Year: 2011

IFLA Establishes Open Access Taskforce

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) has established an Open Access Taskforce.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

Following the endorsement of IFLA's Statement on Open Access by the Governing Board, April 18th 2011—and the subsequent approval from the Governing Board during the WLIC in Puerto Rico August 2011 of a number of key initiatives—IFLA's Open Access Taskforce has been established.

The taskforce will work on the following issues:

  1. Advocate for the adoption and promotion of open access policies as set out in IFLA's Statement on Open Access within the framework of the United Nations institutions (UN, UNESCO, WHO, FAO);
  2. Build Capacity within the IFLA Membership—to advocate for the adoption of open access policies at the national level, through the development of case studies and best practices for open access promotion;
  3. Furthermore the taskforce will connect to the various organizations working for Open Access—as indicated in the statement—such as SPARC (US/Europe/Japan), COAR, OASPA,EIFL, Bioline International & DOAJ, among others.

| Transforming Scholarly Publishing through Open Access: A Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

Director, Integrated Library Information Technology Systems at University of Maryland Libraries

The University of Maryland Libraries are recruiting a Director, Integrated Library Information Technology Systems. Required degree: "MLS Degree from an ALA-accredited school or program."

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Director of Integrated Library Systems (ILS) department provides leadership and support to the University System of Maryland and Affiliated Institutions (USMAI) Library Consortium in the integration, operation and maintenance efforts of the consortium's software and database applications. The ILS Director serves as a senior member of the College Park Libraries Information Technology Division (ITD), reporting to the Associate Dean of Information Technology at the University of Maryland Libraries. The incumbent works directly with the Council of Library Directors (CLD) of USMAI and its administrative structure. He/she provides leadership and direct supervision to a professional technical staff. The ILS director will be responsible for developing and managing budgets for approved projects and initiatives of the USMAI. The director will also be responsible for developing annual budgets for the ILS team, for presenting that budget to the CLD and for executing budgets, once they are approved by the CLD. The ILS Director will be responsible for the research, planning, pro

| New: Institutional Repository and ETD Bibliography 2011 | Digital Scholarship |

JISC Issues Call for Digital Infrastructure Proposals

JISC has issued a call for Digital Infrastructure proposals.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

The call seeks projects in the following areas:

  • Resource Discovery—up to 10 projects to implement the resource discovery taskforce vision by funding higher education libraries archives and museums to make open metadata about their collections available in a sustainable way. Funding up to £250,000 is available for this work.
  • Enhancing the Sustainability of Digital Collections—up to 10 projects to investigate and measure how effectively action can be taken to increase the prospects of sustainability for specified digital resources. Funding of up to £500,000 is available for this work.
  • Research Information Management—3 projects to explore the feasibility and pilot delivery of a national shared service for the reporting of research information from Research Organisations to funders and other sector agencies, to increase the availability of validated evidence of research impact for research organisations, funders and policy bodies, and to formally evaluate JISC-funded activities in the Research Information Management programme and to gather robust evidence of any benefits accruing to the sector from these activities. Funding of up to £450,000 is available for this work.
  • Research Tools—5 to 10 projects on exploiting technologies and infrastructure in the research process as well as innovating and extending the boundaries to determine the future demands of research on infrastructures. Funding of up to £350,000 is available for this work.
  • Applications of the Linking You Toolkit—Up to 10 projects investigating the implementation and improvement of the "Linking You Toolkit" for the purpose of demonstrating the benefits that management of institutional URLS can bring to students, researchers, lecturers and other University staff. Funding of up to £140,000 is available for this work.
  • Access and Identity Management—5 to 10 projects investigating the embedding of Access and Identity Management outputs and technological solutions within institutions. Funding of up to £200,000 is available for this work.

| Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography 2010 | Digital Scholarship |

Digital Library Programmer at Lafayette College Library

The Lafayette College Library is recruiting a Digital Library Programmer. Required degree: "Bachelor's degree."

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Lafayette College seeks a programmer with broad interests, or a librarian or scholar with programming experience, for a key role in the development of new digital initiatives, and to maintain and extend existing initiatives that directly support the teaching and research of our Faculty. As a member of the Digital Scholarship team, the Digital Library Programmer reports to the Digital Initiatives Librarian and works closely with librarians and faculty members to understand and deliver solutions that support innovative scholarship. . . .

Primary responsibilities: work with faculty and Digital Scholarship team to design and implement digital projects, program new web applications and software tools; customize and extend existing digital library platforms (currently CONTENTdm (PHP), DSpace, and MetaDB (both Java)); manage revision control for digital library projects; coordinate server maintenance with the College's central IT department.

| Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography 2010 | Digital Scholarship |

PEER Behavioural Research: Authors and Users vis-á-vis Journals and Repositories—Final Report

PEER (Publishing and the Ecology of European Research has released PEER Behavioural Research: Authors and Users vis-á-vis Journals and Repositories—Final Report.

Here's an excerpt:

Over the period of Phases 1 and 2 of the Behavioural research project the increase in the number of researchers who reported placing a version of their journal article(s) into an Open Access Repository was negligible.

Researchers who associated Open Access with 'self-archiving' were in the minority.

Open Access is more likely to be associated with 'self-archiving' (Green Road) by researchers in the Physical sciences & mathematics and the Social sciences, humanities & arts, than those in the Life sciences and the Medical sciences who are more likely to associate Open Access with Open Access Journals (Gold Road).

There is anecdotal evidence that some researchers consider making journal articles accessible via Open Access to be beyond their remit.

Authors tend to be favourable to Open Access and receptive to the benefits of self-archiving in terms of greater readership and wider dissemination of their research, with the caveat that self-archiving does not compromise the pivotal role of the published journal article.

Readers have concerns about the authority of article content and the extent to which it can be cited when the version they have accessed is not the published final version. These concerns are more prevalent where the purpose of reading is to produce a published journal article, and are perceived as less of an issue for other types of reading purpose.

Academic researchers have a conservative set of attitudes, perceptions and behaviours towards the scholarly communication system and do not desire fundamental changes in the way research is currently disseminated and published.

Open Access Repositories are perceived by researchers as complementary to, rather than replacing, current forums for disseminating and publishing research.

| Transforming Scholarly Publishing through Open Access: A Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

Information Technology Specialist (SYSANALYSIS) at Library of Congress

The Library of Congress is recruiting an Information Technology Specialist (SYSANALYSIS). Salary range: $89,033-$115,742.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The incumbent reports to the Project Manager for Digital Initiatives in repository development and works with a specialized group of programmers on complex, multi-faceted prototype and production systems, and assists with software analysis, design, development, documentation and implementation of these systems. The incumbent updates and modifies existing Library applications, designs and implements new applications, generates documentation, and is responsible for the maintenance and upgrades. The position resolves the critical issues affecting the configuration of the information technology (IT) infrastructure and conducts information requirements analysis to identify priority areas for improvement of current systems.

| New: Institutional Repository and ETD Bibliography 2011 | Digital Scholarship |

"Digital Curation:The Emergence of a New Discipline"

Sarah Higgins has published "Digital Curation:The Emergence of a New Discipline" in the latest issue of the International Journal of Digital Curation.

Here's an excerpt:

In the mid 1990s UK digital preservation activity concentrated on ensuring the survival of digital material—spurred on by the US report Preserving Digital Information (The Task Force on Archiving of Digital Information, 1996) and developed through JISC-funded activities. Technical developments and a maturing understanding of organisational activity and workflow saw the emphasis move to ensuring the access, use and reuse of digital materials throughout their lifecycle. Digital Curation emerged as a new discipline supported through the activities of the UK's Digital Curation Centre and a number of EU 6th Framework Projects. Digital Curation is now embedded in both practice and research; with the development of tools, and the foundation of a number of support units and academic educators offering training and furthering research. The International

| Digital Curation and Preservation Bibliography 2010 | Digital Scholarship |

Digital Technologies Programmer at University of Miami Libraries

The University of Miami Libraries are recruiting a Digital Technologies Programmer. Required degree: "Bachelor's degree in computer /information science or engineering, or the equivalent in education and experience." Salary: $48,356.50-$60,000.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Reporting to the Head of Web & Emerging Technologies, the Digital Technologies Programmer/Analyst provides leadership in the research, development and maintenance of the Libraries technical infrastructure. This includes web development, digital programs, user interfaces and other emerging technologies. The incumbent designs, develops, implements, and facilitates project management for the research and development of user-centered tools and applications to enhance operations and services. The DTPA is a member of the Digital Projects Team and supervises one programmer/analyst.

| New: Institutional Repository and ETD Bibliography 2011 | Digital Scholarship |

Ann Okerson Named as Senior Advisor on Electronic Strategies at Center for Research Libraries

The Center for Research Libraries has named Ann Okerson as Senior Advisor on Electronic Strategies.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

CRL has engaged Ann Okerson as Senior Advisor on Electronic Strategies, effective October 1. Ann Okerson served as Associate University Librarian for Collections and International Programs at Yale University, and is Chair of the Professional Committee of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and a current member of IFLA's Governing Board. Ann organized the Northeast Research Libraries consortium (NERL), serving as executive director, and is the founder and moderator of LIBLICENSE, an online resource for collection development. She has been active in a number of other international projects and initiatives.

| Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography 2010 | Digital Scholarship |

Librarian II, Digital Library Program at Loyola Marymount University Library

The Loyola Marymount University Library is recruiting a Librarian II, Digital Library Program. Required degree: "Typically a Master's Degree in Library/Information Sciences from an ALA-accredited program or related field or equivalent experience."

Here's an excerpt from the ad (requisition number: 0120195):

Lead and manage the Digital Library Program, comprising digital collections and the institutional repository.

  1. Lead the technical planning, implementation, management and support of digital collections. Develop project proposals, workflow guidelines, and quality control procedures for library digitization projects; manage selected projects. Manage workflow processes and procedures and content in the CONTENTdm system.
  2. In collaboration with collections managers, identify existing content within the library for digitization. Seek out new content and new partners for digital initiatives.
  3. Consult with university faculty and staff regarding current and potential digitization projects and services offered by the library.
  4. Manage the institutional repository, drafting policies and developing workflows for the deposit of content. Supervise and provide quality control for daily operations. Serve as primary administrator for the Digital Commons site, and liaison with university departments managing journals, refereed series, or symposia on the site.
  5. Develop and implement a comprehensive marketing strategy for the repository, including user support and education on scholarly communication issues.

| New: Institutional Repository and ETD Bibliography 2011 | Digital Scholarship |

Current News: Twitter Updates for 10/9/11

| Digital Scholarship |

Assistant Head, Digital Collections Department at Northwestern University Library

Northwestern University Library is recruiting an Assistant Head, Digital Collections Department. Required degree: "Masters degree from an ALA accredited program in library and information science."

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The assistant head develops and executes digital library projects. Supervises staff engaged in project management, digital production, and provision of digitization services to the faculty and to the broader university community. Contributes to the development of best practices for Northwestern's digital library program and repository services. Works closely with curators and other key staff throughout the library to assess feasibility and develop plans for digital projects and to design and implement technical infrastructure. Directly manages selected digitization projects. Contributes to the preparation of grant and other funding requests for submission to the library administration, other university funding sources, and/or to outside grant-giving organizations. Supervises in-house book and large format print digitization and internal media digitization and streaming operations and related requesting, management, and delivery services. The assistant head is expected to maintain awareness of trends affecting digital libraries, digital preservation, and the curation of digital objects. May chair or participate in committees and working groups. Directly supervises one part time project librarian, the head of digital production, and a rotating team of term funded specialists. Indirectly supervises five paraprofessional staff. Works closely with other digital collections department staff to provide services to the university community. Assists with departmental budget management, equipment and software selection, and facility oversight. Supervises the entire department in the absence of the department head.

| New: Institutional Repository and ETD Bibliography 2011 | Digital Scholarship |

ACRL Signs the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities

The Association of College & Research Libraries has signed the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

ACRL has long supported open access to scholarship as a central principle for reform in the system of scholarly communication. In ACRL's new strategic plan, the plan for excellence, the goal in the area of research and scholarly environment is that librarians accelerate the transition to a more open system of scholarship. Signing the Berlin Declaration is one way college and university libraries can demonstrate their intention to influence scholarly publishing policies and practices toward a more open system. Earlier this year, ACRL demonstrated its own commitment to open access by removing price barriers to the scholarly journal College and Research Libraries, which is now available at no charge from 1997 to the present through the publication website.

Here's an excerpt from the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities (emphasis added):

Open access contributions must satisfy two conditions:

  1. The author(s) and right holder(s) of such contributions grant(s) to all users a free, irrevocable, worldwide, right of access to, and a license to copy, use, distribute, transmit and display the work publicly and to make and distribute derivative works, in any digital medium for any responsible purpose, subject to proper attribution of authorship (community standards, will continue to provide the mechanism for enforcement of proper attribution and responsible use of the published work, as they do now), as well as the right to make small numbers of printed copies for their personal use.
  2. A complete version of the work and all supplemental materials, including a copy of the permission as stated above, in an appropriate standard electronic format is deposited (and thus published) in at least one online repository using suitable technical standards (such as the Open Archive definitions) that is supported and maintained by an academic institution, scholarly society, government agency, or other well-established organization that seeks to enable open access, unrestricted distribution, inter operability, and long-term archiving.

| Open Access Bibliography: Liberating Scholarly Literature with E-Prints and Open Access Journals | Digital Scholarship |

Digital Collections Librarian at Fort Hays State University Library

The Fort Hays State University Library is recruiting a Digital Collections Librarian. Required degree: "Current Master of Library Science (MLS) degree from an ALA-accredited program or equivalent by May 2012." Salary: $38,272.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Digital Collections Librarian will have an important role in a team-oriented environment to develop and manage the Library's digital collections under the direction of the Director of Forsyth Library. . . .

  • Consult with faculty and other producers of digital media for the creation of digital libraries and digital repositories
  • Work with technical staff, librarians, the university community and local/regional entities to identify materials to be transferred to digital media
  • Coordinate and improve workflow for digitizing and cataloging digital collections
  • Catalog and assign metadata to digital materials
  • Identify external funding sources and participate in grant writing
  • Apply current digital library community benchmarks, best practices, and standards where appropriate
  • Consult with appropriate campus personnel regarding copyright, licensing and rights management issues related to digital collections
  • Collaborate with the Forsyth Library's archivist to implement, monitor, and maintain digital preservation practices for both born digital and migrated resources
  • Provide copyright, intellectual property and rights management consultation for faculty

| New: Institutional Repository and ETD Bibliography 2011 | Digital Scholarship |

Bucknell University Adopts Open Access Policy

Bucknell University has adopted an open access policy..

Here's an excerpt:

The faculty of Bucknell University grant to Bucknell University limited use of their scholarly articles for the purpose of making these articles open access. Specifically, each faculty member grants Bucknell University a nonexclusive, paid-up, worldwide license for each of his or her scholarly articles for the purpose of making these articles openly accessible in an institutional repository, and grants Bucknell University permission to exercise all rights under copyright for this purpose, as well as to authorize other parties to do the same, provided that the articles are not sold for income or profit. A scholarly article is defined as a peer-reviewed scholarly work published in a journal or in another format that a faculty member determines to be appropriate for his or her particular discipline.

The policy applies to all scholarly articles authored or co-authored while the author is a faculty member of Bucknell University except for any articles completed before the adoption of this policy and any articles for which the faculty member entered into an incompatible licensing or assignment agreement before the adoption of this policy.

The license granted to Bucknell University by this policy will in no way interfere with the rights of a faculty member as the author of the work. Furthermore, the license granted to Bucknell University for an article will be automatically waived for any reason and without sanction at the sole discretion of the faculty member upon written/electronic notification to Bucknell University's scholarly communications officer.

| Transforming Scholarly Publishing through Open Access: A Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

Current News: Twitter Updates for 10/6/11

| Digital Scholarship |

Resource Discovery Systems Fellowship at University of Houston Libraries

The University of Houston Libraries are recruiting a Resource Discovery Systems Fellowship holder. Required degree: "Master's degree that was obtained in the last twenty-four months from an ALA-accredited program." Salary: $48,000-$52,000.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Resource Discovery Systems Fellowship is a two-year fellowship that offers a recent graduate the opportunity to work in a research library on diverse projects involving emerging library technologies. The Fellow will report to the Head of Resource Discovery Systems in the University Libraries and will be principally assigned to initiatives for discovery systems, management of electronic resources, and the integrated library system. The Fellow may also be asked to develop and deliver technology training in specific areas for librarians and staff, as well as coordinate with Web Services to support development of web-based applications and discovery tools.

| New: Institutional Repository and ETD Bibliography 2011 | Digital Scholarship |

Revenue, Recession, Reliance: Revisiting the SCA/Ithaka S+R Case Studies in Sustainability

The Strategic Content Alliance has released Revenue, Recession, Reliance: Revisiting the SCA/Ithaka S+R Case Studies in Sustainability.

Here's an excerpt:

In 2009, the JISC-led Strategic Content Alliance commissioned Ithaka S+R to investigate the sustainability strategies of twelve digital content projects in the higher education and cultural heritage sectors, located in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Egypt, to see how their leaders were developing cost-management and revenue strategies to foster longterm growth for ongoing digital projects

Two years and one economic crisis later, Ithaka S+R, with the generous support of the JISC-led Strategic Content Alliance, conducted a new round of research and interviews with the leaders of the twelve projects that were the focus of our original case studies. Our goal was to see how their sustainability models had held up, where weaknesses might be starting to show, and what new strategies project leaders were adopting in response. How had budget cuts and other factors affected the projects? What had project leaders learned about making their resources valuable to users? Where did the resources—financial or non-financial—come from to make continued growth and innovation possible? And how could these lessons be useful to others?

The research is documented in updates to the original twelve case studies. The final report, Revenue, Recession, Reliance: Revisiting the SCA / Ithaka Case Studies in Sustainability, provides a summary and analysis of findings across all twelve projects profiled.

| Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography 2010 | Digital Scholarship |

e-Research Librarian (Post-Master’s Program) at University of Maryland Libraries

The University of Maryland Libraries are recruiting an e-Research Librarian (Post-Master's Program). Required degree: "A Master's degree in Library or Information Science from an ALA-accredited institution of higher education received December 2008 or later."

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Post-Master's Program, a hiring initiative of the University of Maryland Libraries, matches recent post-master's professionals with short-term positions aligned with the Libraries' strategic priorities. Both sides win. The post-graduate professional develops their skills in a professional workplace, and the University Libraries gain the expertise of recent graduates to respond to a rapidly changing environment. Post-Master's Program professionals and the University Libraries each make a 2 year commitment to the position. Relocation costs are not available for Post-Master's Program professionals. . . .

Reporting to the Director of Public Services, the e-Research Librarian: actively participates in university-wide initiatives to develop and design policies, sustainable services, and infrastructure to enable faculty and students to preserve and make available their research data; partners with internal units (such as GIS and DRUM—Digital Repository of University of Maryland) and external units (such as Vice President for Research, Office of Information Technology (OIT) Enterprise Technical Infrastructure and Learning Technologies and Environments, and the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities) to develop a data-publishing model that leverages library services in support of data management and preservation; assists faculty with development of data management plans for grant applications; serves as an active member of the Public Services Division, contributing to divisional initiatives and leading specific projects; working closely with subject librarians, incorporates support for data management and preservation into library services; maintains close engagement with issues relating to scholarly communications such as copyright, open access, and data management and preservation.

| Digital Curation and Preservation Bibliography 2010 | Digital Scholarship |

Important Public Domain Case: Supreme Court Hears Golan v. Holder

The Supreme Court is now considering the Golan v. Holder case, which has significant implications for public domain works.

Here's an excerpt from the Supreme Court's Granted and Noted List entry that describes the case:

Section 514 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act of 1994 (Section 514) did something unique in the history of American intellectual property law: It "restored" copyright protection in thousands of works that the Copyright Act had placed in the Public Domain, where they remained for years as the common property of all Americans. The Petitioners in this case are orchestra conductors, educators, performers, film archivists and motion picture distributors, who relied for years on the free availability of these works in the Public Domain, which they performed, adapted, restored and distributed without restriction. The enactment of Section 514 therefore had a dramatic effect on Petitioners' free speech and expression rights, as well as their economic interests. Section 514 eliminated Petitioners' right to perform, share and build upon works they had once been able to use freely. The questions presented are:

  1. Does the Progress Clause of the United States Constitution prohibit Congress from taking works out of the Public Domain?
  2. Does Section 514 violate the First Amendment of the United States Constitution?

Transcripts of the oral arguments are available. The first one has been made public.

Read more about it at "Supreme Court Weighs Legality of Putting Public Domain Works Back under Copyright."

| New: Institutional Repository and ETD Bibliography 2011 | Digital Scholarship |

Current News: Twitter Updates for 10/5/11

| Digital Scholarship |

Analysis of the Authors Guild et al. v. HathiTrust et al. Case

Below are a selection of posts and other documents analyzing the Authors Guild et al. v. HathiTrust et al. case.

Read more about it at "Authors Guild v. HathiTrust et al. Resources."

| New: Institutional Repository and ETD Bibliography 2011 | Digital Scholarship |

Digital Project Manager at George Washington University Libraries

The George Washington University Libraries are recruiting a Digital Project Manager. Required degree: "A Bachelor's degree in an appropriate area of specialization."

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Digital Project Manager will have key responsibility for managing all technical and operational aspects of digitization and/or digital reformatting projects undertaken by GWU's Cyberinfrastructure Center (CIC). The DP Manager will oversee projects from design through final project deliverables.

| Digital Curation and Preservation Bibliography 2010 | Digital Scholarship |

Conference of European National Librarians Will Use Open Licensing for Data

The Conference of European National Librarians members will use open licensing for their data.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

Meeting at the Royal Library of Denmark, the Conference of European National Librarians (CENL), has voted overwhelmingly to support the open licensing of their data. CENL represents Europe's national libraries, and is responsible for the massive collection of publications that represent the accumulated knowledge of Europe. . . .

It means that the datasets describing all the millions of books and texts ever published in Europe—the title, author, date, imprint, place of publication and so on, which exists in the vast library catalogues of Europe—will become increasingly accessible for anybody to re-use for whatever purpose they want.

It will mean that Wikipedia can use the metadata, linking it to all sorts of articles; it will mean that apps developers can embed it in new mobile tools for tourism or teaching. Crucially, for information scientists, it will mean that vast quantities of trustworthy data are available for Linked Open Data developments, creating relationships between elements of information that's never been possible before. . . .

The first outcome of the open licence agreement is that the metadata provided by national libraries to Europeana.eu, Europe's digital library, museum and archive, via the CENL service The European Library, will have a Creative Commons Universal Public Domain Dedication, or CC0 licence.

| Transforming Scholarly Publishing through Open Access: A Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |