Year: 2011

Library of Congress Funds Omeka + Neatline Project

The Library of Congress has awarded $665,248 in funding to the Omeka + Neatline project.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

The Scholars' Lab at the University of Virginia Library and the Center for History and New Media (CHNM) at George Mason University are pleased to announce a collaborative "Omeka + Neatline" initiative, supported by $665,248 in funding from the Library of Congress.

The Omeka + Neatline project's goal is to enable scholars, students, and library and museum professionals to create geospatial and temporal visualizations of archival collections using a Neatline toolset within CHNM's popular, open source Omeka exhibition platform. Neatline, a "contribution to interpretive humanities scholarship in the visual vernacular," is a project of the UVa Library Scholars' Lab, originally bolstered by a Start-Up Grant from the Office of Digital Humanities at the National Endowment for the Humanities. Omeka is an award-winning web-publishing platform for the display of cultural heritage and scholarly collections and exhibits, funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and Samuel H. Kress Foundation.

This two-year initiative will allow CHNM and the Scholars' Lab to expand and regularize a partnership that developed informally between the two centers over the course of the past year. Collaboration has already resulted in improvements to the core functionality of Omeka by CHNM and has led the Scholars' Lab to produce a number of prototype plugins making Omeka a more attractive and viable option for scholarly partnerships with larger libraries and cultural heritage institutions. These include: improved data import (including EAD, a common archival standard); Solr-powered searching and browsing; and Fedora-based repository services. Further development will improve existing plugins, add preservation workflows, and refine the Neatline toolset for integration and sophisticated editing and scholarly annotation of historical maps, GIS layers, and timelines. Enhancements to Omeka's core APIs, improved documentation, regular "point" releases, and a new Exhibit Builder will strengthen Omeka's already large and robust user and developer communities.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview |

The Triangle Research Libraries Network’s Intellectual Property Rights Strategy for Digitization of Modern Manuscript Collections and Archival Record Groups

The Triangle Research Libraries Network has released The Triangle Research Libraries Network's Intellectual Property Rights Strategy for Digitization of Modern Manuscript Collections and Archival Record Groups.

Here's an excerpt from the OCLC press release:

This is the first formally published strategy for providing access to unpublished materials online based on an approach created by OCLC Research and the RLG Partnership.

This approach is described in a document titled, "Well-intentioned practice for putting digitized collections of unpublished materials online" and is the output of an "Undue Diligence" invitational seminar held in the spring of 2010. During this event, OCLC Research convened a group of RLG Partner experts from archives, special collections and the law to develop and define streamlined, community-accepted procedures for managing copyright in the digital age that would cut costs and boost confidence in libraries' and archives' ability to increase visibility of and access to unpublished materials online. The group acknowledged that, although there is risk in digitizing materials that may be in copyright, this risk should be balanced with the harm to scholarship and society inherent in not making collections fully accessible. Based on this premise, they identified a practical approach to selecting collections, making decisions, seeking permissions, recording outcomes, establishing policy and working with future donors, which OCLC Research staff outlined in the "Well-intentioned practice" document and posted online.

Since then, a community of practice has formed around these procedures and many professional organizations have publicly endorsed them, including the Rare Book and Manuscript Section (RBMS) of the American Library Association (ALA), and leading academic library professionals and scholarly communications officers.

Based on this ever-growing agreement within the profession, the Triangle Research Libraries Network (TRLN) member libraries created a Network's Intellectual Property Rights Strategy for Digitization of Modern Manuscript Collections and Archival Record Groups to specify the well-reasoned risk management practices to support their large-scale digitization project called "Content, Context, and Capacity: A Collaborative Digitization Project on the Long Civil Rights Movement in North Carolina." This project will present free and open online access to a total of forty digitized manuscript collections or archival record groups, accompanied by the broad summary descriptions and contents lists found in the finding aids created when the collections were processed. For the first time, these resources will cross the boundaries of the four libraries' reading rooms—bringing together a vast quantity of research material for the era between the 1930s and 1980s. This free and open online availability of full collections will facilitate new scholarly collaborations across institutions, and even nations, and will support the development of educational tools for students and the use of primary sources in classrooms.

Read more about it at "Well-Intentioned Practice for Putting Digitized Collections of Unpublished Materials Online."

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview |

Digital Projects Librarian at Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research Northwest

The Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research Northwest is recruiting a Digital Projects Librarian.

Here's an excerpt from the ad (job number: 067357):

The Digital Projects Librarian will develop, implement, lead, and manage a digital repository system for preservation, discovery, sharing, and integration of scientific information.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview |

Current News: Twitter Updates for 2/16/11

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Institutional Repository Librarian at California State University San Marcos

The California State University San Marcos Library is recruiting an Institutional Repository Librarian. Minimum salary of $57,084 for Assistant or $65,628 for Associate Librarian.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Library seeks an innovative leader with strong people skills to plan, develop, implement, grow, and maintain an institutional repository at California State University San Marcos. The library is committed to organizing, preserving, and presenting digital content on a campus with a dynamic research and creative activity environment. The successful candidate will work collaboratively with university faculty, colleagues in the library, and Instructional & Information Technology (IITS) to provide expertise and leadership in developing a successful institutional repository strategy.

Project management responsibilities include leading the planning, development and supervision of the repository, providing services including drafting policies and procedures, user support and training, conducting user-centered evaluations, and ongoing program and policy analysis. Liaison/outreach responsibilities include advocating and promoting use of the library's institutional repository, seeking out contributors, and serving as spokesperson to publicize the institutional repository's benefits and uses. Content management responsibilities include defining and managing the digital collections, working collaboratively with IITS on system and academic technology issues, and collaborating with library staff on metadata schemes appropriate for digital information. The successful candidate will also provide vision and direction for a growing suite of services supporting scholarship and will maintain a strong level of competence in scholarly communication issues such as open-access initiatives, intellectual property, data curation, and new forms of publication and research/creative activities.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview |

Author-Pays Open Access Option Using CC-By License Now Available for Many Physical Review Journals

Authors who publish in many Physical Review journals now have the option to pay an article-processing fee in order to have their articles published as open access articles under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License (CC-By License). Two Physical Review journals (Physical Review Special Topics—Accelerators and Beams and Physical Review Special Topics—Physics Education Research) have been fully converted to open access under the CC-By License. The APS announced a new open access journal in January, Physical Review X.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

The new article-processing charges, which will cover all costs and provide a sustainable funding model, have been set at $1700 for papers in the Physical Review and $2700 for those in Physical Review Letters. The resulting open access articles will appear alongside and mixed in with subscription-funded articles, converting these journals into "hybrid" open access journals.

"The most selective of our journals must have higher article-processing charges for their open access articles," said Gene Sprouse, APS Editor in Chief. "Physical Review accepts about 60% of articles submitted and Physical Review Letters roughly 25%, so the costs are higher than in less selective journals."

Revenue from the article-processing charges will decrease the need for subscription income and help to keep the APS subscription price-per-article among the lowest of any physics journals. "We'd like to reduce the pressure on library subscriptions, while opening access more widely. Article-processing charges are a means to accomplish both," said Joseph Serene, APS Treasurer/Publisher.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview |

"The Durham Statement Two Years Later: Open Access in the Law School Journal Environment"

Richard A. Danner, Kelly Leong, and Wayne V. Miller have published "The Durham Statement Two Years Later: Open Access in the Law School Journal Environment" in the latest issue of the Law Library Journal.

Here's an excerpt:

The Durham Statement on Open Access to Legal Scholarship, drafted by a group of academic law library directors, was promulgated in February 2009. It calls for two things: (1) open access publication of law school–published journals; and (2) an end to print publication of law journals, coupled with a commitment to keeping the electronic versions available in "stable, open, digital formats." The two years since the Statement was issued have seen increased publication of law journals in openly available electronic formats, but little movement toward all-electronic publication. This article discusses the issues raised by the Durham Statement, the current state of law journal publishing, and directions forward.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview |

User Experience Director at the Johns Hopkins University

The Johns Hopkins University's Sheridan Libraries are recruiting a User Experience Director. Starting salary: $60,969-$83,806.

Here's an excerpt from the ad (requisition #: 46072):

The Sheridan Libraries of Johns Hopkins University seek a User Experience (UX) Director to build and lead a User Experience Group within the libraries. The User Experience Group is charged to develop an ongoing process for understanding the needs and requirements of the Sheridan Libraries' community, responding to their behaviors and evolving the library's content and services to create compelling, insight-driven user experiences. The UX Group will promote the understanding that the user experience, i.e. how we engage, respect and value people, is a part of our organizational culture and reaches beyond the exclusive responsibility or domain of a specific person or group. Reporting to the Associate Director for Library Services and Collections, the User Experience Director will participate on the division's leadership team and work collaboratively within and beyond the UX Group to address the community's experience using library content and services.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview |

Current News: Twitter Updates for 2/15/11

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview |

Digital Scholarship and Data Management Librarian at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis

The Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis University Library is recruiting a Digital Scholarship and Data Management Librarian.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Under the direction of the Digital Libraries Team Leader, this position will and be primarily responsible for enhancing University Library's Program of Digital Scholarship through the development of a robust data service plan. The individual will also assist with the continued support of IUPUI University Library's current digital scholarship tools and services including the institutional repository and journal publishing system. This librarian will have the following duties:

• Develop and support a robust data service plan in direct support of research faculty on campus

  • Ascertain campus research faculty data service needs
  • Develop data management plans for grant applications with faculty
  • Coordinate development of technology solution for data management, archive, and access
  • Actively participate in university-wide initiatives to develop and design sustainable services and infrastructure to enable faculty and students to preserve and make available their research data

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview |

Action Alert: Proposed FY2011 Continuing Resolution Amendment Would Eliminate Institute of Museum and Library Services’s Funding

A proposed amendment (no. 35) to the FY2011 Continuing Resolution amendment by U.S. Rep. Scott Garret (R-NJ) would eliminate the Institute of Museum and Library Services’s funding.

You can use the ALA's "ADVOCACY URGENTLY NEEDED: House Considering Two Amendments Critical to the Future Of Libraries" web page to contact your Representative about this issue.

In related news, President Obama's budget requests $242,605,000 for fiscal year 2012 for the IMLS.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview |

Net Neutrality Alert: Public Knowledge Announces the "Internet Strikes Back" Day

Public Knowledge has announced the "Internet Strikes Back" Day (2/17/11) to support net neutrality.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

Public Knowledge has set this Thursday, Feb. 17, as "Internet Strikes Back" day to counter Congressional opposition to a fair and open Internet.

The day was chosen because it is one day after members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee hold a hearing to unveil legislation that would roll back current Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Net Neutrality rules and prohibit the Commission from enacting future rules.   On that day following the hearing, members of the public are being asked to call their member of Congress and oppose the legislation.

PK has set up a Web site, www.theinternetstrikesback.org which will allow visitors to sign up for mobile action alerts, including a text message reminder, and download an Internet Strikes Back badge for web sites.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview |

Digital Systems and Services Librarian at Goucher College (Search Extended)

The Goucher College Library is recruiting a Digital Systems and Services Librarian.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The DSSL will provide leadership in the development and management of user-focused technology-based systems in the library. S/he will be the expert in how library systems relate to college systems and in the development of digital content initiatives, and will assist in the overall service program of the library including participating in reference and instruction, serving as liaison to one or more academic departments, and contributing to the promotion of the library and its services.

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Current News: Twitter Updates for 2/14/11

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Systems Librarian at the Columbia University Law Library

The Arthur W. Diamond Law Library of Columbia University is recruiting a Systems Librarian.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

This position has primary responsibility for leading the selection, migration and implementation of a new, preferably open source, library system while managing the existing library's systems.

Reporting to the Head of Technical Services, the Systems Librarian will:

  • Lead the selection, migration and implementation of a new library system.
  • Ensure the effective administration, coordination and provision of support for all aspects of existing library automation and operating technology, including the integrated library system. Provide configuration advice and technical support for the library's departmental systems.
  • Coordinate the continued development and maintenance of a library website that responds to the needs of library patrons for the dynamic delivery of library content and services. Develop and integrate web-based services both as the front-end for the ILS and for use of other technologies as appropriate.
  • Supervise one non-librarian officer in e-resource management.
  • Act as the service/support contact for other information-technology systems within the library, as a liaison to law-school IT and where IT support is unavailable (ILL systems, desktop applications, etc.). Coordinate with IT the support of the library's web server.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview |

How to License Research Data

The Digital Curation Centre has released How to License Research Data.

Here's an excerpt:

This guide will help you decide how to apply a licence to your research data, and which licence would be most suitable. It should provide you with an awareness of why licensing data is important, the impact licences have on future research, and the potential pitfalls to avoid. It concentrates on the UK context, though some aspects apply internationally; it does not, however, provide legal advice. The guide should interest both the principal investigators and researchers responsible for the data, and those who provide access to them through a data centre, repository or archive.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview |

Creative Commons and Public Sector Information: Flexible Tools to Support PSI Creators and Re-Users

The European Public Sector Information (PSI) Platform has released Creative Commons and Public Sector Information: Flexible Tools to Support PSI Creators and Re-Users.

Here's an excerpt:

Public sector information (PSI) is meant for wide re-use, but this information will only achieve maximum possible impact if users understand how they may use it. Creative Commons tools, which signify availability for re-use to users and require attribution to the releasing authority, are ideal tools for the sharing of public sector information. There is also increasing interest in open licenses and other tools to share publicly funded information, data, and content, including various kinds of cultural resources, educational materials, and research findings; Creative Commons tools are applicable here and recommended for these purposes too.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview |

Director of Integrated Technology Services at University of Kansas

The University of Kansas Libraries are recruiting a Director of Integrated Technology Services .

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Libraries' Integrated Technology Services (LITS) department is responsible for a results-driven approach to developing and delivering quality user experiences to those who connect to KU Libraries online. LITS members work closely with campus IT which maintains servers, network infrastructure, and staff and public workstations. LITS collaborates with library experts in all departments to plan and deliver library technology-based services and resources. LITS members develop and sustain effective partnerships to ensure that appropriate technical policies, infrastructure, and meet the needs of our user community. LITS is responsible for administering and developing several large-scale library applications which include DSpace, Voyager, Open Journal Systems, ILLiad, LUNA Insight, GFA's Library Annex System, the eXtensible Text Framework (XTF), EZProxy, and the library web presence.

The Director of Integrated Technology Services is a faculty librarian accountable for working closely with technology initiatives in all library departments. S/he provides leadership, vision, strategic direction, and planning for the work of the department. The Director oversees the daily operations of LITS, serves as a member of the Libraries' senior management team, and is a primary liaison with campus IT. S/he must be an agile leader, an adept manager, and an able partner in meaningful collaboration. This position offers an excellent opportunity for a librarian with a strong combination of leadership, technical, and people skills who can deliver results and work collegially inside and outside of the library organization to innovate and deliver new services in a research library environment.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview |

Current News: Twitter Updates for 2/13/11

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview |

Digital Humanities Librarian at Brown University

The Brown University Library is recruiting a Digital Humanities Librarian.

Here's an excerpt from the ad (job number: B01284 ):

As the Library's primary liaison to academic departments in the humanities, the Digital Humanities Librarian plays a central role in the integration of digital resources and methodologies with traditional resources and approaches into the research, teaching, and learning missions at Brown University. Together with other Scholarly Resources Librarians, the Center for Digital Scholarship and relevant library and campus partners, s/he will work to increase the understanding and application of digital scholarship among the institution's faculty and students. S/he is expected to introduce and keep abreast of digital methodologies and to use such tools and skills in the solution of humanities research problems. The successful candidate will contribute to the work of the Brown Digital Repository by helping to articulate the relationship between new technologies and humanities scholarship to the community of humanists; by advising teaching faculty on the creation of digital objects and providing technical support for use of analytical tools; and in serving as an agent between content providers and the Library's repository. S/he will maintain a strong level of competence in scholarly communications issues such as new forms of publication, copyright, open access, repositories, data curation, and licensing of online resources. S/he will also use his/her knowledge of available print and electronic resources to build appropriate collections in general collections and related Special Collections and to advocate for the fields to which he/she is assigned.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview |

Social Media: A Guide for Researchers

The Research Information Network has released Social Media: A Guide for Researchers (see also "Web Materials 1: Links And Resources" and "Web Materials 2: Researcher Case Studies").

Here's an excerpt:

This guide will show how social media can change the ways in which you undertake research, and open up new forms of communication and dissemination. The researchers we interviewed in the development of this guide are using social media to bridge disciplinary boundaries, to engage in knowledge exchange with industry and policy makers, and to provide a channel for the public communication of their research.

The guide is rooted in the practical experience of its authors and of the ten social media users we interviewed as part of the project. We are not trying to present social media as the answer to every problem a researcher might experience; rather, we want to give a "warts and all" picture. Social media have downsides as well as upsides, but on balance we hope that you will agree with us that there is real value for researchers.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview |

Systems and Technology Development Librarian at Trinity College

The Trinity College Library is recruiting a Systems and Technology Development Librarian.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Systems and Technology Development Librarian provides the guidance to shape and sustain the Library’s use of technology to advance library services and operations. Responsibilities include overseeing the implementation, maintenance and development of all department-specific software, systems, and equipment. Acts as the Library’s primary liaison on information technology with other College departments, including the Computing Center. Provides ongoing training and support to library staff.

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Diane Parr Walker Named Edward H. Arnold University Librarian at the University of Notre Dame

Diane Parr Walker has been named as the Edward H. Arnold University Librarian at the University of Notre Dame. Walker is currently the Deputy University Librarian at the University of Virginia.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

Since 2006, Walker has guided planning and coordination of all library services for the wide variety of disciplines represented at a large research institution. She has been responsible for Virginia's library administrative services, including finances and budget, human resources, facilities planning and maintenance, and management information services. She leads the library's strategic planning processes and directs the daily operations of a system with 12 locations, 230 faculty and staff and an operating budget of $23 million.

Among the initiatives Walker has led or in which she has played a key role were the planning and construction of a new special collections library, a major renovation of the Charles L. Brown Science & Engineering Library, opening a café in the lobby of the main library (Virginia's was among the first University libraries to do so), and long-range re-imagining of the physical facilities of the main library in preparation for a major renovation of a building that is more than 70 years old.

Walker also collaborated with colleagues in the university's information technology division on an incentive and training program for humanities faculty to help them incorporate technology in their classrooms, and more recently to coordinate a strategic institutional shift from providing computer labs to making it easier for students to use their own laptops throughout the libraries and across campus. She also developed and helped to redirect collection development and management strategies as the balance has shifted increasingly from all print and physical formats to digital.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview |

Current News: Twitter Updates for 2/10/11

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview |

Digital Technologies Development Librarian at Georgia Tech

The Georgia Tech Library and Information Center is recruiting a Digital Technologies Development Librarian.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Working both independently and in team settings, the Digital Technologies Development Librarian provides technical leadership and programming expertise to advance digital library infrastructures, collections, and services through application development and applied research. The person in this position identifies and develops new and existing technologies for these purposes. The position will play a key, strategic role in advancing the library's digital information infrastructure beyond its current status and significantly impact Georgia Tech's scholarly communication methods, digital library services, and the management and preservation of the Institute's digital intellectual output. The librarian will lead and contribute to developing new digital library services through processes that emphasize usability and infrastructure sustainability and will work with partners on campus and in library consortia to share solutions to mutual challenges. The person in the position will collaborate closely with personnel from several library departments to achieve the goals of the position and the library. The librarian also will select and/or develop tools that support the ongoing assessment of digital library initiatives and services. He or she will participate in library planning and serves on library-wide committees, task forces, and teams and will be expected to be active professionally and to contribute to developments in the field. The Digital Technologies Development Librarian will report to the Library's Systems Department with a "dotted-line" reporting relationship to the Associate Dean to assist in shaping overall technology development strategy and direction.

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