Year: 2012

Digital Archivist at Rollins College Library

The Rollins College Library is recruiting a Digital Archivist.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Rollins College is looking for a service-oriented library archivist to help with the design, development and implementation of a digital archive and record management program at Rollins College. Reporting to the Head of Archives & Special Collections and collaborating with the Collections & Systems Department, the Digital Archivist will play a key role in collecting, organizing, and making accessible digital resources relating to the history of the institution.

| Digital Scholarship |

Scholars’ Lab Releases BagIt and SolrSearch Plugins for Omeka

The Scholars' Lab has Released BagIt and SolrSearch Plugins for Omeka.

Here's an excerpt from the BagIt announcement:

BagIt is a specification by the Library of Congress for creating containers of files with metadata. . . .

The first part of this release is the BagIt PHP library. This is a generic PHP library for working with BagIt files. . . .

The second part is the BagIt Omeka plugin. This is built upon the BagIt library and provides an easy-to-use user interface for it.

Here's an excerpt from the SolrSearch announcement:

SolrSearch allows you to replace Omeka's default search with Solr. Solr is a standard, popular, open source, fast text search engine server. It handles hit highlighting, date math, numeric aggregation functions (mean, max, etc.), indexing for 33 languages, replication, and many, many more things.

| Scholarly Electronic Publishing Weblog | Digital Scholarship |

"The Impact of Social Media on the Dissemination of Research: Results of an Experiment"

Melissa Terras has published "The Impact of Social Media on the Dissemination of Research: Results of an Experiment" in the latest issue of the Journal of Digital Humanities.

Here's an excerpt:

From now on, I will definitely post anything I publish straight into our institutional repository, and blog and tweet it straight away. After all, the time it takes to undertake research, and write research papers, and see them through to publication is large; the time it takes to blog or tweet about them is negligible. .

| Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography 2010 | Digital Scholarship |

Systems and Web Librarian at Indiana Wesleyan University’s Jackson Library

Indiana Wesleyan University's Jackson Library is recruiting a Systems and Web Librarian.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

To actively support student and faculty learning and research through web and electronic systems and services. Is responsible for administering and managing various library systems to ensure they are operating effectively. The tasks involved include: installing, configuring, administering, testing, enhancing, and maintaining the software and hardware associated with Innovative Interfaces, ILLiad, the Jackson Library website, and other systems.

| Digital Scholarship |

Web Application Developer I at Bucknell University Library and Information Technology

Bucknell University's Library and Information Technology is recruiting a Web Application Developer I.

Here's an excerpt from the ad (requisition number: 07132):

The Web Application Developer is a member of the Enterprise Systems team within Library and Information Technology and has a primary responsibility to develop, integrate, and/or implement web-based applications.

| Digital Scholarship |

ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2012

EDUCAUSE has released the ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2012.

Here's an excerpt:

Findings and recommendations reflect four general themes:

  • Blended-learning environments are the norm; students say that these environments best support how they learn.
  • Students want to access academic progress information and course material via their mobile devices, and institutions deliver.
  • Technology training and skill development for students is more important than new, more, or "better" technology.
  • Students use social networks for interacting with friends more than for academic communication.

| Reviews of Digital Scholarship Publications | Digital Scholarship |

Sr. Programmer at Kansas State University Libraries

Kansas State University Libraries are recruiting a Sr. Programmer.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Kansas State University Libraries invite applications and nominations for the position of Senior Programmer with experience developing web applications on AMP stack to join an exciting new team in the Administrative & IT Services Department. The new team would be collaborating with other library staff in creating value added services by using a wide array of tools that include both open source (dspace, drupal, etc) and vendor driven products.

"Open Access Repositories in Asia: From SAARC to Asian Tigers"

Bijan Kumar Roy, Subal Chandra Biswas, and Parthasarathi Mukhopadhyay have published "Open Access Repositories in Asia: From SAARC to Asian Tigers" in Library Philosophy and Practice.

Here's an excerpt:

This paper provides an overview of Open Access Repository (OAR) initiatives taken in Asian Countries with special reference to SAARC [South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation] Countries. The purpose of this study is to take a broad look at the current state of deployment of OARs in the Asian countries. It also compares selected OARs against a set of carefully crafted criteria. Key findings have been highlighted along with suggestions for further development of OARs in global context.

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

Systems Administrator at Northeast Kansas Library System

The Northeast Kansas Library System is recruiting a Systems Administrator.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

NEKLS is seeking a systems administrator to work as a member of our technology team to provide superior customer service to member libraries in a 14 county region in Northeast Kansas. The systems administrator will manage the servers, networks and software for technology services of the Northeast Kansas Library System (NEKLS).

| Digital Scholarship |

Director of Information Technology at Columbus Metropolitan Library

The Columbus Metropolitan Library is recruiting a Director of Information Technology.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Director of Information Technology is responsible for providing visionary leadership and management to the IT department, including guidance and oversight of library information systems and communication technologies that support and align with the overall strategies of the library. The Director will oversee the stability and efficient operations of the library's Infrastructure, Network and Help Desk functions.

The position will provide leadership, serve as a business partner and will anticipate and recommend opportunities where information technology can advance the library's capabilities and be utilized to provide a competitive advantage. The Director will develop and execute a strategic plan within the context of the overall library business strategy and work closely with decision makers in other departments to identity, recommend, develop, implement and support cost-effective technology solutions for all aspects of the organization.

| Digital Scholarship |

"A Sample of Research Data Curation and Management Courses"

Andrew T. Creamer et al. have published "A Sample of Research Data Curation and Management Courses" in the latest issue of the Journal of eScience Librarianship.

Here's an excerpt:

This paper identifies a sample of research data curation and management courses available at American Library Association-accredited Library and Information Science (LIS) Programs in North America. . . .

Only 13 (22%) of LIS programs currently offer a course focused on the management and curation of research data. . . .

Although the literature supports LIS professionals adopting new roles and engaging in eScience and data management, most LIS data-related programs do not have a separate course solely focused on research data management. More LIS programs will need to adapt their curricula in order to help students and practicing professionals develop the needed competencies in research data curation and management.

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

Systems Engineer—Digital Collection Services at OCLC

OCLC is recruiting a Systems Engineer—Digital Collection Services.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

As a Systems Engineering Specialist at OCLC working with the Digital Collection Services group, you will be at the cutting edge of large scale digital preservation of a wide variety of materials, and will play an important role in OCLC's mission to connect libraries and make quality information available to the world. In this position you will wear several important hats: web/network guru, operating systems specialist, systems integrator and troubleshooter, and performance and security analyst.

| Digital Scholarship |

Google and Publishers Settle Seven-Year-Old Copyright Lawsuit over Google Library Project

Google and the Association of American Publishers have settled the copyright lawsuit over Google Library Project. The related Authors Guild lawsuit has not been settled.

Here's an excerpt from the Google press release:

The agreement settles a copyright infringement lawsuit filed against Google on October 19, 2005 by five AAP member publishers. As the settlement is between the parties to the litigation, the court is not required to approve its terms.

The settlement acknowledges the rights and interests of copyright-holders. US publishers can choose to make available or choose to remove their books and journals digitized by Google for its Library Project. Those deciding not to remove their works will have the option to receive a digital copy for their use.

Apart from the settlement, US publishers can continue to make individual agreements with Google for use of their other digitally-scanned works. . . .

Google Books allows users to browse up to 20% of books and then purchase digital versions through Google Play. Under the agreement, books scanned by Google in the Library Project can now be included by publishers.

See also the AAP press release.

| Google Books Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

"Jarrow, Electronic Thesis, and Dissertation Software"

James R.W. MacDonald and Daniel Yule have published "Jarrow, Electronic Thesis, and Dissertation Software" in the latest issue of the Code4Lib Journal.

Here's an excerpt:

Collecting and disseminating theses and dissertations electronically is not a new concept. Tools and platforms have emerged to handle various components of the submission and distribution process. However, there is not a tool that handles the entirety of the process from the moment the student begins work on their thesis to the dissemination of the final thesis. The authors have created such a tool which they have called Jarrow. After reviewing available open-source software for theses submission and open-source institutional repository software this paper discusses why and how Jarrow was created and how it works. Jarrow can be downloaded and the project followed at http://code.library.unbc.ca.

| Institutional Repository and ETD Bibliography 2011 | Digital Scholarship |

Metadata Librarian at National Institute of Standards and Technology

The National Institute of Standards and Technology is recruiting a Metadata Librarian.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Serve as Metadata Librarian for scientific/technical library and museum digital projects. Create, review, and modify metadata for effective discovery and access to NIST technical report and image collections. Coordinate and execute work flows for metadata processing and digital object preparation. Deposit metadata in national and local repositories. Work in partnership with Digital Services and Metadata Librarians on planning, implementation, and assessment of digital services initiatives. Collaborate with Research Librarians and perform information research using scientific/technical databases and other resources to create and describe new collections of NIST digital content. Serve as Lab Liaison to provide consultation and conduct outreach activities on metadata, taxonomy development, and authority control tools and techniques to improve discovery, access, and impact of NIST research. Monitor and report on changing technologies and current best practices in digital preservation. Perform some original cataloging as needed.

| Digital Scholarship |

"The Greatest Book You Will Never Read: Public Access Rights and the Orphan Works Dilemma"

Libby Greismann has published "The Greatest Book You Will Never Read: Public Access Rights and the Orphan Works Dilemma" in the Duke Law & Technology Review.

Here's an excerpt:

Copyright law aims to promote the dual goals of incentivizing production of literary and artistic works, and promoting public access and free speech. To achieve these goals, Congress has implemented a policy that acknowledges the rights of both the copyright holder and the public, which vest with the fixation of the work. However, as Congressional action has strengthened copyright protection, the rights of the public have been narrowed. Orphan works—works to which the copyright owner cannot be located or identified—present a unique problem, in that achieving free access and use of the works is often impossible. This note argues that the public has a recognizable right in both gaining access to and using orphan works—a right which emanates from, but is tangential to, the First Amendment right to free speech.

| Scholarly Electronic Publishing Weblog | Digital Scholarship |

Current News: Twitter Updates for 10/2/12

| Digital Scholarship |

Integrated Library System Librarian at Loudoun County Public Library

The Loudoun County Public Library is recruiting an Integrated Library System Librarian.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

This position manages the library's integrated library system, associated databases and systems, and ensures their optimal performance. Recommends and implements ILS modules and enhancements to advance processes and improve customer service. Assists in managing online systems that interact with the ILS, such as RFID, interlibrary loan (ILLiad) and EZProxy. Ensures the accuracy and integrity of the library's databases of MARC bibliographic, item, and patron records. Develops and manages training for the ILS. May supervise support staff. Participates in Division and Library system-wide strategic planning regarding technology.

| Digital Scholarship |

California Digital Library and Partners Launch DataUp Data Management Tool

The California Digital Library and its partners have launched the DataUp data management tool.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

Researchers struggling to meet new data management requirements from funders, journals and their own institutions now can use the DataUp Web application and a Microsoft Excel add-in to document and archive their tabular data. . . .

The DataUp add-in operates within a program many researchers already use: Microsoft Excel. The Web application allows users to upload tabular data in either Excel format or comma-separated value (CSV) format. Both the add-in and the Web application allow users to:

  • Perform a "best practices check" to ensure data are well-formatted and organized
  • Create standardized metadata, or a description of the data, using a wizard-style template
  • Retrieve a unique identifier for their dataset from their data repository
  • Post their datasets and associated metadata to the repository.

Although hundreds of data repositories are available for archiving, many scientific researchers either are unaware of their existence or do not know how to access them. One of the major outcomes of the DataUp project is the ONEShare repository, created specifically for DataUp, where users can deposit tabular data and metadata directly from the tool.

An added advantage of ONEShare is its connection to the DataONE network of repositories. DataONE links existing data centers and enables users to search for data across participating repositories by using a single search interface. Data deposited into ONEShare will be indexed and made available by any DataONE user, facilitating collaboration and enabling data re-use.

| Research Data Curation Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

Head of Library Systems at St. Edward’s University Library

The St. Edward's University Library is recruiting a Head of Library Systems.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Head of Library Systems provides leadership, management, and implementation to support all digital initiatives of the library. This position reports to the Director of the Library to identify strategic priorities for the library's digital presence, partners with the Head of Public Services to design a world-class library experience for the St. Edward's University community, and manages the work of the Digital Services Manager, all in the context of a collaborative library workplace. In addition, this position seeks out and cultivates partnerships with Information Technology in order to create innovative, useful, and efficient tools and resources for learning, services and scholarship in the context of a global campus, defines new projects and sets priorities, manages and schedules software development projects, coordinates deployment and management of production systems with others in the library and in Information Technology, estimates the time and resources required for such activities, and defines processes for quality assurance, programming standards, mentoring and assisting in the professional development of library staff, and directing and participating in requirements analysis, architecture, design, coding, testing, deployment, and support of software. This position reports to the Library Director and functions as a member of both the library and Information Technology management teams, participates in library planning initiatives, and develops the overall strategic plan and architectures for digital library systems.

"Digital Humanities: Where to Start"

Jennifer L. Adams and Kevin B. Gunn have published "Digital Humanities: Where to Start" in the latest issue of College & Research Libraries News.

Here's an excerpt:

As an emerging field, DH has, thus far, had a broad characterization. As technology and our understanding of it change, so do the limits of DH. There has been some debate as to whether DH constitutes a discipline of its own or is simply an application of new technologies to existing disciplines. In either case, DH can be understood as the place where traditional humanities research methodologies and media/digital technologies intersect. DH is more than the digitization of existing processes, documents, and artifacts. It is often data-driven, answering humanities research problems with multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and cross-disciplinary approaches within the digital/IT realm. The current challenge for DH lies in establishing itself in traditional academic environments. . . .

There are many useful resources available online, including general sites as well as e-publications, tools, tutorials, and organizations. We have tried to include a representative sample of those we feel are most important or could be most useful for librarians getting started in the digital humanities.

| Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography 2010 | Digital Scholarship |