Month: October 2010

Daily Tweets 2010-10-27

Discovery and Delivery Services Programmer at California Digital Library

The California Digital Library is recruiting a Discovery and Delivery Services Programmer. Salary: $66,900 minimum.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Reporting to the Technical Lead, Discovery and Delivery Services, this position is one of eight programmer/analyst positions in the Discovery and Delivery Services Group responsible for the technical design, implementation, maintenance, and operation of the CDL's bibliographic systems (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) and the HathiTrust a shared digital library being built by major research libraries.

| Digital Scholarship |

Director of Engineering at Emory University

The Emory University Libraries are recruiting a Director of Engineering. Salary: $88,600-$124,600.

Here's an excerpt from the ad (job requisition ID: 19187BR):

The Director of Engineering will work with the Chief Technology Strategist and senior library managers to guide the organization in assessing key industry trends and defining technology strategy. This is a strategic leadership position within the team, with the opportunity to significantly influence the business, both in its daily operations and in its future direction. May design and implement specific projects such as digital repositories, image archives, and tools to support digital humanities.

Core Responsibilities include:

  • As the overall engineering leader within the library Digital Systems Division, work closely with library senior leadership to define a long-term operational vision, strategy and execution plans for the division
  • Lead teams of systems, software, and support engineers, with a balanced focus on products, processes and people leadership; and develop existing talent on the teams
  • Plan and execute complex development projects

| Digital Scholarship |

Institutional Repository Software: IR+ 2.0 Released

The University of Rochester has released IR+ 2.0.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

The new version has many new features and updates. These include:

  • OAI-PMH harvestable
  • Dublin Core mapping features for Identifiers and contributors
  • Improved batch metadata manipulation – automated re-indexing enhancements (changing control lists forces re-indexing of all items that use changed data)
  • Sponsor browsing / statistics
  • Paging and Sorting for contributor pages
  • Improved Search Engine Optimization(SEO) for better indexing of researcher pages and content within the repository
  • Researcher page interface enhancements
  • Content type listing and filtering at the repository and collection levels
  • Content type counts at the repository and collection levels
  • Increased download information and removal options for more accurate download counts
  • Updated Help, Installation and User manuals
  • RSS feeds for Collections/Contributor Pages
  • Upgraded pdf/word/excel/power point text extraction libraries
  • Updated user account management features
  • Submission performance enhancements
  • Improved home page module placement
  • Improved change tracking

| Digital Scholarship |

Daily Tweets 2010-10-26

Director of Technical Services and Technology at University of Arkansas at Little Rock

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock's Ottenheimer Library is recruiting a Director of Technical Services and Technology.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Director of Technical Services and Technology is a faculty appointment with rank leading to tenure and will be required to meet the Library's criteria for promotion and tenure, which include librarianship, service and scholarship/research. The position reports directly to the Dean of the Library and works closely with the Directors of Public Services, Administrative Services and Archives/Special Collections. The successful candidate will be responsible for providing administrative oversight of technical services and information technology departments (acquisitions, cataloging, collection development, serials and IT).

| Digital Scholarship |

University of Oregon Libraries and Oregon State University Libraries Establish Open Access Journal Publishing Service

The University of Oregon Libraries and Oregon State University Libraries have established an Open Access Journal Publishing Service.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

The University of Oregon Libraries and Oregon State University Libraries have joined forces to establish an Open Access Journal Publishing Service that will support the broader dissemination of scholarship and promote the advancement of both universities’ research. Open access journals represent an emerging academic publishing model that makes the results of scholarly research freely available online to all readers who have access to the Internet. . . .

The initiative will provide support to UO and OSU faculty members for the creation, management, distribution, and preservation of open access journals, primarily based on the Open Journal System (OJS) open source software. In addition to hosting journals on an OJS server, the initiative will assist in the migration of journal content from traditional print format to digital format. The OJS program supports the full cycle of journal publishing from article submission to archiving. . . .

Plans for creating new open access journal titles are already underway at both universities. For example, at the University of Oregon the first issue of the open access journal Humanist Studies and the Digital Age is expected to appear this winter. The journal will provide scholars and students with free and immediate online access to the results of humanities research conducted by scholars throughout the world. At Oregon State University, the Journal of the Transportation Research Forum is currently offered as an open access publication, and other titles are in the development stages. The website for the service at http://journals.oregondigital.org/ provides additional information on the new program and access to individual journals.

| Digital Scholarship |

Digital Services Librarian at University of Minnesota, Morris

The University of Minnesota, Morris' Rodney A. Briggs Library is recruiting a Digital Services Librarian.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Rodney A. Briggs Library at the University of Minnesota, Morris invites an enthusiastic, creative and service oriented librarian to join our team. Recent graduates interested in working in a mentoring and collaborative environment are encouraged to apply.

Integral to this position are a familiarity with and enthusiasm for the integration of emerging technologies into library services. The successful candidate will have a knowledge of library automation systems, relevant hardware and software applications as well as a background in the management of digital environments. Responsibilities include: administering and maintaining the ILS as well as other library systems, managing the library's hardware and software applications, managing the link-resolving software and providing leadership for the library's digital environment.

| Digital Scholarship |

Vision, Impact, Success: Mandating Electronic Theses

Josh Brown and Kathy Sadler have self-archived Vision, Impact, Success: Mandating Electronic Theses in UCL Eprints.

Here's an excerpt:

These case studies form part of the ‘Influencing the Deposit of Electronic Theses in UK HE' project, commissioned by the JISC and led by UCL. They were designed to explore the practicalities of introducing and administering an institutional e-thesis mandate, and to draw out the benefits and challenges of mandates for the institutions that adopt them.

Each of the four institutions who made up the case studies was chosen because they offered a glimpse into the reality of a mandate at every stage.

  • The University of Sussex has just introduced a mandate, and staff there offered the benefit of their experiences of creating the systems and processes that support the new policy.
  • Aberystwyth University spent some time exploring what kind of mandate would be most effective, and their story shows how to get the best from the consultation process.
  • Brunel University has been developing its e-theses collection since 2006, and has been reaping the rewards, both in terms of research impact and benefits to scholarship.
  • The University of Glasgow was one of the earliest adopters of e-theses in the UK and its work showcases a mature service that is very much a part of the institution.

Each of these institutions had experiences in common, and each faced similar questions from students and supervisors. In highlighting different aspects of best practice in each case study, the aim is to demonstrate an effective approach to meeting the challenges of e-theses. While these challenges can seem daunting, these case studies show that they can be overcome by a combination of communication, education and balanced policies.

| Digital Scholarship |

Daily Tweets 2010-10-25

The Charleston Advisor Gives Charles W. Bailey, Jr. Best Content by an Individual Award

The Charleston Advisor has given Charles W. Bailey, Jr., publisher of Digital Scholarship, a special one-time Best Content by an Individual Award. The award is part of a "series of awards for the best and worst electronic services and databases of interest to libraries," which the The Charleston Advisor has been making annually for ten years.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

Best Content by an Individual (Special One Time Award)

Charles W. Bailey Jr. for his excellent contributions over the years and most recently his "Transforming Scholarly Publishing through Open Access: A Bibliography." This work gives an outstanding overview of scholarship relating to the growing Open Access movement. By the way—it's free online <http://digital-scholarship.org/tsp/transforming.htm>.

In Praise of Copying

In Praise of Copying by Marcus Boon has been published by the Harvard University Press. The book is under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported license, and it is available as a hardcover as well as a freely available PDF file.

Here's an excerpt:

My goal in this book is to account for our fear of and fascination with copying. I argue that copying is a fundamental part of being human, that we could not be human without copying, and that we can and should celebrate this aspect of ourselves, in full awareness of our situation. Copying is not just something human—it is a part of how the universe functions and manifests. The issue of regulating copying, of setting up laws restricting or encouraging copying, is secondary to that of recognizing the omnipresence and nature of copies and copying in human societies—and beyond.

IMLS Project Coordinator/Librarian

The University of Michigan Library is recruiting an IMLS Project Coordinator/Librarian (two-year term appointment).

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The University of Michigan Library seeks a Project Coordinator/Librarian to provide leadership in the gathering of data regarding the quality of images and full-text data comprising digitized books in the HathiTrust Digital Library. With new support from the Institute for Museum and Library Services, the University of Michigan's School of Information, in close collaboration with the University of Michigan Library and University of Minnesota Library, is conducting an innovative two-year (2011-13) research project designed to advance the science of information quality and establish mechanisms for validating the quality of books digitized on a large-scale. The overall design of the research project consists of two overlapping investigative phases. Phase one defines and tests a set of error metrics (a system of measurement) for digitized books and serials. Phase two applies those metrics to produce a set of statistically valid measures regarding the patterns of error (frequency and severity) in multiple samples of volumes drawn from strata of HathiTrust content. The project includes open evaluation processes that engage stakeholders and users in building, refining, and validating the use-case scenarios that emerge from the research findings. Paul Conway, Associate Professor, School of Information, is the Principal Investigator of the project, which will be physically based in the University of Michigan Hatcher Graduate Library's Technical Services Department. The incumbent reports directly to Professor Conway, but has important responsibilities for coordinating work with the University of Michigan's Center for Statistical Consulting and Research, the two participating research libraries, and programming support associated with the HathiTrust Digital Library.

Simon Fraser University Signs Compact for Open Access Publishing Equity (COPE)

Simon Fraser University has signed the Compact for Open Access Publishing Equity (COPE). Simon Fraser University is the thirteenth institution to sign COPE.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

Today Simon Fraser University joins 12 other leading post-secondary institutions as a signatory to the Compact for Open Access Publishing Equity (COPE). Open access makes scholarly and other content freely available online to all users, without barriers, such as subscriptions or pay-per-view/use costs. Signatories to this Compact agree to support new business models for the publication of open access journals. Specifically, the Compact commits each signatory to developing ways of underwriting reasonable publication charges for articles written by its faculty and published in fee-based open-access journals and for which other institutions would not be expected to provide funds.

Since February 2010, the SFU Library has operated an Open Access Fund. The Fund meets COPE requirements by covering many author-side fees for SFU researchers who publish in open access journals that charge such fees. The third such fund in Canada, SFU’s Open Access Fund has covered 22 articles to date. The SFU fund is part of a set of SFU-based programs that support open access. The Library hosts the SFU institutional repository where the digital scholarly output of the university is collected and maintained. The Library partners with the SFU-based Canadian Centre for Studies in Publishing, along with Stanford University and the University of British Columbia to develop and maintain the Public Knowledge Project (PKP) suite of software – Open Journal Systems (OJS), Open Conference Systems (OCS), Open Harvester Systems (OHS) and soon Open Monograph Press (OMP). The Library also hosts over 250 journals using OJS with many having adopted an open access publishing model.

Dr Mario Pinto, Vice President for Research, articulates the philosophy underlying SFU’s commitment as follows: “SFU is a recognized leader in the use of innovative technologies and initiatives that enhance and simplify access to scholarly knowledge. We were one of the first Canadian universities to embrace open access publishing. By making the results of research freely available, we stand to gain the maximum benefit from publicly-funded research investment by facilitating the transfer of knowledge and stimulating creative thought.” Simon Fraser University consistently ranks among the top research universities in Canada in terms of sponsored research income, publication rates and impact factors. In 2010, SFU placed fourth in Canada and 66 out of 6000 higher education institutes from across the globe in the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities.

Daily Tweets 2010-10-24

Arizona State University Librarians Assembly Passes Open Access Resolution

The Librarians Assembly of the Arizona State University Libraries has passed an open access resolution.

Here's an excerpt:

Specifically, we resolve:

  1. To disseminate our scholarship as broadly as possible. We endeavor to make our scholarly work openly accessible in conformance with open access principles. Whenever possible, we make our scholarship available in digital format, online, and free of charge.
  2. To grant ASU Libraries a Creative Commons "Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States" license to each of our scholarly works to allow the ASU Libraries the right to archive and make publicly available the full text of our scholarly works via the ASU Libraries' digital repository.
  3. To deposit the author's final version of our scholarly work in the digital repository as soon as is possible, recognizing that some publishers may impose an embargo period.
  4. To seek publishers whose policies allow us to make our scholarly works freely available online. When a publisher's policies do not allow us to make our works freely available online, we resolve to engage in good faith negotiations with the publisher to allow deposit of pre- or post-print versions of our scholarly work in the digital repository.
  5. To promote Open Access on campus and assist scholars in making their research openly available.

| Digital Scholarship |

SPARC Profiles Four Scientists Involved in Open Access Movement

SPARC has profiled four scientists involved in open access movement: Jonathan Eisen, Michael Eisen, Josh Buckholtz, and Neil Buckholtz.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

In celebration of Open Access Week (October 18-24), SPARC (the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) is showcasing the stories of two exceptional families who have embraced Open Access as a value and have advanced their own work — though not always without reservations. The personal stories of brothers Jonathan and Michael Eisen (both evolutionary biologists), along with Neil Buckholtz and his son, Josh (neuroscientists), grappling with the pros and cons of Open Access are now profiled on the SPARC Web site.

As a teenager, Josh Buckholtz asked his father, Neil, endless questions about science. Neil is a neuroscientist at the NIH National Institute on Aging and Chief of the Dementias of Aging Branch. Josh, 33, is completing his Ph.D in neuroscience at Vanderbilt University.  Together they share a passion to unlock the mysteries of the brain, and are pioneers who advocate for Open Access in their area of research. Neil helped conceive the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), which has openly shared data — making every single Alzheimer’s-related research finding public immediately online. Josh is a review editor at Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, an online open-access journal published by the Frontiers Research Foundation.

Science has always been an integral part of the lives of the Eisen brothers.  Their parents and grandfather were all working scientists. As kids, Jonathan was fascinated with bugs and Michael was a math whiz who liked to program computers. Their career paths eventually converged, with both working as evolutionary biologists in California. Michael was the first of the pair of siblings to embrace Open Access, as the founder of the Public Library of Science (PLoS). He helped convince Jonathan, initially skeptical of open sharing of his scientific work, to join in his efforts to push for free access to research. Jonathan was on the first editorial board of PLoS Biology and has been an outspoken advocate of Open Access since 2003. Even their mother, Laura, now a professor who teaches chemistry and biochemistry at George Washington University, also promotes Open Access, rounding out the family affair.

"The compelling, personal stories of individual scientists who are pursuing Open Access to their works — and the works they need access to — are powerful examples of why adoption of Open Access is growing," says Heather Joseph, Executive Director of SPARC, which is the lead organizer of Open Access Week. "Scientists on the front lines of research are keenly aware of the limitations that access places on the ability of research to move forward. And, as Michael Eisen notes, it all starts with walking the walk; if you don’t  choose an open-access option yourself, how can you convince your family it's a good idea? How can you possibly convince anyone else to give it a try? For both the Eisen and the Buckholtz families, Open Access is a matter of values — and a moving family affair."

| Digital Scholarship |

Special OA Issue of New Review of Academic Librarianship on Dissemination Models in Scholarly Communication

The New Review of Academic Librarianship has published a special issue on dissemination models in scholarly communication. All of the articles are open access.

Here's a selection of articles

| Digital Scholarship |

Over 50 Open Access Policies Registered in ROARMAP to Date in 2010

Over 50 open access policies have been registered in ROARMAP (Registry of Open Access Repository Material Archiving Policies) so far in 2010.

Here's a selection of approved policies:

Institutional

Departmental/School

Theses

| Digital Scholarship |

Daily Tweets 2010-10-21

Australian National University Adopts Open Access Policy

The Australian National University has adopted an open access policy. The policy is embodied in three documents: (1) "Guidelines: Depositing Scholarly Work to the ANU Research Repository," (2) "Policy: Code of Practice for Scholarly Publication and Dissemination at ANU," and (3) "Policy: Intellectual Property."

Here's an excerpt from the "Policy: Intellectual Property":

Section 6. Terms of Publication: Open Access

6.1 The object of this Section is to promote the availability of Scholarly Works Created within the University free or at a low cost to Members and the public in accordance with Open Access Principles, without causing unreasonable detriment to the creating Member.

6.2 A Member who Creates a Scholarly Work must, when it is accepted by a publisher for publication or otherwise the Member deems the work ready for publication, provide a copy of the Scholarly Work to the University.

6.3 Subject to Sub-section 6.4, copies of Scholarly Works received by the University under this Section may be made published by the University to Members or the public.

6.4 If the Member reasonably believes that the exercise by the University of rights under Sub-section 6.3 may:

a) impede the Member's ability to disseminate the Scholarly Work by publication through a third party or otherwise;

(b) result in unreasonable financial loss to the Member; or

(c) impede collaboration with co-authors outside the University,

the Member may, when providing the work to the University, indicate that the work may not be published by the University or it may not be published by the University for a specified time.

| Digital Scholarship |