Year: 2010

Usability Inspection of Digital Libraries

The JISC UX2.0 project has released Usability Inspection of Digital Libraries.

Here's an excerpt:

The JISC funded project, UX2.0 aims to contribute to this general body of works by enhancing a digital library through a development and evaluation framework centered on usability and contemporary user experience. User-centred design (UCD) forms the overall approach of UX2.0. Technological developments will be implemented in tandem with research, usability studies and evaluation.

This report relates to an UX2.0 objective to undertake usability inspection. It presents the findings of a general usability inspection (work package 2—WP2.1) done through heuristics evaluation on a selection of digital libraries. . . .

The report will detail the heuristic methodology chosen to conduct the report, followed by an introduction to the design patterns identified in Section 3 and 4 respectively. Following this the results of usability inspection are presented in three sections; resource discovery (Section 5), navigation (Section 6) and enhancing user experience (Section 7). Resource discovery deals with the search and browse aspects of each digital library, referencing the design patterns used where appropriate. Navigation discusses specific types of navigation including faceted navigation and pagination. It also inspects the orientation through the DL and how the labeling helps or hinders user expectations. Finally the third part of the results (enhancing user experience) discusses the provision of value-added services of the DLs. Each the results section includes a discussion. The overall conclusions of the inspection in general are given in Section 8.

Technology Librarian at Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy

The Oliver Ocasek Regional Medical Information Center at the Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy is recruiting a Technology Librarian.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

This position reports to the Director, Ocasek Medical Library. The Technology Librarian manages the library server and software so that the NEOUCOM faculty, staff, and students, the consortium hospital libraries and affiliated health professionals at those hospitals, have reliable access to all appropriate print and electronic resources. The Technology Librarian educates NEOUCOM faculty, staff, and students on information technology. In addition, the Technology Librarian identifies and implements new ways to use technology in information delivery.

Google Book Search Settlement Hearing Transcript

A transcript of the 2/18/10 Google Book Search Settlement hearing is now available.

Read more about the hearing at "GBS: Fairness Hearing Report"; "GBS: Fairness Hearing Report Part II"; "Google Settlement Fairness Hearing, Part Two: DOJ Expresses Opposition; Parties Mount Vigorous Defense"; and "Objectors Outnumber Supporters in First Half of Google Settlement Fairness Hearing."

Also see: "Google Book Search Settlement: Updating the Numbers, Part 1."

"A Survey of the Scholarly Journals Using Open Journal Systems"

Brian D. Edgar and John Willinsky have self-archived "A Survey of the Scholarly Journals Using Open Journal Systems" on the Public Knowledge Project website.

Here's an excerpt:

A survey of 998 scholarly journals that use Open Journal Systems (OJS), an open source journal software platform, captures the characteristics of an emerging class of scholar-publisher open access journals (with some representation from more traditional scholarly society and print-based titles). The journals in the sample follow traditional norms for peer-reviewing, acceptance rates, and disciplinary focus, but are distinguished by the number that offer open access to their content, the growth rates in new titles, the participation rates from developing countries, and the extremely low operating budgets. The survey also documents the limited degree to which open source software can alter a field of communication, as OJS appears to have created a third path, dedicated to maximizing access to research and scholarship, as an alternative to traditional scholarly society and commercial publishing routes.

Emerging Technologies Librarian at John Marshall Law School

The John Marshall Law School Library is recruiting an Emerging Technologies Librarian.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Emerging Technologies Librarian will:

  • Coordinate all library information technology and serve a key role in planning systems projects.
  • Manage library web pages.
  • Manage and maintain public interfaces for link resolver, research databases, and other web-based resources.
  • Provide technical support and training for other library staff in technology use.
  • Implement usability assessment program.
  • Share management of library's Innovative Interfaces library system, focusing on the OPAC and other public aspects.

Digital Nation: 21st Century America's Progress Towards Universal Broadband Internet Access

The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration has released Digital Nation: 21st Century America's Progress Towards Universal Broadband Internet Access.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

  • Broadband Internet access at home continues to grow: 64 percent of households have broadband access compared to 51 percent in October 2007.
  • Notable disparities between demographic groups continue: people with low incomes, seniors, minorities, the less-educated, non-family households, and the non-employed tend to lag behind other groups in home broadband use.
  • While the digital divide between urban and rural areas has lessened since 2007, it remains significant. In 2009, two-thirds (66 percent) of urban households and only 54 percent of rural households accessed broadband Internet service, compared to 54 percent of urban households and 39 percent of rural households in 2007.
  • Overall, the two most commonly cited reasons for not having broadband Internet access at home are that it is perceived as not needed (38 percent) or too expensive (26 percent). Besides these value and affordability concerns, Americans also cite the lack of a computer as a major factor.  In rural America, however, lack of broadband availability is a more frequently-cited major reason for non-adoption than in urban areas (11 percent vs. 1 percent).
  • Americans who do not use the Internet in any location most commonly cite insufficient value, or no need, as the reason.  In contrast,  households that have dial-up access to the Internet as well as households without any type of Internet access at home most frequently cite cost as the reason they do not have broadband access at home.
  • Despite the growing importance of the Internet in American life, 30 percent of all persons do not use the Internet in any location.

Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography: 2008 Annual Edition Now $25 or $9.99 (Kindle)

The paperback version of the Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography: 2008 Annual Edition is now $25 and the Kindle version is $9.99. The paperback version is now available via Amazon's expanded distribution channel for libraries and academic institutions.

The Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography: 2008 Annual Edition presents over 3,350 references to selected English-language articles, books, and other printed and electronic sources that are useful in understanding scholarly electronic publishing efforts on the Internet. Most sources have been published between 1990 and 2008; however, a limited number of key sources published prior to 1990 are also included. Peter Jacso said in ONLINE (vol. 27, no. 3 2003, pp. 73-76): "SEP is compiled with utter professionalism. It reminds me of the work of the best artisans who know not only every item that leaves their workshops, but each component used to create them-providing the ideal quality control. . . . The selection of items is impeccable. I have yet to find journal articles irrelevant to the scope of the bibliography. SEP could be used as a benchmark in evaluating abstracting/indexing databases that proudly claim to have coverage of electronic publishing, but do not come close to SEP."

"Academic Author Objections to the Google Book Search Settlement"

Pamela Samuelson has self-archived "Academic Author Objections to the Google Book Search Settlement" in SSRN.

Here's an excerpt:

This Article explains the genesis of the Google Book Search (GBS) project and the copyright infringement lawsuit challenging it that the litigants now wish to settle with a comprehensive restructuring of the market for digital books. At first blush, the settlement seems to be a win-win-win, as it will make millions of books more available to the public, result in new streams of revenues for authors and publishers, and give Google a chance to recoup its investment in scanning millions of books. Notwithstanding these benefits, a closer examination of the fine details of the proposed GBS settlement should give academic authors some pause. The interests of academic authors were not adequately represented during the negotiations that yielded the proposed settlement. Especially troublesome are provisions in the proposed settlement are the lack of meaningful constraints on the pricing of institutional subscriptions and the plan for disposing of revenues derived from the commercialization of "orphan" and other unclaimed books. The Article also raises concerns about whether the parties' professed aspirations for GBS to be a universal digital library are being undermined by their own withdrawals of books from the regime the settlement would establish. Finally, the Article suggests changes that should be made to the proposed settlement to make it fair, reasonable, and adequate to the academic authors whose works make up a substantial proportion of the GBS corpus. Even with these modifications, however, there are serious questions about whether the class defined in the PASA can be certified consistent with Rule 23, whether the settlement is otherwise compliant with Rule 23, whether the settlement is consistent with the antitrust laws, and whether approval of this settlement is an appropriate exercise of judicial power.

Digital Curation Librarian at Michigan State University

The Michigan State University Libraries are recruiting a Digital Curation Librarian, Librarian I. Minimum salary: $46,000.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Reports to the Assistant Director for Digital Information. Working closely with staff in Digital and Multimedia Center, Library IT, Preservation, and other library units, as well as with partners at other institutions, the Digital Curation Librarian will: Plan, develop and provide leadership for a digital curation program for Library collections by reviewing existing library practices and analyzing needs and establishing policies and best practices for the long-term protection and access to digital materials, both created by or acquired for the library. Digital collections formats comprise text, image, audio-visual resources, and research data sets. Collaborate in planning, creating, and managing digital collections. Implement quality control procedures. Identify and collaborate with technical partners within the library, campus and consortial communities. Participate approximately quarter-time in a secondary assignment based on qualifications, interests and need; may include work in areas such as reference, instruction, cataloging, or collection development. Participate in professional development and research activities and serve on library and university committees as elected or assigned. Other appropriate duties as assigned. For more information about Michigan State University Libraries, please visit our website at http://www2.lib.msu.edu

EFF: "Digital Books and Your Rights: A Checklist for Readers"

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has released "Digital Books and Your Rights: A Checklist for Readers."

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

What questions should consumers ask before buying a digital book or reader? Today the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) published "Digital Books and Your Rights," a checklist for readers considering buying into the digital book marketplace.

Over the last few months, the universe of digital books has expanded dramatically, with products like Amazon's Kindle, Google Books, Internet Archive's Text Archive, Barnes and Noble's Nook, and Apple's upcoming iPad poised to revolutionize reading. But while this digital books revolution could make books more accessible than ever before, there are lingering questions about the future of reader privacy, consumers' rights, and potential censorship.

EFF's checklist outlines eight categories of questions readers should ask as they evaluate new digital book products and services, including:

*Does the service protect your privacy by limiting tracking of you and your reading?

*When you pay for a book, do you own the book, or do you just rent or license it?

*Is the service censorship resistant?

Database Analyst and Web Services Developer at Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library

The Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library is recruiting a Database Analyst and Web Services Developer. Starting Salary: $55,000 minimum, commensurate with experience.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The HAM-TMC Library seeks an innovative and energetic technology professional to provide support for our database and web environment. The Database and Web Services Developer reports to the Associate Director of Information Technology and has the following academic computing functions: 1) management of the Library's web presence, 2) management and development of the Library's local databases, 3) creation and integration of web-based personalization tools including Web 2.0 applet development (iPhone Apps, Google Gadgets, Microsoft Widgets). The Developer is an integral member of a work team that guarantees the effective delivery and analysis of electronic information to the scholars, students, and researchers that make up the diverse community in the Texas Medical Center.

The Future of the Internet IV

The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project has released The Future of the Internet IV.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

The web-based survey gathered opinions from prominent scientists, business leaders, consultants, writers and technology developers. It is the fourth in a series of Internet expert studies conducted by the Imagining the Internet Center at Elon University and the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project. In this report, we cover experts' thoughts on the following issues:

Last Week’s DigitalKoans Tweets 2010-02-21

"Self-Selected or Mandated, Open Access Increases Citation Impact for Higher Quality Research"

Yassine Gargouri, Chawki Hajjem, Vincent Lariviere, Yves Gingras, Tim Brody, Les Carr, Stevan Harnad have self-archived "Self-Selected or Mandated, Open Access Increases Citation Impact for Higher Quality Research" in the ECS EPrints Repository

Here's an excerpt:

Articles whose authors make them Open Access (OA) by self-archiving them online are cited significantly more than articles accessible only to subscribers. Some have suggested that this "OA Advantage" may not be causal but just a self-selection bias, because authors preferentially make higher-quality articles OA. To test this we compared self-selective self-archiving with mandatory self-archiving for a sample of 27,197 articles published 2002-2006 in 1,984 journals. The OA Advantage proved just as high for both. Logistic regression showed that the advantage is independent of other correlates of citations (article age; journal impact factor; number of co-authors, references or pages; field; article type; country or institution) and greatest for the most highly cited articles. The OA Advantage is real, independent and causal, but skewed. Its size is indeed correlated with quality, just as citations themselves are (the top 20% of articles receive about 80% of all citations). The advantage is greater for the more citeable articles, not because of a quality bias from authors self-selecting what to make OA, but because of a quality advantage, from users self-selecting what to use and cite, freed by OA from the constraints of selective accessibility to subscribers only. [See accompanying RTF file for responses to feedback. Four PDF files provide Supplementary Analysis.]

Head, Circulation & Systems Technology at Bowie State University

The Thurgood Marshall Library at Bowie State University is recruiting a Head, Circulation & Systems.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Reports directly to the Associate Director for Public Services. Provides overall management of automated University System of Maryland and Affiliated Institutions (USMAI) Ex Libris Aleph circulation department services, library technology systems, and a variety of technologies in a team-environment; plans, implements and manages library technology projects and services in conjunction with librarians and Division of Information Technology (DIT) staff; installs, maintains and supports software utilities and applications associated with the library's integrated library system and other library-specific applications; oversees the purchase of system components; performs skilled work in the installation, maintenance, and troubleshooting of library software applications; prioritizes and escalates issues for resolution; represents the Library and the University as appropriate in all circulation and library technology-related activities at the local, state, regional, and national levels; serves at the reference desk, as necessary and participates in the library information literacy instruction program; participates in library, university, and system-wide initiatives; works days, nights, and weekends.

Digital Publishing in the AAUP Community; Survey Report: Winter 2009-2010

The Association of American University Presses has released Digital Publishing in the AAUP Community; Survey Report: Winter 2009-2010.

Here's an excerpt:

In October–November 2009, AAUP surveyed its member presses about digital publishing strategies and programs. The survey had two purposes. This report shares the responses to seven questions specifically about digital strategies, technologies, and concerns related to their book publishing programs. The survey also collected new and updated information on specific e-publishing programs at member presses in order to update the association’s online directory of such projects.

Digital Research Repository Support Officer at University of St Andrews

The University Library at the University of St. Andrews is recruiting a Digital Research Repository Support Officer.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The University Library is looking to fill a fixed term vacancy in its Collections Division, providing support for the Digital Research Repository (DRR) Manager. This new post is being created to assist the DRR manager in developing effective and streamlined workflows for the Current research information system (CRIS) and the DRR. This post will contribute to an improved level of service to researchers using the new Research Information Service and will also support the introduction of new services. The investigation of new functionality and workflows, especially to comply with funder mandates are vital elements. Open Journals Software will also be a primary area of investigation.

Lagoze: "Lost Identity: The Assimilation of Digital Libraries into the Web"

Carl Lagoze has made his doctoral dissertation, "Lost Identity: The Assimilation of Digital Libraries into the Web," available.

Here's an excerpt:

The idea of Digital Libraries emerged in the early 1990s from a vision of a "library of the future", without walls and open 24 hours a day. These digital libraries would leverage the substantial investments of federal funding in the Internet and advanced computing for the benefit of the entire population. The world’s knowledge would be a key press away for everyone no matter where their location. This vision led to substantial levels of funding from federal agencies, foundations, and other organizations for research into fundamental technical problems related to networked information and deployment of the results of this research in numerous digital library applications. The result was a number of exciting and influential technical innovations.

But, the attempt to transplant the library to the online environment met with some unexpected obstacles. The funding agencies and many of the members of the digital library research community mainly focused on the technical issues related to online information. In general, they assumed that the new technology would be applied in a largely traditional (library) context, and largely ignored the profound social, economic, cultural, and political impact of turning "books (and other information resources) into bytes". The extent of this impact was demonstrated by the concurrent evolution of the World Wide Web, a networked information system not bound by legacy institutional conventions and practices or funding agency mandates and, therefore, able to organically evolve in response to the profoundly democratizing effect of putting information online. This has provided the context for the recent revolution in the web known as Web 2.0, a participatory information environment that contradicts most of the core assumptions of the traditional library information environment. The overwhelming adoption of the Web 2.0 model for both popular culture and serious information exchange and the increased evidence of the efficacy of this model for activities such as learning and scholarship call into question the viability of the library information model and the digital libraries that were meant to instantiate that model online.

In this dissertation I examine the almost two decade history of digital library research and analyze the relevance of the library information model, or meme, in relationship to the transformative Web 2.0 meme. I use my research results in digital library infrastructure and technology over this period as both a lens for viewing this historical relationship and a mirror for revealing its various facets. This analysis is particularly relevant as I, and fellow members of the research community, begin to engage in large-scale cyberinfrastructure projects that need to move beyond the largely technical focus of earlier digital library initiatives and recognize the sociotechnical nature of the work that lies ahead.

Presentations from Main Drivers on Successful Re-Use of Primary Research Data Workshop

Presentations from the Main Drivers on Successful Re-Use of Primary Research Data Workshop are now available.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

On 23-24 September 2009 an international discussion workshop was held in Berlin, prepared and organised by Knowledge Exchange. The main focus of the workshop was on the benefits, challenges and obstacles of re-using data from a researcher's perspective. The most important message from the wide variety of presentations was that successful reuse not only requires efforts directed at the technical issues, but also at providing incentives for researchers, both to share and re-use. . . .

At the workshop the use cases presented by researchers from a variety of disciplines were supplemented by two keynotes and selected presentations by specialists from infrastructure institutions, publishers, and national and European funding bodies. Thanks to this broad approach it became clear that certain challenges and obstacles are comparable across disciplines and organisations. As a general recommendation the participants agreed that it is time to cooperate in more ambitious international activities to establish reliable and sustainable support for initiatives in the field of data related research infrastructure—as Prof. John Wood (Imperial College London) put it in his keynote: "You can no longer separate the data management issue from the planning and running of research infrastructures."

Interoperable Annotation: Perspectives from the Open Annotation Collaboration

CNI has released a digital video of the Robert Sanderson's "Interoperable Annotation: Perspectives from the Open Annotation Collaboration" presentation at the CNI Fall 2009 Task Force Meeting.

Here's an excerpt from the project briefing abstract:

The Open Annotation Collaboration project (OAC), funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, is making progress towards the establishment of an interoperable annotation environment for scholarly artifacts. This environment will allow heterogeneous annotation clients to annotate distributed scholarly collections, and then share these annotations across clients and collections. While OAC's focus is on scholarly artifacts, the envisioned interoperability framework will be usable for a broad range of Web content, and is therefore based on Web architecture and concepts from the Semantic Web and Linked Data efforts. This presentation will give an overview of the core guiding principles followed, indicating why and how these differ from prior attempts. It will also introduce and motivate the evolving data model for interoperable annotation. An early draft of an interoperability specification, including a preliminary data model, will be released for public comment at the time of the CNI member meeting.

Here's the Open Annotation Collaboration website.

Integrated Library System Project Manager at Linda Hall Library

The Linda Hall Library is recruiting an Integrated Library System Project Manager (2-year appointment).

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The ILS Project manager is responsible for coordinating the on-site day-to-day operations associated with the migration of the Linda Hall Library's Integrated Library System from the SirsiDynix Horizon platform to the Ex Libris Voyager platform. Additional support and discovery services including open URL resolution, federated search, and digital asset management systems are included in this implementation. The position reports directly to the President of the Linda Hall Library.

The Economic Downturn and Libraries: Survey Findings

CIBER has released The Economic Downturn and Libraries: Survey Findings.

Here's an excerpt:

This survey, of 835 libraries worldwide, confirms what many had expected, that the short-term outlook for libraries in all sectors is a challenging one, given the slow down in the economy in many parts of the world. It is clear that most libraries are already feeling the pinch, with budget settlements for the current financial year that are either stand still (i.e. no increase in absolute terms) or actually smaller than last year. Fortunes are however mixed, and some libraries are faring much better than the doom and gloom merchants would have us think. But the reality for the vast majority looking forward into the next two financial years is that recessionary pressures really are going to make an impact.

"Perspectives on DRM: Between Digital Rights Management and Digital Restrictions Management"

Rafal Kasprowski has published "Perspectives on DRM: Between Digital Rights Management and Digital Restrictions Management" in the Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science and Technology.

Here's an excerpt:

This report of a panel session organized by the author at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the American Society for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T) presents the DRM issue in four contexts: use restrictions in libraries, the anti-circumvention rules of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), commercial and academic licensing and DRM-free software alternatives. The four panelists were Kristin R. Eschenfelder, associate professor at the School of Library and Information Studies of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and recipient of multiple grants for her work on DRM; Kevin L. Smith, J.D., scholarly communications officer at Duke University and author of the highly regarded web log Scholarly Communications @ Duke; Bill Burger, vice president of marketing at the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC), a leading provider of content licensing solutions for corporations and academic institutions; and John Sullivan, operations manager at the Free Software Foundation, a nonprofit that promotes the development and use of free software and campaigns against DRM. The session was recorded in October 2008 and is complemented in this report with a 2009 update to the DMCA legislation.