Month: December 2018

Director of Princeton Research Data Service at Princeton University (Re-advertised)

Princeton University is recruiting a Director of Princeton Research Data Service.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Director will provide overall leadership for the establishment of a strong collaborative initiative with the campus research community, guiding Princeton researchers toward best practices in data collection, data formatting, data maintenance, data access, and data management. The Director will facilitate access to, manage, steward and store digital research data.

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"The Reconfiguration of the Archive as Data to Be Mined"

Michael Moss et al. have published "The Reconfiguration of the Archive as Data to Be Mined" in Archivaria.

Here's an excerpt:

This article discusses changing practices brought about by the move to online digital records, the impact these are having on the way history is written, and the way in which archivists are responding (and will need to respond in the future). We argue that digital administrative records are surrounded by other sources—online newspapers and social media—and that the huge volume of digital records alters the way historians read material. This will require a shift in approach from archivists, who will need to view archives as collections of data to be mined and not as texts to be read. . . . While grappling with these issues, archivists will also need to recognize that the future record will be as much about sound and vision as about text.

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Applications Developer at University of California, Berkeley

The University of California, Berkeley, is recruiting an Applications Developer.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

As a member of the Applications group in the Library IT unit, the Applications Developer will:

  • Provide technical expertise to project managers and other Library staff to define application specifications, staffing needs, and timelines
  • Develop specifications and gather requirements for assignments
  • Write and modify programs to support a variety of services, documents applications, and processes

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WIPO: Report on Copyright Practices and Challenges of Museums

The World Intellectual Property Organization has released the Report on Copyright Practices and Challenges of Museums.

Here's an excerpt:

At the request of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR), WIPO has carried out a research project with the objective of examining copyright practices and challenges of museums in fulfilling their missions and activities.. . .In this context, the author and the SCCR Secretariat interviewed 37 museums worldwide with different types of collections and activities, as well as other key stakeholders.

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Research Data Services Librarian at Cornell University

Cornell University is recruiting a Research Data Services Librarian.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Cornell Institute for Social and Economic Research (CISER) seeks an experienced, innovative, collaborative, and service-oriented data services librarian to support social science researchers across the research data lifecycle. As a member of the senior leadership team contributing to setting the future direction of the Institute, the successful applicant will spearhead efforts to strategically evolve CISER's data-rich environment.

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Digital Preservation Network Shuts Down: "Community Announcement—DPN Sunsets"

The Digital Preservation Network has released "Community Announcement—DPN Sunsets."

Here's an excerpt:

After careful analysis of the Digital Preservation Network's membership, operating model, and finances, the Board of Trustees of DPN passed a resolution to affect an orderly wind-down of DPN. The DPN Board carefully considered potential changes to DPN’s current preservation and membership models and determined that it is not feasible to design and implement changes that would ensure sustainability.

The Digital Preservation Network has provided innovative digital preservation services and leadership to the cultural heritage community for the past six years.  At its largest, DPN had 62 members and deposits from 27 institutions. However, membership has fallen to 31, a number insufficient to maintain the organization. The landscape of digital preservation services has changed considerably in the past six years, as have the community's preservation needs. . . .

It is clear that there are numerous unforeseen challenges with our community-based organizations that need to be addressed. A number of organizations formed by our community are facing sustainability challenges, despite initial momentum. The DPN board and staff hope that the community enters into conversations that may help other organizations in the challenge of sustainability.

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Archivist for Digitization Services at University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is recruiting a Archivist for Digitization Services.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Reporting to the Lead Archivist for Digital Initiatives, the Archivist for Digitization Services will be responsible for filling critical gaps in the daily operations of digital imaging and audiovisual digitization.

Longer-term, the archivist will devise new, holistic ways to increase the Bentley’s capabilities to address current and future digitization needs and will play a leading advisory role in envisioning, planning and implementing new digitization services and initiatives.

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"OCLC Research and euroCRIS Release Report on International Research Information Management Practices"

OCLC Research has released "OCLC Research and euroCRIS Release Report on International Research Information Management Practices."

Here's an excerpt:

OCLC Research and euroCRIS, the international organization for research information, have published a joint research report, Practices and Patterns in Research Information Management: Findings from a Global Survey, which examines how research institutions worldwide are applying research information management (RIM) practices.

The report, written by a working group comprised of experts from both organizations, details the complexity of research information management practices. It examines how commercial and open-source platforms are becoming widely implemented across regions, coexisting with many region-specific solutions as well as locally developed systems. It also considers the factors that have led to the need for complex, cross-stakeholder teams to support institutional RIM activities, which increasingly includes the library.

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"Marketing via Email Solicitation by Predatory (and Legitimate) Journals: An Evaluation of Quality, Frequency and Relevance"

Warren Burggren et al. have published "Marketing via Email Solicitation by Predatory (and Legitimate) Journals: An Evaluation of Quality, Frequency and Relevance" in the Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication.

Here's an excerpt:

INTRODUCTION Open access (OA) journals have proliferated in recent years. Many journals are highly reputable, delivering on the promise of open access to research as an alternative to traditional, subscription-based journals. Yet some OA journals border on, or clearly fall within, the realm of so-called "predatory journals." Most discussion of such journals has focused on the quality of articles published within them. Considerably less attention has been paid to the marketing practices of predatory journals—primarily their mass e-mailing—and to the impact that this practice may have on recipients' perception of OA journals as a whole. METHODS This study analyzed a subset of the 1,816 e-mails received by a single university biology faculty member during a 24-month period (2015 and 2016) with an update from December 2017 and January 2018. RESULTS Of those e-mails sent in 2015, approximately 37% were copies or near-copies of previous e-mail messages sent to the recipient, less than 25% of e-mails from predatory journals mentioned publication fees, only about 30% of soliciting journals were listed in DOAJ, and only about 4% had an identifiable impact factor. While most e-mails indicated a purported familiarity with, and respect for, the recipient, more than two thirds of the e-mails did not, implying use of mass-e-mailing methodologies. Almost 80% of the e-mail solicitations had grammar and/or spelling mistakes. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, only a staggeringly small 4% of e-mails were judged highly relevant to the recipient's area of expertise. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION In light of the marketing practices of many predatory journals, we advocate specific instructions for librarians, faculty mentors, and administrators of legitimate OA journals as they interact with new researchers, junior faculty, and other professionals learning how to discern the quality of journals that send direct e-mail solicitations.

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Associate Dean for Innovation and Resource Management at San Jose State University

San Jose State University is recruiting an Associate Dean for Innovation and Resource Management.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Associate Dean will provide effective leadership in conceptualizing and implementing innovative initiatives to better serve students and faculty, enhancing library operations with technology, and initiating new and innovative technology-based services and library spaces.

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"Confused about Copyright? Assessing Researchers’ Comprehension of Copyright Transfer Agreements"

Alexandra Kohn and Jessica Lange have published "Confused about Copyright? Assessing Researchers' Comprehension of Copyright Transfer Agreements" in the Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication.

Here's an excerpt:

INTRODUCTION Academic authors' confusion about copyright and publisher policy is often cited as a challenge to their effective sharing of their own published research, from having a chilling effect on selfarchiving in institutional and subject repositories, to leading to the posting of versions of articles on social networking sites in contravention of publisher policy and beyond. This study seeks to determine the extent to which authors understand the terms of these policies as expressed in publishers' copyright transfer agreements (CTAs), taking into account such factors as the authors' disciplines and publishing experience, as well as the wording and structure of these agreements. METHODS We distributed an online survey experiment to corresponding authors of academic research articles indexed in the Scopus database. Participants were randomly assigned to read one of two copyright transfer agreements and were subsequently asked to answer a series of questions about these agreements to determine their level of comprehension. The survey was sent to 3,154 participants, with 122 responding, representing a 4% response rate. Basic demographic information as well as information about participants' previous publishing experience was also collected. We analyzed the survey data using Ordinary Least Squared (OLS) regressions and probit regressions. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Participants demonstrated a low rate of understanding of the terms of the CTAs they were asked to read. Participants averaged a score of 33% on the survey, indicating a low comprehension level of author rights. This figure did not vary significantly, regardless of the respondents' discipline, time in academia, level of experience with publishing, or whether or not they had published previously with the publisher whose CTA they were administered. Results also indicated that participants did equally poorly on the survey regardless of which of the two CTAs they received. However, academic authors do appear to have a greater chance of understanding a CTA when a specific activity is explicitly outlined in the text of the agreement.

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