October 2023 – Page 2

"Open Science 2.0: Towards a Truly Collaborative Research Ecosystem"

This Essay reviews achievements in open science over the past few decades and outlines a vision for Open Science 2.0, a research environment where the entire scientific process from idea generation to data analysis is openly available. Where researchers seamlessly interact to build on the work of others, and where the research infrastructure and cultural norms have evolved to foster efficient and widespread collaboration. We use this term not simply to suggest a large step forward but to invoke transformational change in the capacity and purpose of a system, as was observed with the Web 2.0.

Realizing this vision requires that we challenge traditional research norms and embrace a collaborative spirit to iteratively improve our research practices and infrastructures. In this sense, we end this Essay with recommendations for how funders, institutions, publishers, regulators, and other stakeholders can foster a research environment that cultivates openness, rigor, and collaboration. We argue for concerted and persistent efforts, supported by sustained public funding mechanisms, that treat open science as a milepost toward a more effective research ecosystem. But first things first: What do we mean by "open science"?

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002362

Technology Development Librarian at University of Alabama

The University of Alabama Libraries seeks an innovative and entrepreneurial librarian to work in a collaborative research-focused environment. Reporting to the Director of Library Technology, this position is responsible for providing technical project leadership within the unit. This position assists in planning and managing application development and will supervise and train staff and student programmers. The position will also be responsible for working with University Libraries faculty on curriculum and pedagogical enhancements that support the Library Instruction and Data Services Programs. They will also work to train librarians on new technologies and will participate actively in faculty affairs.

https://tinyurl.com/53z4uy36

"An Open Book: Launching a Library-Based Open Access Books Hosting Service"

Edinburgh University Library launched a journal hosting service in 2009, initially to support two journals. The service has since grown into a portfolio of 19 journals and a handful of conference proceedings. The purpose of this case study is to review the 2021 launch of our book hosting service and our service rebrand to Edinburgh Diamond, looking at the reasons for launching, the timeline and challenges, and offering recommendations for those wishing to launch their own service.

https://doi.org/10.53377/lq.13745

Electronic Resources and Licensing Librarian at University of California, San Diego

Reporting to the Program Director for CARS, the Electronic Resources and Licensing Librarian (ERLL) plays an essential role in acquiring digital content for UC San Diego constituents. The ERLL is responsible for negotiating access to electronic resources and serves as the primary contact for electronic resource vendors and content providers. The ERLL reviews and negotiates licenses for UCSD electronic resources and manages the acquisition, activation, and troubleshooting of all purchased and subscribed electronic resources for the Library. Collaborates and works closely with the electronic resources and Acquisitions Division team members. Coordinates the gathering and analyzing of electronic resource usage and other related assessment data.

https://apol-recruit.ucsd.edu/JPF03819

"Researchers Express Growing Enthusiasm About Open Access, New Wiley Survey Reports"

Open access is quickly becoming the preferred publishing choice among researchers, according to new research from Wiley. 75% of respondents who have published research articles in the past three years have published open access, up from 44% just two years ago.

The survey of more than 600 scholars around the globe revealed the following insights:

Growing enthusiasm for open access. In addition to the increase in authors publishing open access, 75% of respondents agree that transformative agreements (TAs) are the right solution at this time to make research findings more openly available.

At least half of researchers engage in open research practices such as open data, open peer review and self-archiving. This demonstrates that researchers are embracing all the practices that will lead to a fully open research landscape, and are not limiting their activities to open access publishing.

Researchers who are publishing open access are motivated more by the benefits than by requirements. Respondents chose "visibility and impact" (65%) and "public benefit" (54%), followed by “transparency and reuse” (33%), when asked why they engage in open access publishing, significantly more often than journal requirements (25%) and institutional requirements (22%).

Lack of funding presents the most prominent roadblock for publishing open access. The top barrier, reported by 58% of respondents, is no or limited funds available to pay fees for open access publishing. 77% of respondents said they were likely to very likely to publish open access if their APCs were paid by their funder or institution. In addition, more than half of authors who publish open access are not clear on the license requirements from their funder (51%) or institution (55%).

https://tinyurl.com/bdetnz7y

Head of Digital Scholarship and Research Data Services at North Carolina A&T State University

Reporting to the Assistant Dean of Library Services, this position will bring a deep understanding of the major strategies, opportunities, challenges and trends facing academic research libraries today in the areas of open publishing, data and digital scholarship, the preservation and curation of digital assets, and the enhancement of research, teaching and learning through digital services and throughout the research lifecycle.

https://jobs.ncat.edu/postings/30652

Paywall: "The New Information Retrieval Problem: Data Availability"

In this paper, we discuss a method for exploring and locating datasets made available by scientists from federally funded projects in the US. The data pathways method was tested on federal awards. Here we describe the method and the results from analyzing fifty federal awards granted by the National Science Foundation to pursue data resources and their availability in publications, data repositories, or institutional repositories. The data pathways approach contributes to the development of a practical approach on availability that captures the current ways in which data are accessible from federally funded science projects –ranging from institutional repositories, journal data deposit, PI and project web pages, and science data platforms, among other found possibilities

https://doi.org/10.1002/pra2.796

Head of Systems at Stanford University

Under the general direction of the Assistant Director, the Head of Systems is responsible for building and sustaining the technological infrastructure and team needed to ensure the [Hoover Institution] Library & Archives can collect and provide access to the significant digital collections that align with our institutional mission. Leading a dynamic team, the Head of Systems sets the vision and direction, manages resources, and collaborates with stakeholders to implement innovative strategies for ingesting, managing, and preserving digital content.

https://tinyurl.com/5n76mxw6

Paywall: "’Garbage Bags Full of Files: Exploring Sociotechnical Perceptions of Formats within the Recovery and Reuse of Scientific Data"

This paper explores the social and technical perceptions of physical and digital formats as they relate to work in the recovery and reuse of scientific data, specifically historical, archival, and defunct data sources. . . . Based on 23 qualitative interviews with practitioners conducting data recovery and reuse, ranging from marine biologists to data librarians, we study how they understand, engage with, and utilize formats within their data curation work. . . . The paper focuses on practitioner perceptions of formats around the following themes: how practitioners’ historical relationships to certain challenging formats inform their ongoing curation practices; the importance of contexts in prioritizing or ignoring formats within scientific curation work; and how formats reveal larger sociotechnical issues.

https://doi.org/10.1002/pra2.798

Data Scientist & Visualization Specialist at James Madison University

James Madison University Libraries is accepting applications for a Data Scientist & Visualization Specialist. As a member of the Data Analytics Team in Libraries’ Administration, this position advances the University and the Libraries’ commitment to diversity and to student, faculty, and staff success by providing computationally sophisticated analyses and visualizations of the Libraries’ scholarly resource and academic technology data to support initiatives and decision-making within the organization, the university, and the state. In addition, the Libraries is a member of the Virtual Library of Virginia (VIVA), Virginia’s academic library consortium, and the Virginia Research Libraries, both of which regularly engage in data analysis projects requiring support from the Data Analytics Team.

https://joblink.jmu.edu/postings/15788

Paywall: "Digital Ownership: The Case of E-books"

This paper presents the results of an empirical research study that used an online survey to examine e-book consumers’ perspectives on digital ownership and digital rights. The study revealed that while most participants value and desire ownership rights, certain conventional ownership rights, such as reselling, gifting, and lending, are deemed less significant and can be relinquished by consumers due to cost-related factors. Furthermore, contrary to prevailing assumptions, the study found no discernible generational gap concerning people’s perceptions of digital ownership rights.

https://doi.org/10.1002/pra2.807

DevOps Engineer at HathiTrust

We are looking for an engineer to help improve our automated workflows for developing, testing, deploying, and monitoring our applications. You will work as part of our developer team to build infrastructure for a broad array of applications. You will report to the HathiTrust Enterprise Technology Team Lead. Much of our code is publicly available on GitHub.

https://tinyurl.com/3kmxnt32

"Conceptualizing Slow Curation"

The pressure to do things quickly is a constant in our professional lives as data curators. But what if we slowed down our work? Taking inspiration from the Slow Movement and its various sub-genres, we propose the idea of Slow Curation, specifically for the application of curating research data. Data curation is the process of reviewing datasets to prepare them for sharing, use, and reuse. We have identified areas where Slow can be embraced in the Data Curation Network’s CURATE(D) model. We also advocate for a few ways, outside of curation, where data curators can collaboratively advocate for Slowing down our work for the better. Join us as we practice radical self-care and advocate for our communities by embracing Slow and easing our way out of Busy culture.

https://doi.org/10.7191/jeslib.740

Head of Open Scholarship at University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Leads and directs the strategic planning, project management, daily operations, and priorities in the Open Scholarship (OS) area and coordinates work with units in the Library and across the University.

Builds advocacy and awareness for OS programs and services by developing and maintaining a marketing/outreach plan to the campus community.

Creates and coordinates teams with an emphasis on collaboration and communication among key stakeholders.

Researches, guides, and creates grant applications to fund the department’s initiatives.

Develops and monitors workflows and processes for the enhancement of digital assets as a part of the research and publication life cycle. Provides oversight for a variety of open scholarship programs, including copyright education and outreach for faculty, and coordinates services with the Research Division for grant requirements related to federal Public Access Policies, among other programs.

Maintains awareness of scholarly and publishing trends in the higher education ecosystem, including contract negotiation changes with publishers and data brokers that do business with libraries.

Develops and monitors workflows and processes for the enhancement of digital assets as a part of the research and publication life cycle.

https://careers.utrgv.edu/postings/40589

"Preprint Review Services: Disrupting the Scholarly Communication Landscape?"

The most important tension that we identified relates to anonymisation of reviewers and authors. In line with the ideas of the Democracy & Transparency school, preprint review services promote more open forms of peer review in which authors and reviewers participate on a more equal basis. However, from the perspective of the Equity & Inclusion school, this raises concerns. To make peer review processes more equitable and inclusiv e, this school emphasises the importance of enabling anonymisation of reviewers and possibly also authors, which is in tension with the focus on openness and transparency of preprint review services.

https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/8c6xm

Project Manager for Digital Repository Technology at University of Michigan

As the Project Manager for Digital Repository Technology, you will facilitate and coordinate planning of digital repository systems to be shared by multiple services. You will also be responsible for project management and coordinating and executing implementation strategies. You will engage with experts in the organization to complement your own background in digital repository technologies and digital preservation. Project completion and partner satisfaction will be important, providing a unique opportunity to collaborate on the development of digital repository systems that meet the library’s digital preservation and access goals.

https://tinyurl.com/yv4z3rcu

"Wiley and German DEAL Consortium to Sign New 5-Year Agreement "

Wiley (NYSE: WLY) today announced its intent to enter a new five-year agreement with the DEAL Consortium, a countrywide consortium representative of more than 1,000 academic institutions in Germany, commencing January 2024. Wiley and DEAL are creating a blueprint for the next phase of open access publishing to better meet the evolving needs of the scholarly community.

Wiley and DEAL will build on the unprecedented success achieved in their first five years of partnership, which has resulted in:

Nearly 100% of eligible hybrid DEAL articles published open access across Wiley’s portfolio.

90% of Wiley’s article output from Germany published open access. Increased usage of research content in Germany by 83%, resulting in nearly 20 million full text downloads in 2022 alone.

Rapid growth in usage of German-authored content globally, especially in low-income countries.

https://tinyurl.com/3f8rvzd7

Paywall: "The Open Access Movement and its March in Africa"

While the goal of the OA movement remains good, it appears the epistemic disbalance in global knowledge creation and access has not abated. However, the promise of OA, the motivation on which it stands, its consequence and current state are reviewed in this paper with particular focus on the contribution of Africa to the global OA movement. It has been reported that the emergence of OA on the continent is albeit slow but with a mixed fortune of both progress and challenges. Notwithstanding, open access is seen as a development imperative for Africa that offers tremendous opportunities to the continent to actively contribute to global knowledge. It was reported that a number of universities and research institutions in Africa have adopted open access policies that require their researchers to publish their work in open access journals or repositories. The paper presented a number of open access initiatives and platforms that are actively being deployed to achieve OA mandate in the continent and concluded with recommendations.

https://tinyurl.com/f7zhss6m

Web Application Developer at Michigan State University

This position will support and create applications using languages such as Python and PHP, and the successful applicant will be encouraged and well supported to learn new programming languages and frameworks as needs arise. Work may also include installing, managing, configuring, and developing plugins for open-source software, and making contributions to open-source projects.

https://tinyurl.com/2mdeva8k

"OER Discovery: Ensuring that OER Rise to the Top"

This paper discusses the challenges of ensuring discoverability of Open Educational Resources (OER) in the absence of clear standards for sharing them. Despite the efforts of librarians and instructors to create a wealth of OER, discoverability remains limited and often relegated to a list of links on a LibGuide. The authors address this challenge by highlighting technical and descriptive barriers to OER discoverability. The authors then describe the development of a hybrid metadata standard for OER and its deployment through the institutional repository. Although provisional, this approach ensures that OER records can be adapted to future metadata standards and exported to third-party repositories. This paper underscores the importance of developing an effective metadata standard for OER to ensure their discoverability for learners and educators.

https://doi.org/10.13001/joerhe.v2i1.7879

Metadata Projects Librarian at University of Rochester

The Metadata Projects Librarian leads the development of creative, sustainable, and interoperable metadata solutions in support of the preservation, discovery, and access of RCL’s rich and unique collections, which includes historical manuscripts, born-digital and digitized archival collections, digital projects, and digital exhibits. Under the direction of the Director, they are responsible for creating, enhancing, and adjusting metadata in a variety of online environments and within a variety of metadata workflows.

https://tinyurl.com/49mnhzpe

"Implementation of a Federated Information System by Means of Reuse of Research Data Archived in Research Data Repositories"

At universities, research data is increasingly stored in research data repositories according to a data management plan (DMP) and thus made available for further use. The challenge of reusing hundreds, thousands, or millions of data sets is to obtain an overview of the data in a short period of time and to search through all the data. The high variability of the formats used to store research data requires a new approach to data reusability that focuses on the visualisation and searchability of archived research data, which can also be combined with each other. In this article, we present a practical DMP that describes how information systems can be created on demand by reusing research data archived in research data repositories and how these systems can be merged into a federated information system. As a result, in our projects, information systems have been created in minutes or a couple of hours with few resources. The initial effort to create a federated system remains; however, this allows federated searches to be performed. Extending a federated system to include other information systems can then be accomplished by making a few configurations and manageable adjustments to the source code.

https://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2023-039

Open Scholarship Librarian at Portland State University

The Open Scholarship Librarian provides oversight, strategic planning, advocacy, outreach, and project management for the Library’s open educational resources (OERs) including developing strategic partnerships with campus stakeholders, assisting in compliance with legislative mandates, promoting and advocating for open access policies, participating in OER-related university initiatives and collaborating on OER projects with other academic institutions and consortiums. This position also creates and implements OER-related instructional resources, including webpages, tutorials, and workshops on open and affordable course content. In addition, the Open Scholarship Librarian leads, manages, and participates in projects related to PDXScholar, the Library’s digital repository, including establishing policies and best practices and building awareness participation, and support for its collections and services.

https://jobs.hrc.pdx.edu/postings/43076

"A Bibliometric Study of Open Educational Resources, Open Textbooks, and Academic Librarianship: Assessing Trends and Scholarly Productivity in Library and Information Science"

Open Educational Resources (OER) play a key role in reducing the financial burden and increasing the accessibility of learning for students in higher education. OER can be considered an important field of research for academic librarians and supports the democratic mission of academic libraries. This study aimed to track the publication of scholarly literature about OER and higher education from 2002 to 2022 using a bibliometric research methodology. In addition, this research sought to assess the productivity of Library and Information Science (LIS) scholarship on this topic and investigate research trends, like open textbooks. Web of Science (WOS) was searched for publications and the search results were mapped to determine publication productivity, core authors, core journals, and research topics in the scholarly literature about OER and higher education. Research on OER has been steadily increasing since 2002, and this study indicates that research has increased significantly on the topic in the last six years. The data in this study support that most productivity in research on this topic is in the field of Education, but also found a presence of scholarship on the topic in the field of LIS.

https://doi.org/10.13001/joerhe.v2i1.7877

Digital Resources Manager at Longwood Gardens

As one of the great gardens of the world located just 30 miles outside of Philadelphia, Longwood Gardens is rooted in a steadfast mission of excellence in horticulture, education, and the arts. . . .

Longwood Gardens is seeking a full time Digital Resource Manager to join our Library and Information Services Division. This individual develops the image collection, documents, and communicates strategies for metadata and authority control.

https://tinyurl.com/mr3k4s8c