Year: 2012

"Scholarly Communication Strategies in Latin America’s Research-Intensive Universities"

Juan Pablo Alperin, Gustavo E. Fischman, and John Willinsky have self-archived "Scholarly Communication Strategies in Latin America's Research-Intensive Universities" in the SUSE Open Archive.

Here's an excerpt:

Open Access—scholarship that is "digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions" (Suber, 2011)—has dramatically changed the research landscape in universities worldwide in the twenty-first century. In Latin America, regional Open Access initiatives (if not officially labeled "open access") have permeated most research-intensive universities and national science evaluation systems and have begun to alter the way that local research is perceived. Furthermore, the prominence of Open Access, regionally and globally, has become a significant force in transforming previous traditions and systems used by universities in Latin America in the production and access to scientific knowledge, having a profound influence on its position within what might be thought of as the global knowledge exchange.

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

Digital Scholarship Coordinator at Columbia University Libraries

The Columbia University Libraries are recruiting a Digital Scholarship Coordinator.

Here's an excerpt from the ad (requisition number: 0002842):

The Columbia University Libraries invites nominations and applications for the position of Digital Scholarship Coordinator, Humanities and History Libraries division. The Digital Scholarship Coordinator will provide leadership in incorporating technologies and new research methodologies into the scholarly activities of the humanities community at Columbia University. The Digital Scholarship Coordinator will work with colleagues from across the University to develop outreach strategies and partnerships with faculty and students supporting digital research projects in the humanities. The Digital Scholarship Coordinator will engage technologies emerging as critical to research and teaching in the humanities to meet the evolving needs of faculty, students, and staff. The Digital Scholarship Coordinator will assist in planning for the programmatic and physical expansion of the Digital Humanities Center, http://library.columbia.edu/indiv/dhc.html, within Butler Library, including the creation of a graduate student fellows program focusing on the digital humanities. The Digital Scholarship Coordinator will also assist in the identification of funding opportunities and preparation of grants supporting the programmatic needs of the Digital Humanities Center. The Digital Scholarship Coordinator will work closely with colleagues from the Humanities and History Libraries, the Digital Humanities Librarian, and the Center for New Media Teaching and Learning, http://ccnmtl.columbia.edu, and the Center for Digital Research and Scholarship, http://cdrs.columbia.edu. The position will report to the Director of the Humanities & History Libraries division.

| Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography, Version 80 | Digital Scholarship |

Harvard Library to Deposit about 200,000 Public Domain Volumes in HathiTrust

The Harvard Library will deposit about 200,000 public domain volumes in HathiTrust.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

The Harvard Library will deposit approximately 200,000 public domain volumes in HathiTrust, a shared digital repository for published materials. This follows Harvard's first deposit of approximately 53,000 volumes in HathiTrust in 2011.

"The Harvard Library is committed to collaboration and easing access to its materials. Partnerships like this create significant opportunities for research libraries to lead during a period of rapid changes in higher education and scholarship in the digital age, and for researchers to benefit from their initiative" said Mary Lee Kennedy, Harvard's senior associate provost for the Library.

| Digital Curation and Preservation Bibliography 2010 | Digital Scholarship |

LITA Publishes First Open Access Issue of Information Technology and Libraries

The Library Information Technology Association has published the first open access issue of Information Technology and Libraries under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Here's an excerpt from the "Editor's Comments":

Welcome to the first issue of Information Technology and Libraries (ITAL) as an open-access, e-only publication. As announced to LITA members in early January, this change in publishing model will help ensure the long-term viability of ITAL by making it more accessible, more current, more relevant, and more environmentally friendly. ITAL will continue to feature high-quality articles that have undergone a rigorous peer-review process, but it will also begin expanding content to include more case studies, commentary, and information about topics and trends of interest to the LITA community and beyond. Look for a new scope statement for ITAL shortly.

Of special interest to DigitalKoans readers is Abigail J. McDermott's "Copyright: Regulation Out of Line with Our Digital Reality?" article.

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

Data Management Specialist at Oregon State University Libraries

The Oregon State University Libraries are recruiting a Data Management Specialist.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

OSU Libraries seeks a self-motivated individual to establish a robust research data and data set curation and management program at Oregon State University. Reporting to the Head of the Center for Digital Scholarship and Services, the Data Management Specialist plays a central role in developing services and data management plans to support the data generated by the OSU research enterprise. The position collaborates with faculty, graduate students, academic units and research center personnel to identify, manage, describe, preserve and make research data available and accessible to appropriate audiences. The Data Management Specialist assists faculty and graduate students with writing data management plans required by funding agencies such as the National Science Foundation. The position identifies and recommends appropriate methods for data storage and retrieval and instructs researchers in contributing to and using digital repository systems including ScholarsArchive@OSU.

| E-science and Academic Libraries Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

Current News: Twitter Updates for 3/6/12

| Digital Scholarship |

Archivist for Digital Collections – Digital Collections and Archives at Tufts University

Tufts University is recruiting an Archivist for Digital Collections – Digital Collections and Archives.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Archivist for Digital Collections (ADC) oversees the formulation, preparation, and management of digital objects and collections for the DCA with a particular focus on developing tools and workflows to maximize efficiency in digital collections management. This work includes: database manipulation, scripting, supervising student workers, developing policies and procedures concerning digital objects and metadata, implementing appropriate standards and best practices, conducting quality assurance for digital collections, undertaking preservation activities, and managing the DCA's locally-developed collections management system, CIDER. The ADC, working closely with the Director, acts as project manager for projects yielding digital collections including proposal development, and implementation and oversight of funded projects, and serves as a primary point of contact for faculty requiring assistance managing electronic research materials.

| Digital Curation and Preservation Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

Utah State Faculty Senate Passes Proposed "Retention of Authors Copyright to Scholarly Articles and Deposit in the University’s Open Access Repository" Policy

According to a library staff member, the Utah State Faculty Senate passed a proposed "Retention of Authors Copyright to Scholarly Articles and Deposit in the University's Open Access Repository" policy yesterday (see section 3:40, item 1). The policy will be sent next to the Human Resources department for further consideration since it is a proposed personnel policy.

Here's an excerpt:

(1) Author's Rights

The University recognizes the importance of copyright and urges faculty members to retain rights to their own scholarly articles. Therefore, if a publisher's standard contract requires the transfer of copyright and/or does not allow deposit in the University's open access repository, the University expects faculty authors to negotiate the terms of the publisher's contract by attaching an addendum to the contract asserting the author's right to retain the copyright and/or the right to deposit the published version or pre-print version of the scholarly article in the University's open access repository. Should a publisher insist on the transfer of copyright as a condition of publication or refuse to permit the deposition of the published version or preprint version of the scholarly article in the University's open access repository, it is at the faculty author's discretion whether or not to continue with the publication, which will invoke an automatic waiver to this policy (see 5.2(2)).

(2) Deposit in the University's Open Access Repository

Each faculty member grants permission to the University to post in the University's open access repository all of his or her scholarly, peer-reviewed journal articles published while employed by the University. In legal terms each faculty member grants to the University a nonexclusive license to exercise any and all rights under copyright relating to each of his or her scholarly articles, in any medium, provided that the articles are not sold for profit, and to authorize others to do the same. This license in no way interferes with the rights of a faculty author as the copyright holder of the work but instead promotes a wide distribution and increased impact of the author's work. If a faculty author's attempt to retain full rights is unsuccessful, the author may proceed with publication, thereby invoking an automatic waiver for that particular article. While it is not necessary in these situations to formally request a waiver, it is recommended that the author send the bibliographic citation to the Library, alerting librarians that a waiver is being invoked and that the publication may not be posted in the University's open access repository.

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

Digital Project Librarian at University of Texas–Pan American Library

The University of Texas–Pan American Library is recruiting a Digital Project Librarian.

Here's an excerpt ad:

  • Responsible in managing daily operations related to the digitization, cataloging, classification, and access of archival materials.
  • Creates, manages and organizes digitization projects.
  • Catalogs and classifies digitized print, audio-visual and oral history.
  • Creates and maintains a website for the digitized items.
  • Seeks permission for copyrighted material for digitizing.
  • Works in collaboration with other area libraries and museums for digitization of some archival collections.

| Institutional Repository Bibliography | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview |

EFF Issues "Mobile User Privacy Bill of Rights"

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has issued a "Mobile User Privacy Bill of Rights".

Here's an excerpt:

Mobile smartphone apps represent a powerful technology that will only become more important in the years to come. But the unique advantages of the smartphone as a platform—a device that's always on and connected, with access to real world information like user location or camera and microphone input—also raise privacy challenges. . . .

Fortunately, frameworks exist for understanding the privacy rights and expectations of the users. The following guide of best practices pulls from documents like EFF's Bill of Privacy Rights for Social Network Users and the recently released White House white paper "Consumer Data Privacy in a Networked World" to set a baseline for what mobile industry players must do to respect user privacy.

| Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography 2010 | Digital Scholarship |

Digital Copyright: Authors Guild Files Motion for Partial Judgment on the Pleadings in Authors Guild et al. v. Hathitrust et al.

The Authors Guild has filed a motion for partial judgment on the pleadings in the Authors Guild et al. v. Hathitrust et al. case.

Here's an excerpt from the associated "Memorandum of Law in Support of Plaintiffs' Motion for Partial Judgment on the Pleadings":

Defendants are wildly exceeding the special privileges Congress granted to libraries under Section 108 by systematically digitizing, reproducing, distributing and putting at risk millions of works through their mass book digitization program. Defendants' so-called orphan works program is similarly inimical to the Copyright Act, as it violates Section 108(h)'s explicit limitation of libraries' use of orphan works to the twenty year period preceding the end of their copyright term. Neither fair use under Section 107, nor any other statutory exception under the Copyright Act, can justify Defendants' systematic and concerted digitization, reproduction, distribution and other unauthorized uses of millions of copyright-protected library books. Accordingly, Plaintiffs urge the Court to grant their motion for partial judgment on the pleadings.

Read more about it at "GBS: Authors Guild Goes for an Early Knockout," "Guild Motion Asks for Quick Ruling on HathiTrust's Fair Use Defense," and "A Masterpiece of Misdirection."

| Digital Bibliographies | Digital Scholarship |

"Peer-Reviewed Open Research Data: Results of a Pilot"

Marjan Grootveld and Jeff van Egmond have self-archived "Peer-Reviewed Open Research Data: Results of a Pilot" in E-LIS.

Here's an excerpt:

Peer review of publications is at the core of science and primarily seen as instrument for ensuring research quality. However, it is less common to value independently the quality of the underlying data as well. In the light of the "data deluge" it makes sense to extend peer review to the data itself and this way evaluate the degree to which the data are fit for re-use. This paper describes a pilot study at EASY—the electronic archive for (open) research data at our institution. In EASY, researchers can archive their data and add metadata themselves. Devoted to open access and data sharing, at the archive we are interested in further enriching these metadata with peer reviews.

As pilot we established a workflow where researchers who have downloaded data sets from the archive were asked to review the downloaded data set. This paper describes the details of the pilot including the findings, both quantitative and qualitative. Finally we discuss issues that need to be solved when such a pilot should be turned into structural peer review functionality of the archiving system.

| Digital Scholarship |

"A Tale of Two Bills: The Research Works Act and Federal Research Public Access Act"

Peter Suber has published "A Tale of Two Bills: The Research Works Act and Federal Research Public Access Act" in the latest issue of the SPARC Open Access Newsletter.

Here's an excerpt:

(1) The Research Works Act (RWA)

The RWA is now dead, withdrawn by its Congressional sponsors and chief lobbyist-supporter. But here's a biography and obituary. . . .

(2) The Federal Research Public Access Act (FRPAA)

(2.1) FRPAA would strengthen the OA mandate at the NIH, by reducing the maximum embargo to six months, and then extend the strengthened policy to all the major agencies of the federal government. In that sense, it's the opposite of the RWA. . . .

(2.2) FRPAA uses the term "free online public access" without definition. But for convenience I'll say here that FRPAA requires "OA".

It requires agencies to come up with their own OA policies within the general guidelines laid down in the bill. It's not a one-size-fits-all solution and agencies are free to differ on the details. If the bill passes, they'll have one year to develop their policies (Section 4.a).

But agencies must mandate OA to agency-funded research. The must mandate OA "as soon as practicable" after publication (4.b.4), but no later than six months after publication. The guidelines do not stipulate the timing of deposits, only the timing of OA. For researchers employed and not merely funded by the federal government, FRPAA allows no embargo at all (4.c.2).

Like the NIH policy, FRPAA applies to the authors' peer-reviewed manuscripts (4.b.2), not to the published editions of their articles. Like the NIH policy, it allows consenting publishers to replace the peer-reviewed manuscripts with the published editions (4.b.3). It does not apply to classified research or royalty-producing work such as books (4.d.3). It also exempts patentable discoveries, but only "to the extent necessary to protect a…patent" (4.d.3).

Unlike the NIH policy, FRPAA doesn't specify the OA repository in which authors must deposit their manuscripts, the way the NIH specifies PubMed Central. Agencies could host their own repositories or make use of existing repositories, including the institutional repositories of their researchers. FRPAA only requires that the repositories meet certain conditions of OA, interoperability, and long-term preservation (4.b.6).

FRPAA and the NIH policy differ slightly in how they secure permission for the mandated OA. The NIH requires grantees to retain the non-exclusive right to authorize OA through PubMed Central. If a given publisher is not willing to allow OA on the NIH's terms, then grantees must look for another publisher. FRPAA requires agencies to "make effective use of any law or guidance relating to the creation and reservation of a Government license that provides for the reproduction, publication, release, or other uses of a final manuscript for Federal purposes" (4.c.3). The FRPAA approach gives agencies more flexibility. Agencies may use the battle-tested NIH method if they wish. They may use a federal-purpose license such as that codified in 2 CFR 215.36(a) (January 2005) if they wish. Or they may make use of "any [other] law or guidance" that would be "effective" in steering clear of infringement.

FRPAA does not amend copyright or patent law (4.e).

FRPAA applies to all unclassified research funded in whole or part (4.b.1) by agencies whose budgets for extramural research are $100 million/year or more (4.a). This includes the Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, Department of Education, Department of Energy, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Transportation, Environmental Protection Agency, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Science Foundation.

The House and Senate versions of the bill are identical. FRPAA was introduced twice before (in 2006 and 2009-10), and is essentially identical to both previous versions. . . .

(2.8) Will FRPAA pass?

We don't know, of course. Several factors weigh against it: This is an election year. Congress is as gridlocked and incapacitated as it has ever been, even for legislation with bipartisan support. Many policy issues have a higher priority in Congress than OA.

But several factors boost its chances. This is FRPAA's third time around, and the first two times did a lot of the hard work in educating policy-makers about the issues. The first two times around also gathered some significant endorsements, for example, more than 120 US college and university presidents and provosts, 41 Nobel laureates, major library and public-interest organizations, and at least two non-academic, business-oriented organizations, NetCoalition and the Committee for Economic Development. The White House RFI responses are generally stronger than FRPAA; they're already public and may soon appear in Interagency Working Group reports and White House action.

Finally we can't overlook the RWA shipwreck and the rising tide that beached it. The same forces that brought down RWA are now refocusing on raising up FRPAA. The same forces that protect the NIH policy from repeal now want to see it strengthened and extended to other agencies. The Congressional offices which have begun to understand the issues are heartily tired of publisher misrepresentations.

The RWA, COMPETES Act, FRPAA, and the White House RFI can be put in roughly this order: anti, weak, strong, and stronger. Subtract anti and what do you have? Unambiguous good news. Only time will tell how good it is. And that's where you come in.

| Digital Scholarship |

DigitalKoans Returns with Temporary Changes

Regular readers of DigitalKoans know that the blog typically publishes 4-5 posts Sunday through Thursday nights. This has been fairly consistent in recent years, resulting in over 4,400 posts since April 2005.

There will a short-term change in that posting pattern. Posting activity is likely to be more erratic, with a variable number of posts being published Sunday through Thursday night. When a normal posting pattern will resume, this will be announced.

| Digital Scholarship |

Digital and Web Services Librarian Specialist at Chicago State University Library

The Chicago State University Library is recruiting a Digital and Web Services Librarian Specialist.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Functioning under administrative direction in the library technical services department, employee works to set up, design, maintain, and support library web systems including web server, web pages, distributed web content provisioning, web applications, and electronic resource access through library webs and digital libraries including digitization and incorporation of library materials.

| E-science and Academic Libraries Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

Two Videos on the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Academic and Research Libraries

The UCLA Library has released two videos on ARL's Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Academic and Research Libraries. Peter Jaszi and Brandon Butler are the featured speakers.

| Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography, Version 80 | Digital Scholarship |

Digital Access Librarian at University of Notre Dame’ Hesburgh Libraries

The University of Notre Dame' Hesburgh Libraries are recruiting a Digital Access Librarian.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Digital Access Librarian is responsible for envisioning the information architecture (navigation, content, and context), coordinating user experience activities (usability, user engagement, feedback), and collaborating on the implementation of the web technology (XHTML, CSS, Javascript, Web Scripting Languages) for the Hesburgh Libraries' web presence.

| Digital Bibliographies | Digital Scholarship |

A New Day for Website Archiving 2.0

The Association of Research Libraries has released A New Day for Website Archiving 2.0.

Here's an excerpt:

A central issue in the fair use analysis is whether the use is "transformative." Campbell v. Acuff-Rose, 510 U.S. 569, 579 (1994). In the website archiving context, the question is whether a library's reproduction and subsequent display of entire websites without material alteration is "transformative." The case law and legal opinions discussed below all indicate that library website archiving for the purpose of preservation and scholarship is transformative as that term is used by courts in the fair use context.

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

Software Developer/Analyst at University of Texas Libraries

The University of Texas Libraries are recruiting a Software Developer/Analyst.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Using web development and content management experience to provide support for library staff and campus constituents in incorporating digital assets into their projects and online learning modules. Track trends in research, pilot methods to address future information access needs from UT Library digital collections, and serve as a resource person for library staff about new and emerging information access technologies such as mobile devices, course management integration, blogs, wikis and resource federation. Participate in the evaluation, development, purchase and implementation of software and hardware solutions to improve UT Libraries digital collection related services.

| Electronic Theses and Dissertations Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

Data Curation Curriculum Search Engine

The Center for Informatics Research in Science and Scholarship has made the Data Curation Curriculum Search engine available.

Here's an excerpt:

The Data Curation Curriculum Search is a database of programs and courses covering data curation and closely related fields. The tool and all research has been conducted by the Center for Informatics Research in Science and Scholarship in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois. This site is part of the broader impacts goals of the Data Conservancy project, a National Science Foundation collaboration under the Sustainable Digital Data Preservation and Access Network Partners (DataNet) program under the Office of Cyberinfrastructure. The larger Data Conservancy vision entails scientific data curation as a means to collect, organize, validate, and preserve data so that researchers can address research challenges facing society as a whole. To help further this vision, this site was designed to:

  • help researchers, administrators, and educators understand more generally the scope of education in the data curation area;
  • support the search for collaborators in the area of data curation;
  • help determine how peers are defining key terms across institutions; and
  • as an awareness and potential research tool.

| Digital Curation and Preservation Bibliography 2010 | Digital Scholarship |

Software Engineer at MIT Libraries

The MIT Libraries are recruiting a Software Engineer.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Reporting to the Head of Software Development and Analysis, the Software Engineer will be responsible for development work, from front-end web applications to back-end data management, for a variety of projects underway in the Libraries. An initial focus will be enhancing GIS software and systems that expand access to geodata through existing services and tools. S/he will work collaboratively with the Senior GIS Specialist, the Geospatial Data Librarian, and the Digital Library Systems Manager to investigate, define, recommend, and build new services around geodata. The Engineer will maintain up-to-date system documentation and manage code in a version-control system. S/he will also advise and consult with library technical and non-technical staff to provide GIS web development expertise and guidance.

| Institutional Repository Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

The Open Data Handbook

The Open Knowledge Foundation has released The Open Data Handbook.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

From a basic introduction of the "what and why" of open data, the Handbook goes on to discuss the practicalities of making data open – the "how". It gives advice on everything from choosing a file format and applying a license, to motivating the community and telling the world. Clear explanations, illustrative examples and technical recommendations make the Handbook suitable for people with all levels of experience, from the absolute beginner to the seasoned open data professional.

The Handbook is divided into short chapters which cover individual aspects of open data. It can be read in a single sitting, or dipped into as a reference work.

| Digital Curation and Preservation Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

Current News: Twitter Updates for 2/21/12

| Digital Scholarship |

Coordinator of Digital Programs at Marquette University’s Raynor Memorial Libraries

Marquette University's Raynor Memorial Libraries are recruiting a Coordinator of Digital Programs.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Reporting to the Associate Dean for Scholarly Resources and Collections, the Coordinator of Digital Programs provides leadership and coordination for the creation, maintenance, and stewardship of the Libraries' digital collections and repositories. This position is responsible for the management, education and promotion of Marquette's institutional repository, e-Publications@Marquette (http://epublications.marquette.edu/) and, in collaboration with the Department of Special Collections and Archives, the coordination and development of the Libraries' digital collections (http://www.marquette.edu/library/archives/earchives.shtml).

| Institutional Repository Bibliography | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview |