Month: February 2009

Shifting the Burden of Proof in Fair Use Cases to Copyright Holders

Ned Snow, Assistant Professor at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville School of Law, has made "Proving Fair Use: Burden of Proof as Burden of Speech" available on SSRN.

Here's an excerpt:

Requiring fair users to prove the fairness of their expression threatens fair use‘s very purpose—to protect speech. . . . Facing a hefty punishment for losing the uphill battle of proof, fair users self censor. The burden chills the speech that fair use is intended to protect.

Judicial placement of the burden with fair users represents an attempt to foster expression by safeguarding copyright. The attempt has failed miserably. The burden represents heavy-handed patrolling in the marketplace of ideas. Trying to punish those who steal, courts are punishing those who share. They have turned an open emporium of exchange into a highbrow boutique for the wealthy. It is therefore time to construe fair use as it was originally intended—a doctrine that defines the scope of copyright‘s rights. It is time to restore the burden of proof to plaintiffs. It is time to return to the traditional contours of copyright that will cultivate creativity.

Wikipedia May Screen Changes to Popular Pages Prior to Publication

In "Wikipedia Bolts Its Open Door," Giles Hattersley reports that Jimmy Wales will propose that changes to popular Wiki pages (e.g., biographies of living persons) be screened by "core users" prior to publication on the site.

Wales is quoted as saying:

One of the great misconceptions about us is this idea that Wikipedia is anti-elitist. That’s just wrong. We are actually extremely snobby . . . . These core users really manage and enforce our standards. If it weren’t for them Wikipedia would be chock full of rubbish.

GPeerReview: Google's Peer Review Tool

Google is developing a peer review tool called GPeerReview. (Thanks to Google Scholar Blog.)

Here's an excerpt from the project page:

With GPeerReview, you can:

  • Publish immediately (and get reviews later),
  • Seek an unlimited number of reviews,
  • Verify the integrity of the reviews,
  • Verify the credibility of the reviewers,
  • Publish without limitation on format, style, or number of pages,
  • Maintain complete copyright ownership of your works, and
  • Enhance the acclaim of your already-published works.

California Digital Library Update on Mass Digitization Activities

In "Mass Digitization Projects Update," Heather Christenson, the California Digital Library's Mass Digitization Project Manager, overviews UC's 2008 mass digitization efforts.

Here's an excerpt:

2008 was a busy year for our UC Libraries’ book digitization activities. We continue digitizing tens of thousands of books from our print collections from many libraries across UC. In the latter half of 2008, our mass digitization projects have responded to significant changes and developments in the scholarly and commercial world: Microsoft decided to end its Live Search Books program which funded a portion of UC book digitization, Google announced a Settlement with authors and publishers, and UC allied with the University of Michigan, Indiana University, and the Committee on Institutional Cooperation, or CIC (a consortium of Big Ten Plus universities in the Midwest) to anchor the new HathiTrust digital repository. Throughout, we have continued to steadily digitize books in partnership with the Internet Archive and Google.

Digital Library Jobs: Digital Projects Librarian at NYU's Ehrman Medical Library

The Frederick L. Ehrman Library at New York University is recruiting a Digital Projects Librarian.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Digital Projects Librarian will join the Library Medical Informatics Group (LMIG) in the provision of high-quality computing services to the faculty and staff of the libraries, as well as to the libraries' constituencies in the Medical Center. The Digital Projects Librarian will take the lead role in coordinating the design, creation, and maintenance of the libraries' digital projects in a manner that is consistent with NYU Medical Center policies and supports library resources of the NYU Health Sciences Libraries at the NYU School of Medicine, College of Dentistry and Nursing, Bellevue Hospital and the Hospital for Joint Diseases as well as the library's three consumer health branches.

The Digital Projects Librarian is responsible for the coordination of the libraries' digital initiatives. Working in a highly integrated team environment, the Digital Projects Librarian will assess appropriate standards, policies, and procedures for application to the library's digital projects and ensure continued development and maintenance of the libraries' digital initiatives, which include projects with the Archives, digital resources targeted for special groups, and joint projects with the Medical Education IT services unit and other departments of the School of Medicine.

This is a tenure track position and reports to the Associate Director for Library Systems.

ARL Releases Transformational Times: An Environmental Scan Prepared for the ARL Strategic Plan Review Task Force

ARL has released Transformational Times: An Environmental Scan Prepared for the ARL Strategic Plan Review Task Force.

Here's an excerpt:

In looking across the key trends that are described below, some common threads recur.

  • Libraries need to change their practices for managing traditional content and develop new capabilities for dealing with digital materials of all types, but especially new forms of scholarship, teaching and learning resources, special collections (particularly hidden collections), and research data.
  • Content industries inevitably seek to extend control over the copyright regime and over content, in general, while libraries, authors, and research institutions endeavor to provide more access to and active management of the intellectual assets produced by the academy.
  • Accountability and assessment are essential for data-driven decision making within libraries, on campus, and with funders and policy makers.
  • Collaborative approaches are being applied to new activities both with regard to traditional operations as well as emerging functions.
  • Radical reconfiguration of research library organizations and services is needed coupled with an increasingly diverse and talented staff to provide needed leadership and technical skills to respond to the rapidly changing environment.
  • New relationships must be formed with library users to support rapid shifts in research and teaching practices.
  • ARL and its member libraries must cultivate alliances and partnerships to advance all strategic arenas identified as important for the Association.

UT Dallas Launches Institutional Repository Using Texas Digital Library

The McDermott Library at the University of Texas at Dallas has launched its institutional repository, Treasures @ UT Dallas, using the Texas Digital Library's DSpace system.

Read more about it at "Tools Helping Library Share its Wealth of Material."

Call to Action: Amendment 501 Would Strip Broadband Library Funding from Recovery and Reinvestment Act

ALA has issued an immediate call to action over amendment 501 which would strip broadband library funding from the Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Here's an excerpt:

Calls to ALL Senators are needed IMMEDIATELY to protect $200 million for libraries, community computing centers and related institutions in the original language of the Senate stimulus bill, H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. We have just been advised that Senators Kent Conrad (ND-D) and Lindsey Graham (SC-R) are expected to introduce Senate Amendment 501 which would strip funding for libraries and broadband to put additional funding in FDIC. If introduced, the vote could take place this afternoon.

The message is: keep the $200 million for libraries and broadband in H.R. 1—defeat amendment 501. Libraries provide information on jobs, employment skills, and all other types of job-seeking information. More people are using libraries during these difficult times and the demand for broadband is greater than ever.

ALA Office of Government Relations will keep you updated as the stimulus debate continues on the Senate floor. Please watch the District Dispatch for updates.

Check District Dispatch for current updates.

More Coverage of the Fair Copyright in Research Works Act

Here are some additional articles/postings about the Fair Copyright in Research Works Act.

Digital Library Jobs: Digital Archivist at the University of Texas

The University of Texas Libraries are recruiting a Digital Archivist.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Plan, schedule and implement the creation of digital content and collections. Scan and digitize archival material in a variety of formats. Prepare digital content, with rigorous attention to metadata development, for access through Center's Web site and through other methods. Supervise project staff. Function Lead effort to plan for long-term preservation of digital assets, including born-digital such as email. Investigate, plan and manage format conversions and migrations to meet preservation needs of collections. Develop policy and procedures for digital asset management. Oversee digitization operations and workflows. Investigate and recommend equipment and standards. Lead effort to identify, implement, and maintain new digital repository system. Work closely with webmaster to schedule content additions and updates to Web site. Participates in collection development, donor relations, and on-site assessment and acquisition of material as assigned. Participate in reference desk rotation. Keeps current with research and emerging technologies and make recommendations as appropriate. Assist in transferring archival collections to the Center, occasionally traveling within the state driving a UT vehicle. Occasional interstate or intrastate travel to transfer collections, for collection development or donor relations.

Digital Library Jobs: Digital Library Software Engineer at Harvard

The Harvard University Library is recruiting a Digital Library Software Engineer (one-year term appointment with possibility of renewal).

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Harvard University's Library (HUL) seeks a programmer/analyst for development of a digital scholarship repository. This is a unique opportunity to serve as the technical lead on a project to collect and share the university's research with the world. Reporting to the Manager of Systems Development in HUL's Office for Information Systems and the Program Manager of HUL's Office for Scholarly Communication, position responsibilities include development of web applications, tools, interfaces, and databases. S/he will assume ongoing configuration, customization, and integration of our open-source DSpace repository, with the aim of rapidly deploying production code for user-friendly deposit, management, and reporting processes. The position requires the ability to multi-task and to help grasp requirements from discussions with stakeholders, recommend solutions, and translate these into specifications, prototypes, and production code with accompanying documentation. The ideal candidate will work efficiently, creatively, and independently as requirements evolve, and also enjoy collaborative problem solving (locally as well as more broadly, in regular communication with other repository developers).

Fair Copyright in Research Works Act: Bill Opposing Open Access Reintroduced in House

Rep. John Conyers has reintroduced the Fair Copyright in Research Works Act (H.R. 801) in the House.

Here's an excerpt from Peter Suber's posting:

The Fair Copyright Act is to fair copyright what the Patriot Act was to patriotism.  It would repeal the OA policy at the NIH and prevent similar OA policies at any federal agency.  The bill has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee, where Conyers is Chairman, and where he has consolidated his power since last year by abolishing the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property.  The Judiciary Committee does not specialize in science, science policy, or science funding, but copyright. 

The premise of the bill, urged by the publishing lobby, is that the NIH policy somehow violates copyright law.  The premise is false and cynical.  If the NIH policy violated copyrights, or permitted the violation of copyrights, publishers wouldn't have to back this bill to amend US copyright law.  Instead, they'd be in court where they'd already have a remedy.  For a detailed analysis of the bill and point by point rebuttal to the publishing lobby's rhetoric, see my article from October 2008.

I'll have more soon on ways to mobilize in opposition to the bill and support the NIH and the principle of public access to publicly-funded research.  Meantime, if you're a US citizen and your representative is a member of the Judiciary Committee, it's not to early to fire off an email/fax/letter/phone call to your representative opposing the bill and defending the NIH policy.  You can find ammo here:

Also see: "Bill Banning NIH-Like Public Access is Reintroduced in Congress."

DCC Briefing Paper on "Interoperability"

The Digital Curation Centre has released a new briefing paper on "Interoperability."

Here's an excerpt:

Interoperability is the transfer and use of information in a uniform and efficient manner across multiple organisations and IT systems. Its purpose is to create a shared understanding of data

Data exchange requires the data to be semantically matched (i.e. ensuring that the data describe the same thing) and for any differences in representation within the data models to be eliminated or meaningfully handled. Data integration is the process which takes heterogeneous data and their structural information and produces a unified description and mapping information to allow seamless access to all existing data. Interpretation of these data must be unambiguous. More generally, interoperability goes beyond data compatibility as we also need interoperable hardware, software, and communication protocols to allow data to be interpreted correctly and unambiguously across system or organisational boundaries

Digital Preservation: JHOVE2 Functional Requirements Version 1.3 Released

JHOVE2 Functional Requirements version 1.3 has been released. (Thanks to the File Formats Blog.)

Here's an excerpt from the JHOVE Project Scope:

JHOVE has proven to be a successful tool for format-specific digital object identification, validation, and characterization, and has been integrated into the workflows of most major international preservation institutions and programs. Using an extensible plug-in architecture, JHOVE provides support for a variety of digital formats commonly used to represent audio, image, and textual content.

Issue 19: What's New in Digital Preservation?

Issue 19 of What's New in Digital Preservation? has been published.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

Issue 19 features news from a range of organisations and initiatives, including the Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC), Digital Curation Centre (DCC), JISC (UK), The British Library (BL), PLANETS (Preservation and Long-term Access through Networked Services), Cultural, Artistic and Scientific knowledge for Preservation, Access and Retrieval (CASPAR), University of London Computing Centre (ULCC), Alliance for Permanent Access, The Library of Congress and the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIPP) and The National Archives (TNA).

Scholarly Electronic Publishing Weblog Update (2/4/09)

The latest update of the Scholarly Electronic Publishing Weblog (SEPW) is now available, which provides information about new works related to scholarly electronic publishing, such as books, e-prints, journal articles, magazine articles, technical reports, and white papers.

Especially interesting are: "Always On: Libraries in a World of Permanent Connectivity," Campus-based Publishing Partnerships: A Guide to Critical Issues, Economic Implications of Alternative Scholarly Publishing Models: Exploring the Costs and Benefits, Future Directions in Metadata Remediation for Metadata Aggregators, "Open Access Policy Options for Funding Agencies and Universities," The Research Library’s Role in Digital Repository Services: Final Report of the ARL Digital Repository Issues Task Force, Sustaining the Digital Investment: Issues and Challenges of Economically Sustainable Digital Preservation, and Understanding PREMIS.

Cornell University Library to Offer More Than 80,000 POD Books on Amazon.com

The Cornell University Library is increasing its print-on-demand books on Amazon.com to over 80,000 titles.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

By the end of 2009, tens of thousands of new books will be added to the approximately 6,000 items in Cornell’s collection already available on Amazon. All of the books are in the public domain in the United States, and many are currently out of print.

"Although demand for online access to digital books has been growing, books as artifacts continue to have a real value," said Oya Rieger, Associate University Librarian for Information Technologies. "This initiative supports the reading and research patterns of users who prefer the affordances provided by physical books—they support deep reading, underlining and writing comments in the margins. The Web is great for easy access and browsing, but because digital content can sometimes be ephemeral, physical books continue to serve as valuable reference sources on your shelf."

Positive feedback from users helped contribute to the decision to expand the number of titles available. "The publication of this little book adds valuable primary source material for students of the War of 1812. Bravo to Cornell for making it available," one customer wrote. Another said, "Words cannot express how grateful I am that Cornell University saw fit to republish these two papers."

The books that will be added throughout 2009 were digitized with the support of Microsoft over the last two years. These new volumes represent a substantial part of the Library’s rare and unique offerings printed before 1923.

They will reflect Cornell’s subject strengths, including American history, English literature, astronomy, food and wine, general engineering, the history of science, home economics, hospitality and travel, human sexuality, labor relations, Native American materials, ornithology, veterinary medicine and women's studies. Collections already available for reprint from Amazon include New York state historical literature, core historical literature in agriculture, historical math monographs and materials related to home economics.

Cornell University Library has been a cutting-edge participant with print-on-demand services and mass digitization initiatives, partnering with multiple outlets to make its collections available to the public. The partnership with Amazon began in 2006, and the Library is currently engaged in a large-scale digitization initiative with Google that will create 500,000 digitized books over the next six years.

For a sample of the titles offered on Amazon, go to bookstore.library.cornell.edu, and check Amazon.com throughout the year to see new titles as they are added.

Digital Library Jobs: Digital Project Manager at Houston Public Library

Houston Public Library is recruiting a Digital Project Manager.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Digital Project Manager leads the library's Digital Projects and will have primary responsibility for building a comprehensive digital initiatives program.

Other position specific accountabilities are as follows:

  • In collaboration with special collections managers, identify existing content within the library for digitization;
  • Seek out new content and new partners for digital initiatives.
  • Manage a wide range of project activities using appropriate tools and techniques.
  • Provide leadership in technical planning, technical implementation, management and support of digital collections, working with IT, Web, and Cataloging staff.
  • Develop specifications and requirements within project scope and budget and manage contracts with external service providers.
  • Identify grant and other external support and take the lead in grant writing.
  • Promote use of the institution's digital collections through demonstrations to library departments and affiliated groups and at professional conferences.
  • Serve as the institution's representative to various consortia on shared digital initiatives.

ARL Releases The Research Library's Role in Digital Repository Services

The Association of Research Libraries Digital Repository Issues Task Force has released The Research Library's Role in Digital Repository Services.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

The report, "The Research Library's Role in Digital Repository Services," identifies key issues surrounding repository development, explores common strategies that libraries are using, analyzes relevant environmental trends, discusses issues where ARL and its member libraries should focus attention, and recommends the following actions for research libraries to undertake:

  • Build a range of new kinds of partnerships and alliances, both within institutions and between institutions.
  • Base service-development strategies on substantive assessment of local needs rather than blindly replicating work done at another institution.
  • Engage with key local policy issues and stakeholders to encourage institutional engagement with national and international policy issues.
  • Develop outreach and marketing strategies that assist "early adopters" of repositories to connect with the developing repository-related service system.
  • Define a scope of responsibility to guide the development of repository services for varied forms of content.

The report focuses on repository services generally, rather than concentrating on repository technologies or content. Repository services include services to authors, contributors, and users, particularly of university-created content. Some examples of repository services provided by research libraries include long-term archiving and migration of content, dissemination and access management, metadata and format management, search and discovery tools, publishing, data mining, etc. Illustrations drawn from a variety of digital repositories are used throughout the report.

The task force notes that, due to repository services' powerful potential to enable key work and enhance the effectiveness of functions across the research enterprise, research institutions cannot afford to do without such services, even in difficult economic times. Researchers and scholars with access to a spectrum of repository services possess a substantial advantage in conducting cutting-edge research, delivering high-quality teaching, and contributing valuable services to society. Libraries have key strengths and missions requiring them to undertake various roles in repository service development. This report presents a fresh perspective on the digital repository environment and is intended to inspire ARL member libraries and others to assess their views and plans for service development.

Sustaining the Digital Investment: Issues and Challenges of Economically Sustainable Digital Preservation

The Blue Ribbon Task Force on Sustainable Digital Preservation and Access has released Sustaining the Digital Investment: Issues and Challenges of Economically Sustainable Digital Preservation. Interim Report of the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Sustainable Digital Preservation and Access.

Here's an excerpt:

During 2008, as the Task Force heard testimony from a broad spectrum of institutions and enterprises with deep experience in digital access and preservation, two things became clear: First, the problem is urgent. Access to data tomorrow requires decisions concerning preservation today. Imagine future biological research without a long-term strategy to preserve the Protein Data Bank (PDB), a digital collection that drives new insights into human systems and drug therapies for disease, and represents an investment of 100 billion dollars in research funding over the last 37 years. Decisions about the future of the PDB and other digital reference collections—how they will be migrated to future information technologies without interruption, what kind of infrastructure will protect their digital content against damage and loss of data, and how such efforts will be supported—must be made now to drive future innovation.

Second, the difficulty in identifying appropriate economic models is not just a matter of finding funding or setting a price. In many institutions and enterprises, systemic challenges create barriers for sustainable digital access and preservation.

Also see the related document: A Selective Literature Review on Digital Preservation Sustainability.

LC Releases Understanding PREMIS

The Library of Congress Network Development and MARC Standards Office has released Understanding PREMIS.

Here's an excerpt:

This guide is a relatively brief overview of the PREMIS preservation metadata standard. It will not give you enough information to implement PREMIS, but it will give you some idea of what PREMIS is all about. For many readers, this will be enough. For those who do need to master the PREMIS Data Dictionary for Preservation Metadata, this guide may serve as a gentle introduction that makes the larger document feel more familiar.

Harvard University Press Launches Open Access Law Journal

The Harvard University Press has launched the Journal of Legal Analysis, an open access journal published under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

A couple things make the JLA different than the average law journal. First, it's online. At the end of each year, articles will be bundled, printed, and sold to those who wish to procure such a volume, but the focus is on the website, where all articles will be posted, for free, as soon as they are ready for publication. In addition, we're hoping the journal fills a gap in the legal publishing landscape by providing a peer-reviewed, faculty-edited journal that covers the entire academy. In the words of Editor-in-Chief Mark Ramseyer: "Until JLA, there has not been a faculty-edited, peer-reviewed journal that covered the whole span of the legal academy. There have been faculty-edited journals for subfields, but not for the entire discipline. With the JLA, we are trying to create a faculty-edited journal that will be the flagship journal for the law school faculty as a whole."