Month: January 2009

Grants: TexTreasures Grants for Digitization and Other Purposes

The Texas State Library and Archives Commission has announced the availability of FY 2010 TexTreasures grants to members of the TexShare Library Consortium or non-profit organizations that are applying on behalf of TexShare members.

Here's an excerpt from the guidelines:

The TexTreasures grant program provides assistance and encouragement to libraries to provide access to their special or unique holdings, and to make information about these holdings available to all Texans. Applicants may propose projects designed to increase accessibility through a wide range of activities such as organizing, cataloging, indexing, or digitizing local materials. . . .

The maximum award for FY 2010 is $20,000 for a single institution and $25,000 for collaborative grant projects. While applicants are encouraged to provide support for the project with matching funds or in-kind resources, matching funds are not a requirement for TexTreasures grants.

Digital Library Jobs: Archivist for Digital Programs at Wyoming

The American Heritage Center of the University of Wyoming is recruiting an Archivist for Digital Programs at Wyoming.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Archivist will collaboratively plan, schedule, and implement the creation of digital collections. The Archivist will provide leadership in the creation and delivery of digital content that responds to the needs of the AHC’s collections and preservation priorities. These include digitization of archives and special collections and other materials in text, image, audio, and video formats; and participating in the development of a digital repository systems to preserve and make accessible the intellectual output of the University of Wyoming. The Archivist will oversee operating procedures and workflows; investigate and recommend appropriate standards (technical, metadata, etc.) and implement quality control procedures; prioritize and coordinate digitization production; investigate, plan, and manage format conversions and migrations; maintain awareness and develop in-depth knowledge of new technology.

Dutch Cultural Institutions and Rights Holders Reach Landmark Digitization Agreement

FOBID (Netherlands Library Forum) and VOI©E (Netherlands Association of Organisations for the Collective Management of Intellectual Property Rights) have reached a digitization agreement.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

Dutch libraries, archives, and museums recently reached agreement with right holders on the digitisation and accessibility of their heritage collections. The organisations representing the libraries (FOBID) and the right holders (VOI©E) reached agreement within the Digiti©E Committee (Digitisation of Cultural Heritage) that was set up when a Declaration of Intent was signed at the opening of Amsterdam World Book Capital in April 2008. The agreement is a major breakthrough in the discussion regarding the copyright aspects of digitising collections held by libraries and archives.

As far as is known, this is the first agreement of this type anywhere in the world between libraries and right holders. There is concern in many other countries too regarding how to deal with the rights of right holders who cannot be traced, i.e. the holders of rights in “orphan works”. If the arrangement that has now been accepted in the Netherlands is imitated in other European countries, it will have an enormous effect on the availability of recent works in the “Europeana” digital library. . . .

The essence of the agreement is that the libraries that are represented receive permission, on certain conditions, from virtually all right holders to digitise their collections and make them publically available on their own premises for teaching or research purposes. The works concerned must be part of the Dutch cultural heritage and no longer commercially available. The libraries do not need to pay the right holders as long as the works are only made available on their own premises.

Separate consent is required, however, if the digitised works are made more widely available, for example by means of remote access or via the Internet. In that case, an agreed payment must be made; agreements in principle can be made regarding payment by the Digiti©E committee. Even then, the library will not need to go in search of the right holders because this will be done by collecting societies such as Lira and Pictoright.

The organisations representing right holders will shortly be setting up a Registration Centre for digitisation where libraries and archives can register proposed projects and get in touch with right holders regarding how they should be implemented. . . .

Kees Holierhoek, the chairman of the Lira copyright holders’ organisation and of the digital right holders working party, has this to say about the new agreement: “I’m very pleased about this agreement. It’s important for us that copyright should be respected, and that has been done in this case. At the same time, the agreement has done away with a major obstacle to making texts and photos accessible. Authors, freelance journalists, photographers, and publishers will all have a veto right if they do not wish to participate. If they do wish to participate, they can claim payment if their material is made accessible outside the institution’s own premises.”

Martin Bossenbroek, the acting General Director of the National Library of the Netherlands, says: “This agreement is a real breakthrough. It’s extremely good news for libraries like the National Library of the Netherlands whose core task is to manage nationally important heritage collections and make them available. The agreement regulates digitisation and the availability of digitised collections on our own premises. But that is only the first step, because we naturally want to also make the digitised collections available online. I think the real benefit of this agreement is that it shows how all the various interested parties understand one another’s positions and arguments. That constructive attitude will also make it possible to arrive at good follow-up arrangements for provision of material on the Internet.”

Digital Library Jobs: Digital Content Specialist at Southern New Hampshire

The Southern New Hampshire University Library is recruiting a Digital Content Specialist (two year position).

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

SNHU has received an Institute of Museum and Library Services Grant to build an institutional repository using DSpace starting with the digitization of student theses and working papers from the School of Community Economic Development. Reporting to the Electronic Resources Librarian, the Digital Content Specialist/CED Specialist has primary responsibility for reading archived School of Community and Economic Development theses and project reports and writing abstracts for these works. This position will also assist the Digital Initiatives Librarian with the development of metadata, securing copyright permissions, and setup of the SCED DSpace community. This is a grant funded position for up to a period of two years.

Digital Library Jobs: Programmer/Repository Web Developer at the Open University

The Library and Learning Resource Centre of the Open University is recruiting a Programmer/Repository Web Developer (temporary contract until July 2011).

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Would you like to contribute to a key role in the development of OU Library's systems, services & products to support all its business processes for both customers and Library staff. You will be part of the Library's Information Management and Innovation Group and provide technical input to projects and service developments, in particular to supporting the University's research activity and to support the Open Research Online repository and related repositories.

New from ARL: Developing a Scholarly Communication Program in Your Library

The Association of Research Libraries has released a new guide: "Developing a Scholarly Communication Program in Your Library."

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

The guide provides background information and outlines steps for setting up a scholarly communication program at your library and on your campus.

Scholarly communication initiatives can take many forms and focus on different issues, such as the University of California’s innovative recruitment of faculty publications into its eScholarship Repository, the University of Minnesota’s author’s rights education program, or SPARC’s student-focused "Right to Research" campaign. Whatever the issues particularly relevant to your institution, librarians can engage faculty members, students, and administrators to make a significant impact on the scholarly landscape.

This online guide offers both generic tools you can adapt locally under a Creative Commons license and examples of how these tools have been implemented at other schools. The guide provides you with help at your point of need, and leverages the expertise and experience of library colleagues everywhere.

The guide offers advice on the following stages of creating and managing a scholarly communication program:

  • Establish Structure
  • Build Knowledge
  • Scan Environment
  • Go Public
  • Evaluate Program
  • Learn More

Kate Wittenberg Named Project Director, Client and Partnership Development at Ithaka

Kate Wittenberg, formerly Director of the Electronic Publishing Initiative at Columbia (EPIC), has been named Project Director, Client and Partnership Development at Ithaka.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

In her new role, Wittenberg will focus on building partnerships among scholars, academic centers, publishers, libraries, technology providers, societies, and foundations with an interest in promoting the development of digital scholarship and learning. From proposal creation to market research, business development, and product planning, she will draw on her years of work with scholars and experience building online academic resources to help digital publishing stakeholders identify, build, and sustain innovative initiatives. . . .

Wittenberg spent most of her career at Columbia, where she was the Editor-in-Chief of Columbia University Press until 1999, and went on to found and direct EPIC (the Electronic Publishing Initiative at Columbia) for the university. EPIC was a pioneering initiative in digital publishing, and a model publishing partnership for libraries, presses, and academic IT departments. Some of the ventures produced by EPIC include CIAO (Columbia International Affairs Online), Gutenberg-E (a reinvention of the monograph as an electronic work), and Jazz Studies Online. Wittenberg brings to Ithaka more than two decades of experience working with faculty, a deep understanding of libraries, first hand experience of digital projects centered within academic institutions, and a wide knowledge of the digital landscape and disciplinary trends. She has worked closely with a number of foundations, and has built a strong reputation in the community through her work at Columbia, her many speaking and consulting engagements around digital publishing, and her numerous publications.

DFL's Aquifer Project Releases MODS and Asset Action Explorer

The Digital Library Federation's Aquifer American Social History Online project has released the MODS and Asset Action Explorer.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

The service allows anyone to upload MODS XML files, including modsCollection files, and verify that those records comply to the MODS XML Schema and also to check the uploaded records against the Aquifer project's MODS Levels of Adoption Guidelines . . . In addition to MODS records, the service also allows the upload of Asset Action Packages . . . which is another experimental format being developed by the DLF Aquifer project. An Asset Action Package is an XML file containing a defined set of actionable URIs for a digital resource that delivers named, typed actions for that resource.

OCLC and HathiTrust to Collaborate on Enhancing Access to Digital Repository Materials

OCLC and HathiTrust, a shared digital repository for research libraries, will collaborate on improving access to materials in HathiTrust's repository.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

HathiTrust, a group of some of the largest research libraries in the United States collaborating to create a repository of their vast digital collections, and OCLC will work together to increase visibility of and access to items in the HathiTrust’s shared digital repository.

Launched jointly by the 12-university consortium known as the Committee on Institutional Cooperation and the 11 university libraries of the University of California system, HathiTrust leverages the time-honored commitment to preservation and access to information that university libraries have valued for centuries. The group's digital collections, including millions of books, will be archived and preserved in a single repository hosted by HathiTrust. Materials in the public domain and those where rightsholders have given permission will be available for reading online.

OCLC and HathiTrust will work together to increase online visibility and accessibility of the digital collections by creating WorldCat records describing the content and linking to the collections via WorldCat.org and WorldCat Local. The organizations will launch a project in the coming months to develop specifications and determine next steps.

Podcast: "The Law and Policy of Web 2.0: Much Old, Some New, Lots Borrowed, So Don’t Be Blue"

EDUCAUSE has released a podcast of a presentation by Beth Cate, Associate General Counsel for Indiana University System, called "The Law and Policy of Web 2.0: Much Old, Some New, Lots Borrowed, So Don’t Be Blue."

Here's an excerpt from the abstract:

Social networking sites and other Web 2.0 technologies offer rich tools for creation, collaboration, and community building. As such they have generated great excitement among faculty, staff, and students as they explore incorporating these technologies into their teaching and learning. Some of the most compelling features of these technologies—how quickly and easily materials can be shared and repurposed, how large and fluid Internet communities tend to be, how many cheap third-party services are available—are the same ones that raise questions about whether and how law and policy affect how we use these technologies in support of learning.

In this session, Beth Cate reviews and answers questions commonly asked by faculty, staff, and university attorneys. She also talks about why, although technologies are continually evolving, the relevant legal and policy principles are generally quite familiar and not scary. She highlights a few new wrinkles and some unknowns and offers practical strategies for maintaining good communications with your campus counsel as you and your institution navigate these promising new technologies and look ahead to Web 3.0.

JSTOR and Ithaka Merge

JSTOR and Ithaka Merge have merged and they are now known as Ithaka.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

JSTOR was founded in 1995 by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation as a shared digital library to help academic institutions save costs associated with the storage of library materials and to vastly improve access to scholarship. Today, more than 5,200 academic institutions and 600 scholarly publishers and content owners participate in JSTOR. Ithaka was started in 2003 by Kevin Guthrie, the original founder of JSTOR, with funding from the Mellon Foundation as well as The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Stavros S. Niarchos Foundation. Ithaka was established to aid promising not-for-profit digital initiatives and to provide research and insight on important strategic issues facing the academic community. Ithaka has become known for its influential reports including the 2007 University Publishing in A Digital Age and the 2008 Sustainability and Revenue Models for Online Academic Resources. It is the organizational home to Portico, a digital preservation service, and NITLE, a suite of services supporting the use of technology in liberal arts education.

The new combined enterprise will be called Ithaka and will be dedicated to helping the academic community use digital technologies to advance scholarship and teaching and to reducing system-wide costs through collective action.

This is a natural step for these organizations. JSTOR and Ithaka already work closely together, sharing a common history, values, and fundamental purpose. During 2008, the Ithaka-incubated resource Aluka was integrated into JSTOR as an initial step, further strengthening ties between the organizations. JSTOR will now join Portico and NITLE as a coordinated set of offerings made available under the Ithaka organizational name. . .

In addition to JSTOR, Portico, and NITLE, Ithaka's existing research and strategic services groups will remain important parts of the enterprise. The board will be composed of Ithaka and JSTOR Trustees, with Henry Bienen, President of Northwestern University, serving as Chairman and Paul Brest, President of the Hewlett Foundation as Vice Chairman.

"Digital Project Staff Survey of JPEG 2000 Implementation in Libraries"

David Lowe and Michael J. Bennett, both of the University of Connecticut Libraries, have made "Digital Project Staff Survey of JPEG 2000 Implementation in Libraries" available in DigitalCommons@UConn.

Here's an excerpt from the abstract:

JPEG 2000 is the product of thorough efforts toward an open standard by experts in the imaging field. With its key components for still images published officially by the ISO/IEC by 2002, it has been solidly stable for several years now, yet its adoption has been considered tenuous enough to cause imaging software developers to question the need for continued support. Digital archiving and preservation professionals must rely on solid standards, so in the fall of 2008 we undertook a survey among implementers (and potential implementers) to capture a snapshot of JPEG 2000’s status, with an eye toward gauging its perception in our community.

The survey results reveal several key areas that JPEG 2000’s user community will need to have addressed in order to further enhance adoption of the standard, including perspectives from cultural institutions that have adopted it already, as well as insights from institutions that do not currently have it in their workflows. Current users are concerned about limited compatible software capabilities with an eye toward needed enhancements. They realize also that there is much room for improvement in the area of educating and informing the cultural heritage community about the advantages of JPEG 2000. A small set of users, in addition, alerts us to serious problems of cross-codec consistency and relate file validation issues that would likely be easily resolved given a modicum of collaborative attention toward standardization.

Digital Library Jobs: Digital Project Specialist at Stephen F. Austin

The Ralph W. Steen Library at Stephen F. Austin State University is recruiting a Digital Project Specialist.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Digital Projects Specialist will image cultural heritage and university research collections and ingest or process content using CONTENTdm, the digital management system. Responsible for undertaking photography and videography assignments for the creation of virtual fieldtrips and other digitized resources for department?s websites. Serves as the CONTENTdm administrator as well as video and photography imaging administrator. Responsible for maintaining the department's websites. This is a security sensitive position. Reports to the Head of Digital Projects.

Digital Library Jobs: Systems Analyst Programmer: Digital Library Infrastructure at Indiana

The Indiana University Digital Library Program is recruiting a Systems Analyst Programmer: Digital Library Infrastructure (position is funded for 15 months with the potential for renewal).

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Indiana University Digital Library Program (DLP) is seeking a skilled developer and analyst to provide technical leadership to a project to reengineer the Digital Library of the Commons (DLC). The new technical infrastructure for the DLC is based on the DSpace (http://www.dspace.org/) open source software developed by MIT. The new DLC implementation will be integrated into overall architecture of the DLP and will need to interface with the DLP's Fedora based Digital Library Repository Service.

Under minimal supervision from the Digital Library Program's Associate Director for Projects and Services and working closely with the DLP's Lead Programmer/Analyst, the Systems Analyst/Programmer is responsible for the requirements analysis, design, development, and implementation of the Digital Library of the Commons which includes working with end-users as well as analysts and developers within the DLP.

Economic Implications of Alternative Scholarly Publishing Models: Exploring the Costs and Benefits

JISC has released Economic Implications of Alternative Scholarly Publishing Models: Exploring the Costs and Benefits.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

Sharing research information via a more open access publishing model would bring millions of pounds worth of savings to the higher education sector as well as benefiting UK plc. This is one of the key findings from a new research project commissioned by JISC.

Professor John Houghton from the Centre of Strategic Economic Studies at Melbourne’s Victoria University and Professor Charles Oppenheim at Loughborough University were asked to lead research that would throw light on the economic and social implications of new models for scholarly publishing.

The research centred on three models which include:

  • Subscription or toll access publishing which involves reader charges and use restrictions;
  • Open access publishing where access is free and publication is funded from the authors’ side; and
  • Open access self-archiving where academic authors post their work in online repositories, making it freely available to all Internet users.

In their report, Houghton et al. looked beyond the actual costs and savings of different models and examined the additional cost-benefits that might arise from enhanced access to research findings.

The research and findings reveal that core scholarly publishing system activities cost the UK higher education sector around £5 billion in 2007. Using the different models, the report shows, what the estimated cost would have been:

  • £230 million to publish using the subscription model,
  • £150 million to publish under the open access model and
  • £110 million to publish with the self-archiving with peer review services plus some £20 million in operating costs if using the different models.

When considering costs per journal article, Houghton et al. believe that the UK higher education sector could have saved around £80 million a year by shifting from toll access to open access publishing. They also claim that £115 million could be saved by moving from toll access to open access self-archiving.

In addition to that, the financial return to UK plc from greater accessibility to research might result in an additional £172 million per annum worth of benefits from government and higher education sector research alone.

Arizona's Digital Information Management Certificate Program Accepting 2009-10 Applications

The University of Arizona School of Information Resources and Library Science is accepting 2009-10 applications for its Digital Information Management (DigIn) Certificate Program. Scholarships are available.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

The DigIn program features hands-on experience and focused instruction supporting careers in libraries, archives, records management, museums, as well as in the private sector. The certificate includes six courses covering a wide range of topics relevant to today's digital information environment, including digital collections, applied technology, technology planning and leadership, policy and ethics, digital preservation and research data curation.

For information professionals just starting in the field or considering career changes, the DigIn certificate program offers an alternative path to graduate studies that helps prepare students for success in traditional graduate programs or the workplace.

The certificate also provides a means for working professionals and those who already have advanced graduate degrees in library and information sciences, archives, museum studies or other fields to broaden their knowledge and skills in today's rapidly evolving digital information landscape.

The program is delivered 100% online and has no residency requirements. Students generally complete the certificate in four or six semesters (15 months or 27 months).

Beginning this year, DigIn applicants will be able to enter the program at the start of the Summer, Fall, or Spring semesters. The application deadline for Summer '09 is April 1. The deadline for Fall '09 admission is July 1, and for Spring '10 the deadline will be Nov. 1.

DigIn was developed in cooperation with the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records and the University of Arizona Outreach College. Major funding for the program comes from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), which has also provided scholarship funding.

Additional details on the program including course descriptions, admissions requirements and application forms may be found on the program website:

digin.arizona.edu.

Applicants may also contact the DigIn program coordinator, Prof. Peter Botticelli, at

digin@email.arizona.edu.

January Edition of Ranking Web of World Repositories Published

The January edition of CCHS-CSIC's Ranking Web of World Repositories has been published.

Here's an excerpt:

Following several requests we now show two global Rankings. One that covers all repositories as was shown in previous editions (Top 300), and a new one that focus only on Institutional Repositories (Top 300 Institutional).

New SURFshare Projects

The SURFshare programme has authorized 12 new projects, which will begin at the end of January.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

Twelve innovation projects have been approved for the SURFshare programme and will start at the end of January 2009. All of these projects have the same objective, namely to promote knowledge dissemination via the Internet. In this new round of projects, the SURFshare programme allots an active role to researchers and ‘lectors’ (directors of research groups and knowledge networks in Universities of Applied Science): the main thing is not the infrastructure but the user. The grant from the SURFshare programme comes to over € 630.000 on a total budget of € 1.220.000. The year-long innovation projects were submitted by institutions of higher education. . . .

The twelve projects that have been awarded grants are:

Knowledge dissemination at Universities of Applied Sciences

  • National Knowledge Forum for Care and Treatment of Addiction
  • Automotive Knowledge Bank for Universities of Applied Sciences
  • DIGIPUB—Digital Publication environments
  • FUTURE—Thematised Access to Expertise, Knowledge & Research for SMEs, Students and Experts

Enriched publications

  • JALC—Journal of Archaeology in the Low Countries, enriched publications in Dutch archaeology
  • DatapluS—Repositories for Enhanced Survey Publications
  • ESCAPE—Enhanced Scientific Communication by Aggregated Publications Environments
  • Theses Plus—Enriched theses in the Utrecht repository
  • Veteran Tapes—Enriched publication based on multidisciplinary re-use of qualitative research files

Collaboratories

  • Tales of the Revolt Collaboratory: Sharing, Enhancing and Disseminating Sources
  • Hublab-2—Toward successful implementation of the Liferay platform in historical research
  • Virtual Knowledge Studio Collaboratory—Understanding Scholarly Collaboration in Practice

Internet Had Over One Billion Users in December 2008

For the first time, the Internet had over one billion users who were 15 or older in December 2008.

Here's an excert from the press release:

The Asia-Pacific region accounted for the highest share of global Internet users at 41 percent, followed by Europe (28 percent share), North America (18 percent share), Latin-America (7 percent share), and the Middle East & Africa (5 percent share). . . .

China represented the largest online audience in the world in December 2008 with 180 million Internet users, representing nearly 18 percent of the total worldwide Internet audience, followed by the U.S. (16.2 percent share), Japan (6.0 percent share), Germany (3.7 percent share) and the U.K. (3.6 percent share).

Digital Library Jobs: Digital Collections Archivist at Georgia Tech

The Georgia Tech Library and Information Center is recruiting a Digital Collections Archivist.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

In support of the Institute’s instructional and research mission, this position will be responsible for identifying, collecting, and preserving archival materials including campus e-publications, born-digital material, digital research data, and other archival collections, some of which are selected for digital conversion and web access via the library-run Georgia Tech institutional repository (IR), SMARTech, and preservation in the Archives' dark digital repository, currently running on DSpace software. The Digital Collections Archivist will manage the campus e-publications program, a part of the GT IR. The Digital Collections Archivist serves as a liason to the library’s Digital Library Development and Scholarly Communications and Digital Services Departments from the Archives. S/he will participate in the evaluation and selection of software used for the Archives’ digital collection. The archivist will participate in a team environment in refining the collecting scopes of the Archives Department, in devising selection and appraisal criteria, and carry out collecting and appraisal functions for these departments in regards to digital collections. S/he will prepare collections for digital conversion in conjunction with the Scholarly Communications and Digital Services Department and advise the department on the Archives’ technological needs and requirements. S/he provides web content to the library’s Web Designer who is responsible for design and updating of the Archives’ portion of the library’s web site. The Digital Collections Archivist will also provide reference service on the Archives Department reference desk, and will perform other archival duties on an as needed basis.

Digital Library Jobs: Digital Assets Programmer at UC Merced

The University of California, Merced is recruiting a Digital Assets Programmer.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The UC Merced Library’s Digital Assets unit creates and manages access to digital content in support of the University’s mission of research and instruction. In addition to creating digital collections, the unit partners with faculty and staff to disseminate and preserve scholarly output in digital form.

Under supervision of the Head, Digital Assets (Librarian) and IT Services Manager, the Programmer Analyst will be the primary technical lead in the development and maintenance of digital asset management systems and digital publishing tools. The Analyst will also provide secondary support for library-wide information technology services. The work involves project analysis and evaluation of available technologies; database design and administration; web applications programming; interface design; as well as all aspects of debugging, testing, documentation, and maintenance.

Anne Jarvis Named University Librarian at Cambridge

Anne Jarvis, currently Deputy Librarian at Cambridge University Library, has been named Cambridge's University Librarian.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

Anne, aged 46, said: "Cambridge is already one of the world's great research libraries. I look forward both to building on this success and to an exciting future in which the University Library will play a leading role in providing innovative services in a rapidly changing information landscape."

Anne has been Deputy Librarian at Cambridge University Library since 2000. Her main professional interests include emerging information technologies, succession planning, change management and digital preservation.

As Deputy Librarian her role has been to ensure that future information trends are identified, future service needs are anticipated and the highest quality service standards are delivered. Key to this, she believes, is nurturing and developing a highly motivated, knowledgeable and skilled staff.

A graduate in history of Trinity College Dublin, Anne's library career began in special libraries and included posts at FÁS, the Training and Employment Authority in Dublin, Ireland, and Coopers and Lybrand in London, England.

Her career in academic libraries began at Dublin City University, (DCU) in Ireland. She then moved to Trinity College Dublin where she took up the post of Sub-Librarian, Collection Management, before returning to the UK to take up her current post at Cambridge. During this period she also served for two years as Vice-President at Wolfson College, where she has been a Fellow since 2000.

Max Planck Institute Releases Best Practices for Access to Images: Recommendations for Scholarly Use and Publishing

The Max Planck Institute for the History of Science has released Best Practices for Access to Images: Recommendations for Scholarly Use and Publishing.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

The recommendations were prompted by the barriers encountered by those who wish to use and publish images of cultural heritage objects. High licence fees and complicated access regulations make it increasingly difficult for scholars in the humanities to work with digital images. It is true that the digitization of image collections has acted as a catalyst for scholarly research. However, archives, collections and libraries differ greatly with respect to the question of how, where and on what basis images may be used for scholarly purposes. Moreover, their policies in this regard are becoming increasingly restrictive, especially when it comes to new forms of e-publishing.

The MPIWG drew up its recommendations for facilitating the scholarly use of digital images following consultations with international experts which took place in January 2008. The recommendations call on curators and scholars to develop a mutually binding network of trust. The aim of the initiative is to encourage stakeholders jointly to address the current and future challenges raised by the digital age. The document urges curators to refrain from restricting the public domain arbitrarily and calls on them to accommodate the needs of scholars for reasonably-priced or freely-accessible high-resolution digital images—both for print publications and new Web-based forms of scholarly publishing. It exhorts scholars to recognise museums, libraries and collections as owners and custodians of physical objects of cultural heritage and to acknowledge their efforts in making digital images available. Moreover, it urges them to take their role as guarantors of authenticity and accurate attribution extremely seriously.

SPARC Announces Election Results

SPARC has announced its 2008 election results.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

I am pleased to announce that the following individuals have been selected by SPARC’s voting membership to serve on the SPARC Steering Committee for three-year terms (January 2009-December 2011), effective next month:

  • Jonathan Miller, Rollins College (non-ARL director)
  • Randy Olsen, Brigham Young University (ARL director)
  • Patricia Renfro, Columbia University (staff representative)
  • Lee Van Orsdel, Grand Valley State University (non-ARL director) . . .

The new members join the current members of the SPARC Steering Committee:

  • Jun Adachi, Japanese National Institute of Informatics, for SPARC Japan
  • Larry Alford, Temple University
  • Sherrie Bergman, Bowdoin College
  • David Carlson, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
  • Faye Chadwell, Oregon State University Libraries
  • Ray English, Oberlin College (chair)
  • Diane Graves, Trinity University
  • Thomas Hickerson, University of Calgary
  • Paula Kaufman, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • Bas Savenije, Utrecht University Library, for SPARC Europe
  • Vicki Williamson, University of Saskatchewan, for the Canadian Association of Research Libraries