Month: August 2012

Pratt Institute School of Information and Library Science Offers Digital Humanities Concentration in M.S. Degree

The Pratt Institute School of Information and Library Science is offering a Digital Humanities program concentration in its M.S. in Library and Information Science degree.

Here's an excerpt from the program description:

The concentration addresses the range of issues involved in digital humanities, from digitizing primary sources and creating content systems to analyzing data and exploring new platforms for research and publication.

By the end of the concentration, students are able bring skills in digitization, preservation, metadata, analysis, and technology into academic settings to support faculty and institutional teaching and research. They are also prepared to serve as thought leaders at cultural heritage institutions in the area of digital scholarship and public programming.

| Reviews of Digital Scholarship Publications | Digital Scholarship |

Current News: Twitter Updates for 8/21/12

| Digital Scholarship |

Senior Developer for Digital Initiatives at Western Washington University Libraries

The Western Washington University Libraries are recruiting a Senior Developer for Digital Initiatives.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Western Washington University Libraries seeks a Senior Developer for Digital Initiatives to lead the development, implementation and maintenance of applications which support digital initiatives. The successful candidate in this new key position will work with content specialists to test, evaluate, and develop web tools and applications.

| Digital Scholarship |

FCC Releases Eighth Broadband Progress Report

The FCC has released the Eighth Broadband Progress Report.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement :

Notwithstanding this progress, the Report finds that approximately 19 million Americans—6 percent of the population—still lack access to fixed broadband service at threshold speeds. In rural areas, nearly one-fourth of the population—14.5 million people—lack access to this service. In tribal areas, nearly one-third of the population lacks access. Even in areas where broadband is available, approximately 100 million Americans still do not subscribe. The report concludes that until the Commission's Connect America reforms are fully implemented, these gaps are unlikely to close. Because millions still lack access to or have not adopted broadband, the Report concludes broadband is not yet being deployed in a reasonable and timely fashion.

| Reviews of Digital Scholarship Publications | Digital Scholarship |

Digital Services Specialist at Union College’s Schaffer Library

Union College's Schaffer Library is recruiting a Digital Services Specialist.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Duties will include assisting librarians and library staff in developing and maintaining pages and other web resources, performing quality assurance testing including link analysis, browser compatibility, functional testing, etc. for library sites, creating and maintaining documentation for library site areas and functions. The selected candidate will assist with project management for library site designs/redesigns and enhancements, advising on information architecture for library material in terms of web appropriate content and navigation, maintaining front-end components of various library databases and electronic research products, providing selected or designated technical support (software, web design) to librarians and library staff. Duties also include overseeing and participating in designated special projects including digitization of library material, providing graphic design and photo editing for original library-generated content, training and supervising student assistants, and participating in general library and department projects as needed.

| Digital Scholarship |

"Researchers’ Attitudes towards Data Discovery: Implications for a UCLA Data Registry"

Rachel A. Mandell has self-archived her thesis, "Researchers' Attitudes towards Data Discovery: Implications for a UCLA Data Registry," in SSRN.

Here's an excerpt:

The UCLA Data Registry is a tool designed to serve the greater UCLA research community by collecting and making available surrogate records of research datasets. To figure out how to build this system in accordance with the needs of the community, a total of 20 researchers from disparate disciplines were interviewed about their data and metadata practices. The results indicate that researchers' attitudes and behaviors towards making their work discoverable depend on their concept and definition of data. Given that the UCLA Library will build the UCLA Data Registry, it is important to consider the other possible tools that researchers could use in conjunction with the registry to enhance the discoverability of their data. The Data Registry will be built utilizing a basic metadata schema rather than very specific descriptive fields. The interviews also demonstrated that the culture of publishing and venues for data dissemination are shifting away from the traditional journal article publication, especially in emerging areas such as the digital humanities.

| Digital Curation Resource Guide | Digital Scholarship |

Digital Initiatives Librarian at Georgia State University Library

The Georgia State University Library is recruiting a Digital Initiatives Librarian.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Georgia State University Library seeks an enthusiastic, collegial, self-starter to serve as the manager of the Digital Archive @ Georgia State University, the University's institutional repository, which highlights the research and scholarly productivity of members of the University community. The University Library administers the archive to collect, organize, disseminate, and preserve the digital scholarly output of Georgia State University faculty, students and staff. The repository is hosted on the Digital Commons platform and currently includes ETDs, conference materials and journals.

| Digital Scholarship |

Best Practices for Citability of Data and Evolving Roles in Scholarly Communication

Opportunities for Data Exchange has released Best Practices for Citability of Data and Evolving Roles in Scholarly Communication.

Here's an excerpt:

This report sets out the current thinking on data citation best practice and presents the results of a survey of librarians asking how new support roles could and should be developed. The findings presented here build on the extensive desk research carried out for the report "Integration of Data and Publication" (Reilly, Schallier, Schrimpf, Smit, & Wilkinson, Sept 2011), which identified that data citation was an area of opportunity for both researchers and libraries. That report also recounted the findings of a workshop held at the LIBER 2011 Conference in Barcelona. . . .This previous work is supported here with further information gathered through extensive desk research, structured interviews and an online survey of LIBER members to explore best practice in data citation and evolving support roles for libraries.

| Research Data Curation Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

Head, Applications Development and Support at Ohio State University Libraries

The Ohio State University Libraries are recruiting a Head, Applications Development and Support.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Ohio State University Libraries invites applications and nominations for the position of Head, Applications Development and Support to lead the identification, development and integration of emergent software applications and technology services that advance the mission and activities of the Libraries. The successful candidate will lead collaboratively and consultatively within the Libraries' Information Technology Division, as well as across other areas of the Libraries, to articulate and implement a cohesive and extensible suite of access, discovery, preservation, curation, security, and repository services.

| Digital Scholarship |

Sharing Research Data: Compilation of Results on Drivers and Barriers and New Opportunities

Opportunities for Data Exchange has released Compilation of Results on Drivers and Barriers and New Opportunities.

Here's an excerpt:

Opportunities for Data Exchange (ODE) is a FP7 Project carried out by members of the Alliance for Permanent Access (APA), which is gathering evidence to support strategic investment in the emerging e-Infrastructure for data sharing, re-use and preservation. The ODE Conceptual Model has been developed within the Project to characterise the process of data sharing and the factors which give rise to variations in data sharing for different parties involved. Within the overall Conceptual Model there can be identified models of process, of context, and of drivers, barriers and enablers. The Conceptual Model has been evolved on the basis of existing knowledge and expertise, and draws on research conducted both outside of the ODE Project and in earlier stages of the Project itself (Sections 1-2).

| Research Data Curation Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

Digital Archivist at College of William & Mary’s Earl Gregg Swem Library

The College of William & Mary's Earl Gregg Swem Library is recruiting a Digital Archivist.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Digital Archivist will serve as the SCRC's [Special Collections Research Center] expert relating to all aspects of digital collections and activities. The position will take a lead role in the creation, maintenance, and stewardship of digital collections in the SCRC and will coordinate the SCRC's archival management system, discovery tools, and online presence via the web and social media. This position will perform other regular archival duties including reference service, outreach activities, and instructional activities with classes visiting the SCRC.

| Digital Scholarship |

Copyright: "Adverse Possession of Orphan Works"

Katherine M. Meeks, has self-archived "Adverse Possession of Orphan Works" in SelectedWorks.

Here's an excerpt:

This paper proposes that Congress could adapt the real property doctrine of adverse possession to clear the muddy rights to these orphan works. Adverse possession is a mechanism for resolving competing claims to land that arise where an owner has failed to assert his rights for many years, allowing a hostile trespasser to assume control of the land as if it were his own. . . Although Congress would need to modify the black letter test before it could be applied to intangible property, the policy rationale behind adverse possession applies with equal or greater force in the orphan works context. Where the holder of a copyright has failed both to exploit his product and to register his whereabouts with the Copyright Office, such that others might seek permission to use his creative expression, his intellectual property rights should not shackle libraries, museums, or other institutions that perceive a scholarly or commercial demand for the work.

| Google Books Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

Digital Initiatives Project Manager at Yale University Library

The Yale University Library is recruiting a Digital Initiatives Project Manager.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Reporting to the Manuscripts and Archives (MSSA) Head of Digital Information Systems while working in close collaboration with Library IT, the Fortunoff Video Archives (FVA) Senior Archivist, the Director of Digitization Initiatives, the Digital Preservation Librarian, and other Library stakeholders, the Digital Initiatives Project Manager will have a dual responsibility: (1) to provide technical support and project management for the ongoing Fortunoff Video Archive mass digitization project; and (2) to provide support for digital repository development to ensure long-term preservation of, and access to, digital audio and video collections.

| Digital Scholarship |

Digital Preservation: SiteStory Released

Herbert van de Sompel has announced the release of SiteStory.

Here's an excerpt:

I am very pleased to announce the open source release of our SiteStory transactional web archiving solution. The solution is compatible with the Memento "Time Travel for the Web" framework and its current implementation can be used to archive Apache web servers.

Read more about it at Memento: Adding Time to the Web.

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

Current News: Twitter Updates for 8/16/12

  • Apple, Publishers File Opposition to Proposed DOJ Settlement, http://t.co/hYEbprHG
  • Google's Pain if It Loses the Book Scanning Case Hint Less Than You Think, http://t.co/imJUJxkf
  • Library Investment Index 2010-2011 Summarizes Relative Size of ARL University Libraries (XLS), http://t.co/hfNG4xZC
  • A Selection of Findings from The Survey of Institutional Digital Repositories, 2012-13 Report, http://t.co/OAeJAuEB

| Digital Scholarship |

Digital Humanities Start-Up Grants

The National Endowment for the Humanities is accepting applications for Digital Humanities Start-Up Grants. The application deadline is September 25, 2012 for projects that begin in May 2013.

Here's an excerpt announcement:

Proposals should be for the planning or initial stages of digital initiatives in any area of the humanities. Digital Humanities Start-Up Grants may involve

  • research that brings new approaches or documents best practices in the study of the digital humanities;
  • planning and developing prototypes of new digital tools for preserving, analyzing, and making accessible digital resources, including libraries' and museums' digital assets;
  • scholarship that focuses on the history, criticism, and philosophy of digital culture and its impact on society;
  • scholarship or studies that examine the philosophical or practical implications and impact of the use of emerging technologies in specific fields or disciplines of the humanities, or in interdisciplinary collaborations involving several fields or disciplines;
  • innovative uses of technology for public programming and education utilizing both traditional and new media; and
  • new digital modes of publication that facilitate the dissemination of humanities scholarship in advanced academic as well as informal or formal educational settings at all academic levels.

| Scholarly Electronic Publishing Weblog | Digital Scholarship |

"Do Bad Things Happen When Works Enter the Public Domain?: Empirical Tests of Copyright Term Extension"

Christopher J. Buccafusco and Paul J. Heald have self-archived "Do Bad Things Happen When Works Enter the Public Domain?: Empirical Tests of Copyright Term Extension" in SSRN.

Here's an excerpt:

The international debate over copyright term extension for existing works turns on the validity of three empirical assertions about what happens to works when they fall into the public domain. Our study of the market for audio books and a related human subjects experiment suggest that all three assertions are suspect. We demonstrate that audio books made from public domain bestsellers (1913-22) are significantly more available than those made from copyrighted bestsellers (1923-32). We also demonstrate that recordings of public domain and copyrighted books are of equal quality.

| Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography 2010 | Digital Scholarship |

Digitization Project Manager at Gilcrease Museum

The Gilcrease Museum is recruiting a Digitization Project Manager.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Gilcrease Museum, operated through The University of Tulsa, seeks a qualified individual that can successfully implement and direct the museum's digitization and electronic cataloguing efforts that will ensure the museum's collection of archival material, fine art and anthropology objects are preserved for future generations and made increasingly accessible to the public. The successful candidate will be responsible for developing and implementing an operations plan for digitizing collection material, establish and maintain a categorization methodology that allows key-word and subject search and retrieval from the digital asset management system, supervise paid and volunteer staff, provide monthly progress reports, and manage the day-to-day operations of the digitization project, and periodically teaches a class for The University of Tulsa's Master's degree course in Museum Science and Management.

| Digital Scholarship |

Minimum Digitization Capture Recommendations (Draft)

The Association for Library Collections and Technical Services Preservation and Reformatting Section has released a draft of its Minimum Digitization Capture Recommendations. The comment period ends on 12/31/2012.

Here's an excerpt:

This document was created as a guideline for libraries digitizing content with the objective of producing a product that will not be re-digitized at a later point. Institutions can feel secure that if an item has been digitized at, or above, these specifications, they can depend on it to continue to be viable in the future. These guidelines only speak to the technical specifications of the digitized content itself and not to the larger issue of digitally preserving said content. In some cases, institutions may want to request a digital copy to preserve themselves further safeguarding materials by preserving them in multiple locations.

| Digital Curation Resource Guide | Digital Scholarship |

Current News: Twitter Updates for 8/15/12

| Digital Scholarship |

University Library Systems Manager—Web & Mobile Based Systems Specialty at City University of New York

The City University of New York is recruiting a University Library Systems Manager—Web & Mobile Based Systems Specialty.

Here's an excerpt from the ad (job id: 6354):

Reporting to the CUNY Director of Library Systems, the University Systems Librarian Web & Mobile Specialty is responsible for assisting in the planning, implementation, and management of systems and software supporting CUNY-wide library services. Installs, configures, maintains, and optimizes commercial and open source application software products and services for library digital projects, programs, and initiatives while ensuring developed solutions fit with existing library systems and IT infrastructures.

| Digital Scholarship |

Aligning National Approaches to Digital Preservation

The Educopia Institute has released Aligning National Approaches to Digital Preservation.

Here's an excerpt:

On May 23-25, 2011, more than 125 delegates from more than 20 countries gathered in Tallinn, Estonia, for the "Aligning National Approaches to Digital Preservation" conference. . . .

This publication contains a collection of peer-reviewed essays that were developed by conference panels and attendees in the months following ANADP. Rather than simply chronicling the event, the volume intends to broaden and deepen its impact by reflecting on the ANADP presentations and conversations and establishing a set of starting points for building a greater alignment across digital preservation initiatives. Above all, it highlights the need for strategic international collaborations to support the preservation of our collective cultural memory.

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

Technical Associate/Digital Repository Developer at Northern Illinois University Libraries

The Northern Illinois University Libraries are recruiting a Technical Associate/Digital Repository Developer.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Responsible for the research, development, and ongoing maintenance of the Fedora Commons digital repository and digital collections websites, running in Drupal with the Islandora module. The Digital Repository Developer works with the Digital Collections Curator to plan and design new websites and uses new web service technologies to improve the user experience in discovering, finding, or acquiring library content.

| Digital Scholarship |

Publisher Plaintiffs Issue Statement on Order in Georgia State University E-Reserves Copyright Case

The publisher plaintiffs have issued a statement on Judge Orinda Evans' order in the Georgia State University e-reserves copyright case.

Here's an excerpt:

The District Court's decision is marred by a number of serious legal errors. The fair use exception cannot be stretched beyond recognition simply because course materials are delivered in a digital format by an educational institution. The ruling excuses copyright violations by GSU and endorses unauthorized copying and distribution of academic works well beyond what the law allows and what universities across the country consider reasonable. The decision devalues academic scholarship by treating such work as 'factual' compilations. . . .

As with the initial decision to bring suit, the decision regarding an appeal will be based on a considered assessment that takes into account the extent to which this ruling, which we believe to be legally vulnerable on multiple grounds, endangers the creation and dissemination of high-quality academic work

Georgia State University has also issued a statement about the order.

| Scholarly Electronic Publishing Weblog | Digital Scholarship |