Month: March 2010

ACRL, ALA, ARL, and Others Respond to U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator's Request

ACRL, ALA, ARL, and other organizations have responded to the U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator's "Coordination and Strategic Planning of the Federal Effort against Intellectual Property Infringement: Request of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator for Public Comments Regarding the Joint Strategic Plan."

Here's an excerpt from the ALA, ACRL, and ARL letter:

ARL, ALA, and ACRL believe it is very important that the IPEC has asked that assertions about the costs of intellectual property infringement clearly identify the methodology used and any critical assumptions relied upon to calculate those costs, as well as a copy or citation to the source of any data. As the comments of CCIA and the NetCoalition make clear, industry-commissioned studies rarely, if ever, rise to a level of rigor that justifies emergency intervention along the lines that content industries routinely demand. Rather, they are shot through with fallacies and sleights of hand that have done more to confuse and confound this discussion than to contribute to it. We refer you to the comments of CCIA and the NetCoalition for a detailed discussion of the problems with these studies and the arguments that are made in connection with them.

The fundamental flaw of these studies is that they beg the question of whether a particular private business interest is entitled to government protection for perpetual, stable profits regardless of changing business conditions. The mere fact of declining profits in one business model does not constitute a cognizable harm that government must step in to remedy. Government intervention in any area has costs for taxpayers, and in this area there are added costs to the public when IP policy becomes further slanted in favor of rightsholders and against public access and use.

Here's an excerpt from the American Association of Law Libraries, EFF, Medical Library Association, Public Knowledge, Special Libraries Association, and U.S. PRIG letter:

Thus, when determining enforcement priorities, the government should be guided by three principles. First, it should only seek to prevent private economic harms when the costs of enforcement do not exceed the harm caused. Second, it should pursue harms that meet the standards for criminal conduct. When society marks certain conduct as criminal, it authorizes public enforcement, recognizes that deterrent (as opposed to merely remedial) actions are more appropriate, and allows that in an individual case the cost of punishing the violation may outweigh the economic harm of the violation itself because of the moral wrong committed. Third, publicly funded enforcement resources should be reserved for clear violations of the law, rather than in "gray areas" characterized by uncertain and evolving legal or marketplace norms. The government should spend public funds on enforcement only when all three of these principles are met.

Read more about it at "ALA Calls for Openness in Copyright Negotiations and Enforcement Efforts," "Groups Ask Targeted Enforcement for Intellectual Property," and "Public Interest Groups Call on IP Czar to Get the Priorities Straight."

Consolidated ACTA Draft Leaked

A consolidated draft of ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement) has been leaked.

Here's an excerpt from "The Consolidated Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement Leaks":

Although this is not the most updated version, when combined with the earlier leaked table on the Internet and civil enforcement chapters (which include changes from the January Mexico meeting), the complete current ACTA text is now publicly available.

Here's a brief description of ACTA from Public Knowledge:

ACTA is the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement being negotiated by the US, the EU, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand. The stated goal of the agreement is the international enforcement of strong intellectual property rights through increased cooperation and coordination among international governmental agencies.

Read more about it at "Complete ACTA Text Finally Leaked" and "Full ACTA Draft Leaked. . . EU Wants Injunctions against the Possibility You Might Infringe."

User Experience Mobile Developer at University of Michigan Library

The University of Michigan Library is recruiting a User Experience Mobile Developer (one-year term appointment).

Here's an excerpt from the ad (job ID: 38884):

Duties

  • Develops user interfaces (with a focus on mobile web sites and mobile applications). Conducts a full range of programming tasks including program design, program coding, debugging and documentation.
  • Conducts ongoing research into the development of new mobile interface capabilities, enhancements, and design trends.
  • Collaborates with LIT colleagues to develop advanced web use statistics/log analysis mechanisms.
  • Communicates with UX Department colleagues to help set user research and usability priorities to determine requirements for mobile interfaces.
  • Participates, as needed, on library teams and committees related to mobile services & systems.

"Copyright Provisions in Law Journal Publication Agreements"

Benjamin J. Keele has self-archived "Copyright Provisions in Law Journal Publication Agreements" in SSRN.

Here's an excerpt:

This study examined copyright provisions of law journal publication agreements and found that a minority of journals ask authors to transfer copyright. Most journals also permit authors to self-archive articles. It recommends journals make their agreements publicly available and use licenses instead of copyright transfers.

User Experience (UX) Specialist at University of Michigan Library

The University of Michigan Library is recruiting a User Experience (UX) Specialist (three-year term appointment with the possibility of renewal).

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The University of Michigan Library is seeking a talented user experience professional to join our newly formed User Experience (UX) Department. We are looking for someone with a passion for user research, the ability to create engaging designs, and an investment in improving the library users' web experience. . . .

The User Experience Department is part of the Library Information Technology Division (LIT) at the University of Michigan, University Library. LIT is the library's key organization for the creation, deployment and support of the library's primary web interfaces (Library Website, Mirlyn Library Catalog, Digital Library Collections, and HathiTrust Digital Library).

The UX department will focus on interface design, mobile design and development, usability testing, user research, web use statistics, and accessibility. The UX Specialist works in a collaborative team environment—working closely with the UX Department Manager and UX Mobile Developer as well as LIT and library-wide project stakeholders. The UX Specialist will help drive interface development through an iterative usability and design process. Candidates who have experience in only interface design or usability will also be considered.

Berkman Center and eIFL.net Launch "Copyright for Librarians"

The Berkman Center for Internet & Society and eIFL.net have launched "Copyright for Librarians."

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

"Copyright for Librarians" aims to inform librarians about copyright law in general, as well as the aspects of copyright law that most affect libraries, especially those in developing and transition countries.

"Copyright law directly affects library services providing access to learning resources, scientific and research information," said Rima Kupryte, Director eIFL.net. "Everyday librarians are managing information and responding to requests from students, academics, and members of the public. They are well placed to provide practical advice on topical copyright-related issues. This curriculum, which includes modules on the scope of copyright law, exceptions and limitations and managing rights, provides librarians from around the world with an opportunity to understand this important area of law."

"Librarians and their professional organisations play key roles in shaping national and international copyright policy and in protecting and promoting access to knowledge," said William Fisher, faculty director of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, "eIFL.net has created a crucial network of librarians in developing and transition countries. It is essential that the members of that network have the fullest possible understanding, not just of the current copyright laws, but also of the ways in which those laws could and should be interpreted and modified in the future. We hope that this curriculum will help to advance that understanding." . . .

The course materials of "Copyright for Librarians"—nine modules organised into five different levels—can be used as the basis for a self-taught course, a traditional classroom-based course, or as a distance-learning course.

Emerging Technologies Librarian at Lincoln Memorial University

The Lincoln Memorial University Law Library is recruiting an Emerging Technologies Librarian.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Emerging Technologies Librarian is responsible for Web 2.0 applications within the law library including exploring and managing virtual reference technologies, enhancing the law school’s digital library collections, exploring, implementing and overseeing teaching technologies and managing the law library’s libguides and website content.

California Digital Library Becomes Founding Member of DataCite Consortium

The California Digital Library has become a founding member of the DataCite Consortium.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

One of today's most important priorities for academic scholarship and research is providing long-term access to datasets. Data are now seen as the building blocks of scholarship and research in the sciences and humanities. Scholars and archivists recognize the potential for increasing collaboration and synthesis when data are archived, published, and shared, forging the possibility for new discoveries built upon the research of others. . . .

DataCite offers an easy way to connect an article published in a scholarly journal with the underlying data and allows authors to take control of the management and distribution of their research. Additionally, DataCite provides the means for researchers to share and get credit for datasets; establish easier access to research data; increase acceptance of research data as legitimate, citable contributions to the scholarly record; and to support data archiving that permits results to be verified and re-purposed for future study.

A pragmatic first step towards managing, or "curating," data is to register the existence of datasets publicly and permanently. Mirroring accepted publishing practice, DataCite's services make it easy for data producers to obtain permanent catalog records and persistent identifiers that are visible through familiar mechanisms, such as library systems, CrossRef and search engines. . . .

Stephen P. Miller, head of the Geological Data Center, Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego says, "It is critical for research community data operations to keep in close communications with DataCite, maintaining a forum to discuss challenges and to share resources and innovative tools. For example, the ‘Rolling Deck to Repository (R2R)' project was recently launched to capture all routine underway data on U.S. oceanographic research vessels, approximately 500 expeditions per year, conducted by 18 independent operating institutions. In recent years there has been a change in the cultural patterns in the marine science and other communities. Data are being exchanged, and re-used, more than ever. Much of the re-use is accomplished without the direct involvement of the original data collector… It is now a general practice to combine data from various online resources even before you go to sea, and to submit your data to a repository for others to use after returning."

In addition to the CDL, the DataCite consortium includes the German National Library of Science and Technology, the British Library, the Library of the ETH Zurich, the French Institute for Scientific and Technical Information, the Technical Information Center of Denmark, the Dutch TU Delft Library, Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information, the Australian National Data Service and Purdue University.

Technology Resources and Outreach Librarian at Bennington College

The Bennington College Library is recruiting a Technology Resources and Outreach Librarian.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Technology Resources and Outreach Librarian is responsible for all aspects of library technology. This position will assist the Director of Library and Information Services in technology planning, coordinating and evaluating all technology resources and interfaces for the library; implementing new technology initiatives; providing workshops, training for new technologies; working collaboratively with other offices to ensure the library’s support of and compliance with the broader technology goals of the College.

Papers from Open Repositories 2009 Published in Journal of Digital Information

Selected papers from the Open Repositories 2009 conference have been published in a special issue of the Journal of Digital Information.

"An Introduction to Competition Concerns in the Google Books Settlement"

Rudolph J. R. Peritz and Marc Miller have self archived "An Introduction to Competition Concerns in the Google Books Settlement" in SSRN.

Here's an excerpt:

Google started its Google Books project in 2004 with the intent to create a digital library of the world’s books. There has not been such a grand plan since students of Aristotle began to gather the world’s knowledge in the Library of Alexandria some 24 centuries ago. The world’s knowledge has changed. And so has its political economy. Twenty-first century public policy questions have been interjected to delay and reshape Google’s project, questions that did not concern the royal sponsors of the ancient Library. This review takes up questions of competition policy raised in the United States, the corporate site for Google’s virtual Library of Alexandria.

After presenting the factual background to the Google Books project and the procedural history of the current class-action lawsuit, we examine two clusters of competition issues concerning the Google Books project: First, whether a class action settlement in litigation between private parties is an appropriate vehicle for making public policy. Second, whether Google’s actions are on balance anticompetitive under U.S. antitrust laws. Antitrust concerns will be given the lion’s share of attention.

Programmer Analyst III at University of California Office of the President

The University of California Office of the President is recruiting a Programmer Analyst III. Salary: $55,300 to $109,500.

Here's an excerpt from the ad (requisition number: 20100059 ):

Reporting to the IT Resource Manager, Discovery and Delivery, this position is one of eight programmer/analyst positions in the Discovery and Delivery Group responsible for the technical design, implementation, maintenance, and operation of the CDL's bibliographic systems Next Generation Melvyl, (the Melvyl Union Catalog, UC-eLinks, Request) as well as providing technical leadership in the design, development and implementation of new systems like ERMS (Electronic Resources Management System).

Video Presentations from the Ebook Transition: Collaborations and Innovations behind Open-Access Monographs Forum

SPARC has released video presentations from the Ebook Transition: Collaborations and Innovations behind Open-Access Monographs SPARC-ACRL forum.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

The market-based business model for scholarly monographs, long under pressure due to decreased library purchasing, must now accommodate a transition to ebooks. Many non-profit publishers, including university presses, are actively exploring new publishing models to support scholarly monographs, including open-access distribution and collaborative initiatives with university libraries. This SPARC-ACRL forum featured three pioneering initiatives to deliver free online access to scholarly monographs, and highlighted opportunities for libraries to support innovations in this important area.

Head, Carolina Digital Library & Archives at UNC-CH

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Libraries are recruiting a Head, Carolina Digital Library & Archives.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill seeks an energetic, innovative, and collegial individual to serve as Head of the Carolina Digital Library and Archives (CDLA). The person in this position has the opportunity to build on a distinguished record of digital library accomplishments at UNC and to develop new programs and services for the Library and the campus community. Currently the CDLA has 6 permanent staff members and numerous project-funded staff and students. The CDLA coordinates and provides digital library and preservation services in support of research and teaching at UNC. Working with faculty, students, and library staff, the CDLA develops, manages, and publishes digital content in curated scholarly collections, in focused library collections and exhibits, and in large digital repositories. The CDLA coordinates the development of policies and workflows for preservation of digital content across the campus and serves as the Carolina Digital Repository's point of contact with its contributors and users. The CDLA maintains a broad array of digital conversion and ingest capabilities and equipment and provides production services for CDLA-managed and other projects. In support of scholarly and teaching use of digital materials, the CDLA maintains an active role in the development and support of tools used to explore, analyze, and interpret digital content. The CDLA also facilitates awareness and analysis of developments in the scholarly use of digital technologies and their application to library collections and services.

Challenges for Academic Libraries in Difficult Economic Times: A Guide for Senior Institutional Managers and Policy Makers

The Research Information Network has released Challenges for Academic Libraries in Difficult Economic Times: A Guide for Senior Institutional Managers and Policy Makers.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

Based upon data gathered in the UK and internationally, and focus groups with senior librarians during late 2009, the guide looks at the financial position of libraries, their strategies for dealing with challenging economic circumstances, and the value of libraries.

After a decade of growth in budgets and services, academic librarians now expect a sustained period of cuts over the next three to five years. The scale of these cuts means librarians are having to reconsider the kinds and levels of service they can provide in support of their universities missions.

This guide shows how librarians are responding to the issues of balancing expenditure between information resources and staffing and how they plan to sustain levels of service, as well as developing new services to meet new needs. It demonstrates that library directors need the support of senior managers across the higher education sector, as well as from publishers and other information providers, to help address the challenges, as well as the opportunities, faced.

Read more about it at the briefing document.

Barbara I. Dewey Named Penn State Dean of University Libraries and Scholarly Communications

Contingent on approval by the University Board of Trustees, Barbara I. Dewey has been named Dean of University Libraries and Scholarly Communications at the Pennsylvania State University.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

She [Dewey] will succeed Nancy Eaton, who has held the position since 1997 and will continue her ties with the University in retirement as dean emerita.

"The remarkable expansion of digital content and patrons' growing expectation of online access to scholarly publications have made university libraries an exceptionally complex and integral part of today's intellectual endeavors," said Penn State President Graham Spanier. "I welcome Barbara's leadership as the Penn State University Libraries continues to evolve to serve the academic and research pursuits of our students, faculty and staff."

"I am honored to lead Penn State's library enterprise, building on the tremendous success of its expert faculty and staff in this exciting period of change and transformation," said Dewey. "I look forward to working with Penn State's outstanding academic and alumni communities bringing Penn State scholarship to the world and the world's scholarship to Penn State."

As the leader of Penn State's information resources enterprise, Dewey will serve as the official representative and advocate for the University Libraries and Penn State Press and oversee approximately 1,150 full- and part-time faculty and staff. The University Libraries comprise 14 libraries at the University Park campus and libraries at 22 other campuses, Media Technology Support Services and the University Records Management Program. Collections include more than 5.2 million volumes, 69,000 serial titles, 517 databases and more than 50,000 e-books, as well as extensive holdings of maps, microforms, government publications, archives and audio-visual materials. The University Libraries and the Penn State Press jointly operate the Office of Digital Scholarly Publishing and collaborate on the development of new modes of disseminating research and scholarship. . . .

Dean of Libraries at the University of Tennessee since 2000, Dewey garnered significant experience at several Big Ten universities. Previously, she served at the University of Iowa from 1987 to 2000 as assistant to the dean of libraries, director of administrative and access services, director of information and research services and interim university librarian, respectively. Prior to that she also was Indiana University's director of admissions and placement in the School of Library and Information Science from 1980 to 1987, and assistant interlibrary loan and reference librarian at Northwestern University from 1978 to 1980. She began her library science career with the Minnesota Valley Regional Library System.

Dewey received her master's degree in library science and her undergraduate degree in anthropology/sociology, both from the University of Minnesota. She also received a Graduate Public Management Certificate from Indiana University's School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

A member of the Association of Research Libraries board of directors from 2006 to 2009, Dewey continues service as chair of its Transforming Research Libraries Steering Committee and the Association of College and Research Libraries Publications Committee. She is in her final year of a six-year term on the Online Computer Library Center Global Council and is a member of the International Federation of Library Associations Standing Committee on Education and Training. She has published and presented on a wide range of research library topics including digital libraries, diversity, technology, user education, fundraising, organizational development and human resources.

Web Archiving

The Digital Curation Centre has released Web Archiving.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

The DCC has produced a report that provides a snapshot of the state of the art of Web archiving in early 2010, noting areas of contemporaneous research and development. It should be of interest to individuals and organisations concerned about the longevity of the Web resources to which they contribute or refer, and who wish to consider the issues and options in a broad context. The report begins by reviewing in more detail the motivations that lie behind Web archiving, both from an organisational and a research perspective. The most common challenges faced by Web archivists are discussed in section 3. The following two sections examine Web archiving at extremes of scale, with section 4 dealing with full-domain harvesting and the building of large-scale collections, and section 5 dealing with the ad hoc archiving of individual resources and small-scale collections. The challenges associated with particular types of difficult content are summarised in section 6, while methods for integrating archived material with the live Web are reviewed in section 7. Finally, some conclusions are drawn in section 8.

Update on White House OSTP Public Access Policy Forum

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy has issued an update on its Public Access Policy Forum.

Here's an excerpt from "Public Access Policy Update":

Today we are posting two valuable resources that are direct products of the Public Access Policy Forum. While we continue the process of analyzing the literature and comments, below you will find all of the blog posts and their respective comments, as well as never-before-seen submissions that were sent directly to our publicaccess@ostp.gov inbox.

The past month-and-a-half has given OSTP staff the chance to sift through the mounds of fantastic input we received. We were very gratified by the amount of participation the forum generated and are diligently scouring through the data to find common themes, dissenting opinions, concerns, and suggestions that will ultimately help us craft policy recommendations. . . .

Original blog posts with attached comments:

PublicAccess@ostp.gov submissions:

Library Digital Services Manager at St. Edward's University

The Scarborough-Phillips Library at St. Edward's University is recruiting a Library Digital Services Manager. Salary: upper 50's to low 60's.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Scarborough-Phillips Library at St. Edward's University seeks a creative, innovative individual to provide leadership in all things digital including but not limited to the library's web presence, digitization initiatives, integrated library systems, and cooperative ventures with other departments on campus and at other universities. This position reports to the Library Director.

Duke University Adopts Open Access Policy

Duke University has adopted an open access policy.

Here's an excerpt from "New Policy to Ease Access to Faculty Works ":

At the Academic Council meeting Thursday, faculty members passed the Duke Open Access policy proposed by the task force’s co-chairs, Cathy Davidson, Ruth F. Devarney Professor of English, and Paolo Mangiafico, director of digital information strategy. The proposal passed unanimously.

The Open Access policy provides Duke scholars with the choice of giving the University the legal basis to publish articles on a database called DukeSpace, which will be available to anyone who seeks them.

Read more about it at "Draft Discussion Document for Duke Open Access Policy" and "Open Access at Duke."

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