Month: October 2012

"Jarrow, Electronic Thesis, and Dissertation Software"

James R.W. MacDonald and Daniel Yule have published "Jarrow, Electronic Thesis, and Dissertation Software" in the latest issue of the Code4Lib Journal.

Here's an excerpt:

Collecting and disseminating theses and dissertations electronically is not a new concept. Tools and platforms have emerged to handle various components of the submission and distribution process. However, there is not a tool that handles the entirety of the process from the moment the student begins work on their thesis to the dissemination of the final thesis. The authors have created such a tool which they have called Jarrow. After reviewing available open-source software for theses submission and open-source institutional repository software this paper discusses why and how Jarrow was created and how it works. Jarrow can be downloaded and the project followed at http://code.library.unbc.ca.

| Institutional Repository and ETD Bibliography 2011 | Digital Scholarship |

Metadata Librarian at National Institute of Standards and Technology

The National Institute of Standards and Technology is recruiting a Metadata Librarian.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Serve as Metadata Librarian for scientific/technical library and museum digital projects. Create, review, and modify metadata for effective discovery and access to NIST technical report and image collections. Coordinate and execute work flows for metadata processing and digital object preparation. Deposit metadata in national and local repositories. Work in partnership with Digital Services and Metadata Librarians on planning, implementation, and assessment of digital services initiatives. Collaborate with Research Librarians and perform information research using scientific/technical databases and other resources to create and describe new collections of NIST digital content. Serve as Lab Liaison to provide consultation and conduct outreach activities on metadata, taxonomy development, and authority control tools and techniques to improve discovery, access, and impact of NIST research. Monitor and report on changing technologies and current best practices in digital preservation. Perform some original cataloging as needed.

| Digital Scholarship |

"The Greatest Book You Will Never Read: Public Access Rights and the Orphan Works Dilemma"

Libby Greismann has published "The Greatest Book You Will Never Read: Public Access Rights and the Orphan Works Dilemma" in the Duke Law & Technology Review.

Here's an excerpt:

Copyright law aims to promote the dual goals of incentivizing production of literary and artistic works, and promoting public access and free speech. To achieve these goals, Congress has implemented a policy that acknowledges the rights of both the copyright holder and the public, which vest with the fixation of the work. However, as Congressional action has strengthened copyright protection, the rights of the public have been narrowed. Orphan works—works to which the copyright owner cannot be located or identified—present a unique problem, in that achieving free access and use of the works is often impossible. This note argues that the public has a recognizable right in both gaining access to and using orphan works—a right which emanates from, but is tangential to, the First Amendment right to free speech.

| Scholarly Electronic Publishing Weblog | Digital Scholarship |

Current News: Twitter Updates for 10/2/12

| Digital Scholarship |

Integrated Library System Librarian at Loudoun County Public Library

The Loudoun County Public Library is recruiting an Integrated Library System Librarian.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

This position manages the library's integrated library system, associated databases and systems, and ensures their optimal performance. Recommends and implements ILS modules and enhancements to advance processes and improve customer service. Assists in managing online systems that interact with the ILS, such as RFID, interlibrary loan (ILLiad) and EZProxy. Ensures the accuracy and integrity of the library's databases of MARC bibliographic, item, and patron records. Develops and manages training for the ILS. May supervise support staff. Participates in Division and Library system-wide strategic planning regarding technology.

| Digital Scholarship |

California Digital Library and Partners Launch DataUp Data Management Tool

The California Digital Library and its partners have launched the DataUp data management tool.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

Researchers struggling to meet new data management requirements from funders, journals and their own institutions now can use the DataUp Web application and a Microsoft Excel add-in to document and archive their tabular data. . . .

The DataUp add-in operates within a program many researchers already use: Microsoft Excel. The Web application allows users to upload tabular data in either Excel format or comma-separated value (CSV) format. Both the add-in and the Web application allow users to:

  • Perform a "best practices check" to ensure data are well-formatted and organized
  • Create standardized metadata, or a description of the data, using a wizard-style template
  • Retrieve a unique identifier for their dataset from their data repository
  • Post their datasets and associated metadata to the repository.

Although hundreds of data repositories are available for archiving, many scientific researchers either are unaware of their existence or do not know how to access them. One of the major outcomes of the DataUp project is the ONEShare repository, created specifically for DataUp, where users can deposit tabular data and metadata directly from the tool.

An added advantage of ONEShare is its connection to the DataONE network of repositories. DataONE links existing data centers and enables users to search for data across participating repositories by using a single search interface. Data deposited into ONEShare will be indexed and made available by any DataONE user, facilitating collaboration and enabling data re-use.

| Research Data Curation Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

Head of Library Systems at St. Edward’s University Library

The St. Edward's University Library is recruiting a Head of Library Systems.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Head of Library Systems provides leadership, management, and implementation to support all digital initiatives of the library. This position reports to the Director of the Library to identify strategic priorities for the library's digital presence, partners with the Head of Public Services to design a world-class library experience for the St. Edward's University community, and manages the work of the Digital Services Manager, all in the context of a collaborative library workplace. In addition, this position seeks out and cultivates partnerships with Information Technology in order to create innovative, useful, and efficient tools and resources for learning, services and scholarship in the context of a global campus, defines new projects and sets priorities, manages and schedules software development projects, coordinates deployment and management of production systems with others in the library and in Information Technology, estimates the time and resources required for such activities, and defines processes for quality assurance, programming standards, mentoring and assisting in the professional development of library staff, and directing and participating in requirements analysis, architecture, design, coding, testing, deployment, and support of software. This position reports to the Library Director and functions as a member of both the library and Information Technology management teams, participates in library planning initiatives, and develops the overall strategic plan and architectures for digital library systems.

"Digital Humanities: Where to Start"

Jennifer L. Adams and Kevin B. Gunn have published "Digital Humanities: Where to Start" in the latest issue of College & Research Libraries News.

Here's an excerpt:

As an emerging field, DH has, thus far, had a broad characterization. As technology and our understanding of it change, so do the limits of DH. There has been some debate as to whether DH constitutes a discipline of its own or is simply an application of new technologies to existing disciplines. In either case, DH can be understood as the place where traditional humanities research methodologies and media/digital technologies intersect. DH is more than the digitization of existing processes, documents, and artifacts. It is often data-driven, answering humanities research problems with multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and cross-disciplinary approaches within the digital/IT realm. The current challenge for DH lies in establishing itself in traditional academic environments. . . .

There are many useful resources available online, including general sites as well as e-publications, tools, tutorials, and organizations. We have tried to include a representative sample of those we feel are most important or could be most useful for librarians getting started in the digital humanities.

| Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography 2010 | Digital Scholarship |

Library Systems Programmer at University of Southern California Libraries

The University of Southern California Libraries are recruiting a Library Systems Programmer.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Reporting to the Associate Director, Library Systems, the Library Systems Programmer provides programming support for the technical infrastructure of systems such as the Integrated Library System( SirsiDynix), the Digital Library (ContentDM) and other applications-based services offered by the USC Libraries. Develops application design specifications and requirements based on analysis/assessment of user needs in support of the mission and strategic goals of the USC Libraries and makes recommendations on the software that enables services offered such as the USC Libraries Web site, Homer, the USC Libraries catalog, and the USC Digital Library.

| Digital Scholarship |

Open Access: SCOAP3 Launched

The SCOAP3 open access initiative has been launched at a meeting at CERN, and it will become operational in 2014.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

In the SCOAP3 model, libraries and funding agencies pool resources currently used to subscribe to journal content and use them to support the peer-review system directly instead. Journal publishers then make their articles Open Access, which means that anyone can read them. Authors retain the copyright, and generous licenses for re-use are used.

Publishers of 12 journals, accounting for the vast majority of articles in the field, have been identified for participation in SCOAP3 through an open and competitive process, and the SCOAP3 initiative looks forward to establishing more partnerships with key institutions in Europe, America and Asia as it moves through the technical steps of organizing the re-direction of funds from the current subscription model to a common internationally coordinated fund.

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

Applications Analyst at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Libraries

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Libraries are recruiting an Applications Analyst.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The University Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is seeking an Applications Analyst to join the Carolina Digital Repository development team in the Library Systems department. The Carolina Digital Repository (CDR) is a digital archive for materials produced by members of the UNC community. It preserves and provides access to digital scholarly output, digitized and born-digital special collections, and university records of enduring value. The CDR uses open-source Fedora Commons repository software and iRODS data grid software for storage management. The work of the Digital Repository Analyst is highly collaborative in nature, requiring coordination with a team of developers, systems administrators, archivists, and external stakeholders. The Digital Repository Analyst develops tools supporting ingest, management, preservation, and delivery of digital content. The Analyst participates in the full-life cycle of application development, from design through implementation, testing, user acceptance,

| Digital Scholarship |

"Beyond Open Access: An Examination of Australian Academic Publication Behaviour"

Paul Mercieca has self-archived his Ph.D. theses, "Beyond Open Access: An Examination of Australian Academic Publication Behaviour," in the RMIT Research Repository.

Here's an excerpt:

This study explored the publication behaviour of academics from Australian universities and how this impacted on the adoption of open access models of scholarly publishing. . . .

The outcome of this study was a number of theoretical models that suggested that the changing policies associated with research recognition have narrowed the publication behaviour of the Australian academic community and that this could be to the detriment of the adoption of alternative models of scholarly publishing.. . .

The study also examined engagement with institutional repositories and highlighted the importance of mediation in populating the content of repositories. The process of permission-based mandates was supported as a means to develop repository content.

| Open Access Bibliography: Liberating Scholarly Literature with E-Prints and Open Access Journals | Digital Scholarship |