libraries invite applications and nominations for the position of Senior Programmer with experience developing web applications on AMP stack to join an exciting new team in the Administrative & IT Services Department. The new team would be collaborating with other library staff in creating value added services by using a wide array of tools that include both open source (dspace, drupal, etc) and vendor driven products.

"Open Access Repositories in Asia: From SAARC to Asian Tigers"

Bijan Kumar Roy, Subal Chandra Biswas, and Parthasarathi Mukhopadhyay have published "Open Access Repositories in Asia: From SAARC to Asian Tigers" in Library Philosophy and Practice.

Here's an excerpt:

This paper provides an overview of Open Access Repository (OAR) initiatives taken in Asian Countries with special reference to SAARC [South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation] Countries. The purpose of this study is to take a broad look at the current state of deployment of OARs in the Asian countries. It also compares selected OARs against a set of carefully crafted criteria. Key findings have been highlighted along with suggestions for further development of OARs in global context.

| Transforming Scholarly Publishing through Open Access: A Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

Systems Administrator at Northeast Kansas Library System

The Northeast Kansas Library System is recruiting a Systems Administrator.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

NEKLS is seeking a systems administrator to work as a member of our technology team to provide superior customer service to member libraries in a 14 county region in Northeast Kansas. The systems administrator will manage the servers, networks and software for technology services of the Northeast Kansas Library System (NEKLS).

| Digital Scholarship |

Director of Information Technology at Columbus Metropolitan Library

The Columbus Metropolitan Library is recruiting a Director of Information Technology.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Director of Information Technology is responsible for providing visionary leadership and management to the IT department, including guidance and oversight of library information systems and communication technologies that support and align with the overall strategies of the library. The Director will oversee the stability and efficient operations of the library's Infrastructure, Network and Help Desk functions.

The position will provide leadership, serve as a business partner and will anticipate and recommend opportunities where information technology can advance the library's capabilities and be utilized to provide a competitive advantage. The Director will develop and execute a strategic plan within the context of the overall library business strategy and work closely with decision makers in other departments to identity, recommend, develop, implement and support cost-effective technology solutions for all aspects of the organization.

| Digital Scholarship |

"A Sample of Research Data Curation and Management Courses"

Andrew T. Creamer et al. have published "A Sample of Research Data Curation and Management Courses" in the latest issue of the Journal of eScience Librarianship.

Here's an excerpt:

This paper identifies a sample of research data curation and management courses available at American Library Association-accredited Library and Information Science (LIS) Programs in North America. . . .

Only 13 (22%) of LIS programs currently offer a course focused on the management and curation of research data. . . .

Although the literature supports LIS professionals adopting new roles and engaging in eScience and data management, most LIS data-related programs do not have a separate course solely focused on research data management. More LIS programs will need to adapt their curricula in order to help students and practicing professionals develop the needed competencies in research data curation and management.

| Digital Curation Bibliography: Preservation and Stewardship of Scholarly Works | Digital Scholarship |

Systems Engineer—Digital Collection Services at OCLC

OCLC is recruiting a Systems Engineer—Digital Collection Services.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

As a Systems Engineering Specialist at OCLC working with the Digital Collection Services group, you will be at the cutting edge of large scale digital preservation of a wide variety of materials, and will play an important role in OCLC's mission to connect libraries and make quality information available to the world. In this position you will wear several important hats: web/network guru, operating systems specialist, systems integrator and troubleshooter, and performance and security analyst.

| Digital Scholarship |

Google and Publishers Settle Seven-Year-Old Copyright Lawsuit over Google Library Project

Google and the Association of American Publishers have settled the copyright lawsuit over Google Library Project. The related Authors Guild lawsuit has not been settled.

Here's an excerpt from the Google press release:

The agreement settles a copyright infringement lawsuit filed against Google on October 19, 2005 by five AAP member publishers. As the settlement is between the parties to the litigation, the court is not required to approve its terms.

The settlement acknowledges the rights and interests of copyright-holders. US publishers can choose to make available or choose to remove their books and journals digitized by Google for its Library Project. Those deciding not to remove their works will have the option to receive a digital copy for their use.

Apart from the settlement, US publishers can continue to make individual agreements with Google for use of their other digitally-scanned works. . . .

Google Books allows users to browse up to 20% of books and then purchase digital versions through Google Play. Under the agreement, books scanned by Google in the Library Project can now be included by publishers.

See also the AAP press release.

| Google Books Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |