Month: June 2012

Assistant Director for Discovery Services at Furman University’s James B. Duke Library

Furman University's James B. Duke Library is recruiting an Assistant Director for Discovery Services.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The James B. Duke Library at Furman University, a top-ranked liberal arts university, seeks an energetic and innovative individual to lead its newly created Discovery Services division. This division works to enhance patron resource discovery and create, enrich and curate digital collections used for instruction and research. The successful candidate will demonstrate both collaborative leadership and technical skills to provide direction for the library's web presence, discovery tools and management of digital assets.

The newly created Discovery Services Division consists of Web Services and Emerging Technology, The DigiCenter, Cataloging/Metadata, and Systems.

| Digital Scholarship |

Science as an Open Enterprise

The Royal Society has released Science as an Open Enterprise.

Here's an excerpt:

This report analyses the impact of new and emerging technologies that are transforming the conduct and communication of research. The recommendations are designed to improve the conduct of science, respond to changing public expectations and political culture and enable researchers to maximise the impact of their research. They are designed to ensure that reproducibility and self-correction are maintained in an era of massive data volumes. They aim to stimulate the communication and collaboration where these are needed to maximise the value of data-intensive approaches to science. Action is needed to maximise the exploitation of science in business and in public policy. But not all data are of equal interest and importance. Some are rightly confidential for commercial, privacy, safety or security reasons. There are both opportunities and financial costs in the full presentation of data and metadata. The recommendations set out key principles. The main text explores how to judge their application and where accountability should lie.

| Research Data Curation Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

Head of Library Systems and Technology at Catawba College’s Corriher-Linn-Black Library

Catawba College's Corriher-Linn-Black Library is recruiting a Head of Library Systems and Technology.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Corriher-Linn-Black Library at Catawba College seeks an innovative, collaborative and service-oriented librarian to manage the library's systems and provide vision and leadership in library technology planning and implementation. The goal of this position is to find innovative ways to use technology to provide patron access to library materials and services, improve library functions and workflows, integrate library materials and services with other curricular services on campus, and otherwise assist the library in fulfilling its mission of service to students and faculty.

| Digital Scholarship |

Jay Jordan Will Continue as President and CEO of OCLC

Jay Jordan will continue as President and CEO of OCLC.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

The OCLC Board of Trustees has concluded that rather than moving forward with the appointment of Jack B. Blount as its President and CEO, it is in the best interest of OCLC to have Jay Jordan continue serving in these capacities. Mr. Jordan has agreed to postpone his retirement to continue leading OCLC.

The OCLC Board of Trustees believes Mr. Jordan's strong track record, his skills as a leader, and his ability to identify and navigate emerging trends, make him uniquely qualified to serve the nearly 72,000 institutions that use OCLC services.

| Research Data Curation Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

IT Programmer 2 at University of Chicago Library

The University of Chicago Library is recruiting an IT Programmer 2.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Integrated Library Systems (ILS) is seeking an experienced technical professional who will implement and customize the Metridoc reporting system for integration with Kuali OLE integrated library system. This is part of a larger project to implement and customize the Kuali OLE integrated library system as a replacement for current legacy library management systems. Candidate will assume responsibility for other projects and participate in all aspects of implementation of the Kuali OLE system. Candidate will help to maintain existing legacy production systems during transition to use of Kuali OLE. Candidate will have had experience in working with library or other academic environments.

| Digital Scholarship |

"Open Access Scientific Publishing and the Developing World"

Jorge L. Contreras has self-archived "Open Access Scientific Publishing and the Developing World" in SSRN.

Here's an excerpt:

Responding to rapid and steep increases in the cost of scientific journals, a growing number of scholars and librarians have advocated "open access" (OA) to the scientific literature. OA publishing models are having a significant impact on the dissemination of scientific information. Despite the success of these initiatives, their impact on researchers in the developing world is uncertain. This article analyses major OA approaches adopted in the industrialized world (so-called Green OA, Gold OA, and OA mandates, as well as non-OA information philanthropy) as they relate to the consumption and production of research in the developing world. The article concludes that while the consumption of scientific literature by developing world researchers is likely to be significantly enhanced through such programs, promoting the production of research in the developing world requires additional measures. These could include the introduction of better South-focused journal indexing systems that identify high-quality journals published in the developing world, coupled with the adjustment of academic norms to reward publication in such journals. Financial models must also be developed to decrease the reliance by institutions in the developing world on information philanthropy and to level the playing field between OA journals in industrialized and developing countries.

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

Digital Projects Librarian at State Library of North Carolina

The State Library of North Carolina is recruiting a Digital Projects Librarian.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

This position is time-limited full-time. The State Library of North Carolina is seeking an enthusiastic, innovative, and outgoing Digital Projects Librarian to serve as an integral member of the Digital Information Management Program (DIMP) team. The DIMP identifies and promotes solutions to ensure preservation and permanent public access to digital information produced by North Carolina state government. This position will play two important roles in the ongoing development of our digital collections. The primary role is to assist the Digital Collections Manager, and work in partnership with staff at the State Archives, to research and implement the Department of Cultural Resource's digital preservation program. As part of this effort, the Digital Projects Librarian will work closely with the (digital) Records Management Analyst to coordinate web harvesting of state agency web and social media sites using the Internet Archive's Archive-It system. This position's secondary responsibility is to work with NC state agency staff and contracted service providers to manage the digitization of state publications, typically in the range of 30,000 pages annually.

| Digital Scholarship |

Green Open Access: PEER: Final Report

The PEER (Publishing and the Ecology of European Research) project has released the PEER: Final Report.

Here's an excerpt:

PEER (Publishing and the Ecology of European Research), supported by the EC eContentplus programme2, has been investigating the potential effects of the large-scale, systematic depositing of authors' final peer-reviewed manuscripts (so called Green Open Access or stage-two research output) on reader access, author visibility, and journal viability, as well as on the broader ecology of European research. The project ran from 1 September 2008–31 May 2012. . . .

Collectively, the project has provided insights and evidence indicating:

  • How large-scale archiving may affect journals
  • Whether it increases access
  • How it will affect the broader ecology of European research
  • Which factors influence the readiness to deposit in institutional and disciplinary repositories
  • What the cost drivers are for publishers and repositories

The project also released PEER Usage Study—Descriptive Statistics for the Period March to August 2011 and PEER Usage Study—Randomised Controlled Trial Results.

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

Digital Library Developer at George Mason University Libraries

The George Mason University Libraries are recruiting a Digital Library Developer.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Duties include: Anticipating and investigating trends in digital library technology so we can respond quickly to new opportunities; and, providing primary support for new initiatives in resource discovery, digital preservation, knowledge management and scholarly communication. This position reports to the Associate University Librarian for Digital Programs and Systems.

| Digital Scholarship |

"Finch Group" Open Access Report: Accessibility, Sustainability, Excellence: How to Expand Access to Research Publications

The Research Information Network has released Accessibility, Sustainability, Excellence: How to Expand Access to Research Publications. Report of the Working Group on Expanding Access to Published Research Findings. For background on the report, see "Working Group on Expanding Access to Published Research Findings."

Here's an excerpt:

This report tackles the important question of how to achieve better, faster access to research publications for anyone who wants to read or use them. It has been produced by an independent working group made up of representatives of universities, research funders, learned societies, publishers, and libraries. The group's remit has been to examine how to expand access to the peer-reviewed publications that arise from research undertaken both in the UK and in the rest of the world; and to propose a programme of action to that end.

We have concentrated on journals which publish research results and findings. Virtually all are now published online, and they increasingly include sophisticated navigation, linking and interactive services. Making them freely accessible at the point of use, with minimal if any limitations on how they can be used, offers the potential

Our aim has been to identify key goals and guiding principles in a period of transition towards wider access. We have sought ways both to accelerate that transition and also to sustain what is valuable in a complex ecology with many different agents and stakeholders.

In "Finch Group report on OA in the UK," Peter Suber said of the report:

Bottom line: On the plus side, the Finch group wants a massive shift to OA. It prefers immediate to embargoed OA, and it prefers libre to gratis OA. Some of its reasons for preferring gold to green OA are based on real virtues of gold. On the minus side, most of its reasons for preferring gold to green OA are based on a distorted and jaundiced view of green. The group implies that green cannot be libre (8.9, 8.28), which is false. It implies that green cannot be peer reviewed (8.26) which is false. It implies that green cannot be immediate or must be embargoed (8.28), which is false. It virtually disregards the role of green OA in disseminating peer-reviewed research and values green primarily for providing access to data, and access to grey literature, and preservation. One can see the effect of publisher lobbying on the group's misinformed disparagement of green OA and the group's high priority to save incumbent publishers from risk.

Read more about it at "U.K. Panel Backs Open Access for All Publicly Funded Research Papers."

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

IT Programmer at University of North Texas Libraries

The University of North Texas Libraries are recruiting an IT Programmer.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Working with the Django Web framework and other open source components, you will be responsible for feature development and upkeep of the content delivery system in use for The Portal to Texas History (http://texashistory.unt.edu/) and related products. In addition, you will be the primary developer on our metadata creation and editing systems, and you will maintain our systems' usage statistics infrastructure. You will work collaboratively with other programmers and technologists in the UNT Libraries to address software problems and to add and customize features for our products.

| Digital Scholarship |

Digital Book Publishing in the AAUP Community Survey Report: Spring 2012

The Association of American University Presses has released Digital Book Publishing in the AAUP Community Survey Report: Spring 2012

Here's an excerpt:

In addition to gathering data about e-book revenue, digital marketing and discovery strategies, and format and channel availability, we also asked respondents to share their opinions about major concerns or hurdles they are facing, and to tell us more about their presses' e-book goals.

| Digital Scholarship |

EPUB for Archival Preservation

The Koninklijke Bibliotheek has released EPUB for Archival Preservation.

Here's an excerpt:

Over the last few years, the EPUB format has become increasingly popular in the consumer market. A number of publishers have indicated their wish to use EPUB for supplying their electronic publications to the KB. In response to this, the KB's Departments of Collection and Collection Care requested an initial study to investigate the suitability of the format for archival preservation. The main questions were:

  • What are the main characteristics of EPUB?
  • What functionality does EPUB provide, and is this sufficient for representing e.g. content with sophisticated layout and typography requirements?
  • How well is the EPUB supported by software tools that are used in (pre-)ingest workflows?
  • How suitable is EPUB for archival preservation? What are the main risks?

| Digital Curation Bibliography: Preservation and Stewardship of Scholarly Works | Digital Scholarship |

Assistant Director for Library Technology at East Carolina University

East Carolina University is recruiting an Assistant Director for Library Technology.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

he Assistant Director for Library Technology reports to the Dean of Academic Library and Learning Resources and serves on the senior management team. The Assistant Director will contribute to strategic planning, program development and evaluation, and allocation of resources in support of the Library's mission. The individual will coordinate activities and set priorities for the three reporting areas; develop and promote a cohesive vision for the Library's online identity; represent the Library on information technology groups on the ECU campus, within the University of North Carolina system, and externally; establish and maintain effective partnerships and collaborations; maintain professional knowledge of trends in libraries and higher education and a strategic awareness of the role of technology in libraries; and ensure that the Library is at the forefront of best practices in delivering services.

| Digital Scholarship |

"Green and Gold Open Access Percentages and Growth, by Discipline"

Yassine Gargouri, Vincent Lariviere, Yves Gingras, Les Carr, and Stevan Harnad have self-archived "Green and Gold Open Access Percentages and Growth, by Discipline" in ePrints Soton.

Here's an excerpt from:

Most refereed journal articles today are published in subscription journals, accessible only to subscribing institutions, hence losing considerable research impact. Making articles freely accessible online ("Open Access," OA) maximizes their impact. Articles can be made OA in two ways: by self-archiving them on the web ("Green OA") or by publishing them in OA journals ("Gold OA"). We compared the percent and growth rate of Green and Gold OA for 14 disciplines in two random samples of 1300 articles per discipline out of the 12,500 journals indexed by Thomson-Reuters-ISI using a robot that trawled the web for OA full-texts. We sampled in 2009 and 2011 for publication year ranges 1998-2006 and 2005-2010, respectively. Green OA (21.4%) exceeds Gold OA (2.4%) in proportion and growth rate in all but the biomedical disciplines, probably because it can be provided for all journals articles and does not require paying extra Gold OA publication fees. The spontaneous overall OA growth rate is still very slow (about 1% per year). If institutions make Green OA self-archiving mandatory, however, it triples percent Green OA as well as accelerating its growth rate.

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

Library Web Applications Developer at Rice University’s Fondren Library

Rice University's Fondren Library is recruiting a Library Web Applications Developer.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Library Web Applications Developer designs, develops, codes, tests, implements and manages innovative web-based applications that improve the user experience in discovering, accessing, and using library resources and services. S/he gathers requirements, writes code, maintains documentation and works with the Web/Graphic Designer on web design and layout. S/he is responsible for maintaining various local and cloud based servers.

| Digital Scholarship |

Digital Preservation Technical Lead at British Library

The British Library is recruiting a Digital Preservation Technical Lead.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

As Digital Preservation Technical Lead for the Digital Preservation Centre of Excellence, you will work with colleagues to develop and embed digital preservation technology within the British Library. At least half of your time will be spent on the EU co-funded SCAPE project to develop and implement scalable preservation tools and solutions for quality assured digital preservation workflows. You will:

  • Ensure effective implementation and management of SCAPE Testbeds, content, and requisite tools at the British Library;
  • Test and evaluate digital preservation tools on British Library collections;
  • Work closely with colleagues in other business units to ensure tools meet business requirements;
  • Integrate and embed effective preservation technologies in BL processes and workflows to ensure digital library content remains authentic and accessible over the long term;

| Digital Scholarship |

Research Data Management: Review of DCC Tools and Guidance

The REDm-MED Project has released the Review of DCC Tools and Guidance.

Here's an excerpt:

In the course of its work, the REDm-MED Project has used various tools and guidance produced by the DCC, most notably CARDIO and DMP Online, the latter in both its checklist and software forms. The Project team found CARDIO to be promising but in need of further development before being used widely. The process of setting up a DMP Online template was relatively straightforward, but unfortunately there was no opportunity to solicit feedback from researchers on using it in the context of the tool.

| Research Data Curation Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

Digital Preservation Technical Architect at British Library

The British Library is recruiting a Digital Preservation Technical Architect.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

As Digital Preservation Technical Architect in the Digital Preservation Centre of Excellence, you will work closely with colleagues to:

  • Contribute to the evolution of a dependable and scalable technical architecture for preserving the Library's digital collections;
  • Establish requirements and develop solutions to pilot, implement, and validate different approaches to preservation;
  • Advise on embedding digital preservation into other Library systems and processes to enable complete end-to-end lifecycle management;
  • Ensure preservation is addressed in BL digital projects and activities across the BL, especially during the development phases.

| Digital Scholarship |

Network Neutrality and Quality of Service: What a Non-Discrimination Rule Should Look Like

The Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School has released Network Neutrality and Quality of Service: What a Non-Discrimination Rule Should Look Like.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

This paper proposes a framework that policy makers and others can use to choose among different options for network neutrality rules and uses this framework to evaluate existing proposals for non-discrimination rules and the non-discrimination rule adopted by the FCC in its Open Internet Order. In the process, it explains how the different non-discrimination rules affect network providers' ability to offer Quality of Service and which forms of Quality of Service, if any, a non-discrimination rule should allow.

| Reviews of Digital Scholarship Publications | Digital Scholarship |

Current News: Twitter Updates for 6/13/12

| Digital Scholarship |

Senior Product Manager for Web Initiatives at New York Public Library

The New York Public Library is recruiting a Senior Product Manager for Web Initiatives.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

At the head of a nimble team of developers and designers, and in close collaboration with other departments the Senior Product Manager for Web Initiatives will play a lead role in helping to shape the Library's future: developing new online service models that integrate social networking experiences and user collaboration in ways that enhance the Library's core resources (e.g. collections, spaces, programs, and staff expertise.). We are looking for someone to bring nontraditional thinking and a passion for NYPL's public mission to bear on this critical moment in the Library's history.

| Digital Scholarship |

The Digital Public Domain: Foundations for an Open Culture

Open Book Publishers has released The Digital Public Domain: Foundations for an Open Culture.

Here's an excerpt:

The public domain is the sovereign space of all citizens of the world. Like the air we breathe, it is free for all people to use, without restriction, no rights reserved. Our public ownership of this domain of knowledge should be understood as a fundamental human right to access our shared knowledge, the use of which is not the result of a grant by any specific government.

In this book, the members of Communia not only articulates this positive conception of our public domain, but also seek to make the European public domain actionable. The book defines the public domain of the European nations and studies the environment in which it operates. Most importantly, it recommends a set of actions to build and make use of that domain as an environment of shared intellectual property and multifaceted cultural heritage.

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