September 2023 – Page 2

"Umbrella Data Management Plans to Integrate FAIR Data: Lessons From the ISIDORe and BY-COVID Consortia for Pandemic Preparedness"

The Horizon Europe project ISIDORe is dedicated to pandemic preparedness and responsiveness research. It brings together 17 research infrastructures (RIs) and networks to provide a broad range of services to infectious disease researchers. An efficient and structured treatment of data is central to ISIDORe’s aim to furnish seamless access to its multidisciplinary catalogue of services, and to ensure that users’ results are treated FAIRly. ISIDORe therefore requires a data management plan (DMP) covering both access management and research outputs, applicable over a broad range of disciplines, and compatible with the constraints and existing practices of its diverse partners.

Here, we describe how, to achieve that aim, we undertook an iterative, step-by-step, process to build a community-approved living document, identifying good practices and processes, on the basis of use cases, presented as proof of concepts. International fora such as the RDA and EOSC, and primarily the BY-COVID project, furnished registries, tools and online data platforms, as well as standards, and the support of data scientists. Together, these elements provide a path for building an umbrella, FAIR-compliant DMP, aligned as fully as possible with FAIR principles, which could also be applied as a framework for data management harmonisation in other large-scale, challenge-driven projects. Finally, we discuss how data management and reuse can be further improved through the use of knowledge models when writing DMPs and, how, in the future, an inter-RI network of data stewards could contribute to the establishment of a community of practice, to be integrated subsequently into planned trans-RI competence centres.

https://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2023-035

Director, Holman Biotech Commons at University of Pennsylvania

The Holman Biotech Commons is a leader in the provision of a high-impact, two-tier systematic review service, which includes librarians as co-authors on papers and systematic review workshops for health system policymakers, researchers, and students. The 3D printing service has printed well over 3,000 objects in support of teaching, learning, research, and clinical care. Biomedical librarians provide curriculum-integrated instruction and in-depth research consultations and serve on teams throughout the health system and within the schools.

https://tinyurl.com/ycfbxyaw

"The Impact of Open Access Mandates on Scientific Research and Technological Development in the U.S."

Scientific articles subject to the mandate were utilized on average 42% more in patents
Articles subject to the mandate were not cited more frequently by other academic papers
Small firms were the primary beneficiaries of the increased knowledge diffusion
Scientific articles subject to the mandate were utilized on average 42% more in patents
Articles subject to the mandate were not cited more frequently by other academic papers
Small firms were the primary beneficiaries of the increased knowledge diffusion

https://tinyurl.com/bdekuf2j

Data Visualization Specialist at Washington University

Reporting to the Head of Data Services, the 3D Data Visualization Specialist develops research services and consults with WU campus users related to 3D data visualization. The position will focus on the development of services, tools, and programs to support faculty, staff, and students’ efforts to model data and produce 3D data visualizations. The incumbent also will collaborate with units across the Libraries in applying data analytics and data visualization tools for Libraries projects, services, and resources.

https://tinyurl.com/4s2szn9e

Knowledge Exchange Report: "Alternative Publishing Platforms. What Have We Learnt?"

From our sample, no pattern emerged of any discipline appearing to be more innovative than any others, and indeed most alternative platforms seemed to be open to use by all fields.

Most platforms within this survey were replacing the function of existing publishers in publishing research articles, books and conference proceedings. There was some innovation around peer review. Considering both of these aspects, only a small group of fewer than 10 of the 45 platforms should probably be described as truly exploring "alternative ways" of doing things.

Only 11 of the platforms said that they solely concentrated on the methodological quality of the work, 2 solely on the impact of the work. Most said it was up to the editors to decide on criteria for assessment — the platforms themselves were agnostic. This is an area where further work might help elucidate the philosophies of different platforms when it comes to research assessment.

https://tinyurl.com/59eknvy6

Electronic Resources Acquisitions Librarian at Columbia University

Reporting to the Assistant Director of Collection Strategies, the E-Resources Acquisitions Librarian is responsible for acquiring and integrating electronic resources content for the Columbia University Libraries, with a focus on acquiring ebooks (firm orders, approval plans, and frontlists), databases, datasets, and media. This position works collaboratively with the Collection Strategies unit and staff in all areas of the library in the purchase and implementation of purchased electronic resource content.

https://apply.interfolio.com/132395

"DSpace 7 Benefits: Is It Worth Upgrading?"

With the release of DSpace version 7, a natural question that arises is whether the new version offers enough new functionalities to motivate system administrators to upgrade. This paper briefly describes the most important changes, including new features and bug fixes, included in DSpace 7.4 and prior minor versions. The next parts of this paper explore our estimate that there are several thousand DSpace-based systems globally that will likely have to be upgraded in the near future. The main reason for this need is that older versions of DSpace (including 5.x) have reached the end of their developer support period or are reaching it in mid-2023. Based on our own upgrade experience, we propose suggestions and recommendations on migrating from the previous DSpace 6.3-based environment to the new one in a case study that concludes this article.

https://tinyurl.com/32t7ac9m

Electronic Resources Discovery & Access Librarian at Columbia University

Reporting to the Assistant Director of Collection Strategies, the E-Resources Discovery & Access Librarian is responsible for the establishment and maintenance of stable and consistent online access, development of local workflows, and maintenance of effective discovery and retrieval of electronic resources. This position also ensures quality metadata of electronic resources through internal review and collaboration with staff in the collection Strategies unit, cataloging and acquisitions units, library information technology, selectors, and vendors. This position oversees electronic resource troubleshooting, focused on complex access problems.

https://apply.interfolio.com/132452

Digital Preservation Coalition: "Digital Preservation Documentation: A Guide"

This guide discusses the importance of documentation, who it is for, and highlights some of the features of good and bad documentation. It goes on to provide some tips on creating documentation, including some of the tools or platforms available. Review and update of documentation is discussed, as are requirements for long term preservation.

http://doi.org/10.7207/documentation-23

Digital Scholarship Coordinator at Illinois State University

The Digital Scholarship Coordinator is responsible for facilitating and supporting faculty and student digital research projects, ranging from short and long-term consultations (e.g., helping to identify appropriate methods, tools, and training resources) to more intensive, hands-on assistance with technology, project design, and project management. For faculty, they offer a range of teaching support, from providing one-shot instruction sessions to teaching multiple sessions and collaborating on curriculum design. Additionally, the Digital Scholarship Coordinator is responsible for managing the Digital Scholarship Lab and will heavily influence how the space is used and developed.

https://tinyurl.com/2p98eku7

"Penn State Leads Big Ten Academic Alliance Project on Open Homework Systems"

"Open Homework Systems: Planning and Piloting Library Support" involves a project team of librarians and staff from three Big Ten universities — Penn State, the University of Minnesota and Northwestern University — and consists of three phases over a two-year period. The first phase encompasses an environmental scan of homework systems used by member institutions as well as an investigation of possible homework systems available. Next, the core project team will identify three or four instructors at each institution to evaluate both OER and a homework system appropriate for their courses. Both instructors and their students will provide feedback through interviews, discussions, surveys, focus groups and other mechanisms.

https://tinyurl.com/3ds2y3m8

Digital Production Librarian at Boston College

Reporting to the Head of Digital Production Services, the Digital Production Librarian manages all daily aspects of digitization project administration and repository ingest for digital collections. The major responsibilities of this position include: digitization operations and output, documenting projects and processes, stakeholder communications, and supervising staff. Using their advanced project management skills and digital collections best practices knowledge, this professional works closely with team members and colleagues to ensure effective and efficient production and ingest of digital content. They supervise a full time Digital Imaging Assistant.

https://tinyurl.com/yc75kbev

"Promoting Open Access in Research-Performing Organizations: Spheres of Activity, Challenges, and Future Action Areas "

Open access (OA) has become a critical issue in science policy and affects a wide range of activities in universities and research labs. Research-performing organizations (RPOs), defined as publicly funded universities and research institutions, face significant challenges in shaping the OA transformation. This article examines the spheres of activity available to RPOs for shaping the OA transformation, using a categorization of 22 spheres of activity related to OA. These spheres of activity include strategy and communication, services and infrastructures, business relationships with publishers, and collaborations. Current challenges and future action areas in promoting OA are also described, providing support for RPOs in handling OA and highlighting key issues. The categorization can serve as a tool for systematically assessing OA activities at RPOs and shows that OA is a cross-cutting issue in these organizations. Collaboration on OA activities, both within and beyond organizations, presents a challenge. To effectively promote OA, it is crucial to strengthen the interaction between funding agencies and RPOs. Libraries are critical stakeholders, playing a vital role in advancing OA at the local, national, and international levels in partnership with RPO management and other partners in faculty, administration, and information technology.

https://tinyurl.com/s3xepnhh

Paywall: "The Effect of Virtual Reality on Knowledge Acquisition and Situational Interest Regarding Library Orientation in the Time of COVID-19"

This study examines the impact of using virtual reality for library orientation for first-year university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. . . . The results showed that virtual reality can increase situational interest in the sub-dimensions of "instant enjoyment," "novelty" and "challenge," but not knowledge acquisition in library orientation. In addition, the qualitative data analysis concludes that virtual reality is unsuitable for the main library orientation program for a large group but is suitable as a supporting tool for library orientation.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2023.102789

Digital Library Application Programmer at University of Florida

As a member of the Library Technology Services Department, Digital Development Unit, the Digital Library Application Programmer performs duties related to the creation and support of software applications for the UF Digital Collections and develops applications and services with an emphasis on the digital library system for patrons and internal needs. Under general direction of the unit head, works to design, develop, test, and deploy digital library applications including software to assist in internal digital workflow and operations. The Digital Library Application Programmer gathers requirements, develops applications, and provides support for digital services and applications.

https://tinyurl.com/3yfxnfj7

GIS Specialist and Software Administrator at Johns Hopkins University

We are seeking a Sr. Systems Administrator who will provide GIS consulting expertise as well as developing and administering geospatial data applications for academic and research use by Hopkins students, staff, and faculty. The position provides technical expertise and leadership in developing systems that support the teaching and research work at the university, leading the IT side of the provision of GIS services in the Data Services unit, administratively located in the Digital Infrastructure, Applications, and Services Directorate. Serves as the point of communication between service and technology.

https://tinyurl.com/4ubekfh6

"Collaborating to Support the Use and Development of Open Educational Resources: A White Rose Libraries Research Project"

Interest in open educational resources (OER) has grown recently due to many external factors, including the restrictive, unsustainable and expensive business models for teaching materials that are being used by some publishers. In February 2021, the libraries of the UK White Rose University Consortium (White Rose Libraries) initiated a research project to explore the potential of OER and to create guidance in the form of an OER toolkit that could be used across all three institutions, and more widely. The project also aimed to seek improvements in the discovery of OER in the Ex Libris Primo discovery service which is used by all three libraries. This article outlines the methodology used to ascertain the needs of the libraries’ user groups to inform the development of the toolkit. A survey of academic staff across all three institutions was conducted, followed by user experience interviews. The survey findings established that more than half of respondents knew little or nothing about OER, and over half also said that they would be likely or extremely likely to consider using or adapting OER, clearly demonstrating the need for more awareness raising and guidance. The survey interview findings were then used to develop and refine the toolkit.

https://doi.org/10.1629/uksg.622

National Open Research Coordinator at Digital Repository of Ireland

The National Open Research Coordinator will play a key role in the national higher education landscape in driving the implementation of Ireland’s Open Research policy agenda. The successful candidate will be tasked with critically assessing Ireland’s preparedness to support the various components of the European Open Science/Open Research landscape, and guiding the delivery of Ireland’s National Action Plan for Open Research, in the context of Impact 2030, Ireland’s Research and Innovation Strategy.

https://tinyurl.com/3jp9bcxy

"Data Management Plan Tools: Overview and Evaluation"

Data Management Plans (DMPs) are crucial for a structured research data management and often a mandatory part of research proposals. DMP tools support the development of DMPs. Among the variety of tools available, it can be difficult for researchers, data stewards and institutions to choose the one that is most appropriate for their specific needs and context. We evaluated 18 DMP tools according to 31 requirement parameters covering aspects relating to basic functions, technical aspects and user-friendliness. The highest total evaluation scores were reached by Data Stewardship Wizard (703.5), DMPTool (615.5) and RDMO NFDI4Ing (549.5). The tools evaluated satisfied between 10 % and 87 % of the requirement parameters. 11 tools cover at least half of the parameters. In terms of correlation among the tools, which indicates to which degree their scores in the different requirement parameters are alike, we found the highest correlation for ezDMP and GFBio DMPT. Regarding the relatedness between the tools, 85 % of the DMP tools were positively and 16 % negatively correlated. Accounting for the recent developments in the area of DMP tools, this study provides an up-to-date evaluation that can support tool developers in identifying potential improvements, and hosting institutions to select a tool suited to their specific needs.

https://tinyurl.com/yewhv8rn

Open Repositories Manager at University of Strathclyde

The University of Strathclyde has a commitment to boldness and innovation as part of its core institutional values, and we believe that our engagement with open research and repository development is a significant example of this. In furtherance of these values the Information Services Directorate of the University is seeking to appoint an Open Repositories Manager to join our Scholarly Publications & Research Data (SP&RD) team. Based in the Andersonian Library, the successful candidate will manage all technical and service delivery aspects relating to the Strathprints repository, an EPrints platform, and contribute to adjacent Strathclyde repository and open publishing initiatives. This role is critical in supporting the discovery and impact of Strathclyde research, funder open access mandates, and fulfilling requirements of the Research Excellence Framework (REF).

https://tinyurl.com/2jhm8wce

"From ChatGPT to CatGPT: The Implications of Artificial Intelligence on Library Cataloging "

This paper explores the potential of language models such as ChatGPT to transform library cataloging. Through experiments with ChatGPT, the author demonstrates its ability to generate accurate MARC records using RDA and other standards such as the Dublin Core Metadata Element Set. These results demonstrate the potential of ChatGPT as a tool for streamlining the record creation process and improving efficiency in library settings. The use of AI-generated records, however, also raises important questions related to intellectual property rights and bias. The paper reviews recent studies on AI in libraries and concludes that further research and development of this innovative technology is necessary to ensure its responsible implementation in the field of library cataloging.

https://tinyurl.com/fd8xjmnt

Director, Metadata and Digital Platforms, Baker Library at Harvard University

Reporting to the Executive Director of Baker Library, we are seeking a forward-thinking leader with an adventuresome spirit to lead a talented team of metadata and technologists. We are seeking a bold leader who can bring the library to the next level and continue our tradition of leading in digital innovations to meet the demands of our faculty, students, and the global community of scholars. The library is playing a pivotal role in the School’s initiatives around digital transformation, generative AI, technical architecture, and investments in life-long learning.

https://tinyurl.com/y9zkkkc2

Ithaka S+R: Print Revenue and Open Access Monographs: A University Press Study

Key Insights

OA titles can generate significant print revenue. While there may be some tradeoff between OA editions and print sales, publishers can produce print sales revenue from their OA lists. Publishers may wish to take such revenue into account in considering business models for OA publication today.

OA titles can generate meaningful digital revenue. When made available through consumer channels such as Kindle, ebooks that are available openly on other platforms can in parallel generate meaningful consumer sales. Publishers may benefit from giving focused consideration specific to OA monographs to their pricing and windowing tactics for such channels.

Outliers are essential. A small number of OA titles sell particularly well, just as is historically the case in traditional monograph sales models. Publishers bearing this in mind will be thinking in terms of the sustainability and growth of their lists overall rather than each title individually.

Titles with both hard and soft cover formats generate the most revenue. This may be the result of format choices publishers based on market forecasting, so from our data we cannot be sure that there is a causal relationship. Still, publishers may wish to give additional attention to their format strategy for OA books.

Sales vary widely by field. History, arts, and humanities saw lower unit sales while social sciences saw higher unit sales and STEM fields saw the greatest. Publishers may need to pursue different sustainability models for OA books based on their field.

An opportunity to increase print sales? There is currently significant friction for users in navigating from digital to print editions. Publishers and digital distribution platforms should work together to create a more seamless reader experience from digital discoverability of and engagement with the OA version to potential print sales.

https://doi.org/10.18665/sr.319642

Institutional Repository Librarian at Montclair State University

The Institutional Repository Librarian has primary responsibility for guiding the development of a successful system of tools to support and showcase Montclair scholarship and unique local collections. This position works in close collaboration with other library units to administer and develop the university’s Digital Commons presence (digitalcommons.montclair.edu) and integrations, including Research with Montclair/Research with NJ and PlumX Metrics. The Institutional Repository Librarian contributes to library research data support efforts.

https://tinyurl.com/72d22762

"You Do Not Receive Enough Recognition for Your Influential Science"

During career advancement and funding allocation decisions in biomedicine, reviewers have traditionally depended on journal-level measures of scientific influence like the impact factor. Prestigious journals are thought to pursue a reputation of exclusivity by rejecting large quantities of papers, many of which may be meritorious. It is possible that this process could create a system whereby some influential articles are prospectively identified and recognized by journal brands but most influential articles are overlooked. Here, we measure the degree to which journal prestige hierarchies capture or overlook influential science. We quantify the fraction of scientists’ articles that would receive recognition because (a) they are published in journals above a chosen impact factor threshold, or (b) are at least as well-cited as articles appearing in such journals. We find that the number of papers cited at least as well as those appearing in high-impact factor journals vastly exceeds the number of papers published in such venues. At the investigator level, this phenomenon extends across gender, racial, and career stage groupings of scientists. We also find that approximately half of researchers never publish in a venue with an impact factor above 15, which under journal-level evaluation regimes may exclude them from consideration for opportunities. Many of these researchers publish equally influential work, however, raising the possibility that the traditionally chosen journal-level measures that are routinely considered under decision-making norms, policy, or law, may recognize as little as 10-20% of the work that warrants recognition.

https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.09.07.556750

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