December 2024 – DigitalKoans

Library Systems Administrator at University of Rhode Island Libraries

Lead the development and management of library systems and applications, focusing on user-centered services and sustainable information ecosystems. Oversee system configurations, programming, and technology stacks across various platforms. Collaborate with stakeholders to analyze requirements, solve issues, and guide projects to successful completion. Supervise staff and student employees while engaging with the university community to support evolving research library roles.

https://tinyurl.com/2r379x7x

"Intelligent Summaries: Will Artificial Intelligence Mark the Finale for Biomedical Literature Reviews?"

Manuscripts that only flatly summarize knowledge in a field could become superfluous, as AI-powered systems will become better and better at generating more comprehensive and updated summaries automatically. Furthermore, the use of A.I. technologies in data analysis and synthesis will greatly reduce human tasks, enabling more efficient and timely production of preliminary findings. What kind of reviews will still find room in an academic journal? It is reasonable to believe that reviews that provide critical analysis, unique interpretations of existing literature, which connect different areas, shed novel light on available data, that are aware of their human partiality, will continue to be valuable in academic journals.

https://doi.org/10.1002/leap.1648

Digital Initiatives Program Manager and SUNY Library Services Support Specialist

Empire State University, Office of Library and Information Services (OLIS), seeks an innovative professional to lead and manage SUNY-wide transformative digital initiatives to support our libraries. The Digital Initiatives Program Manager and Support Specialist will develop and leverage digital technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) tools, to improve library services and the user experience. This position will be instrumental in developing and advancing our strategic vision and direction for the services OLIS provides to our SUNY libraries and the tools we need to help our libraries succeed.

https://tinyurl.com/4bsjy9pd

"How ChatGPT Search (Mis)represents Publisher Content"

In total, we pulled two hundred quotes from twenty publications and asked ChatGPT to identify the sources of each quote. We observed a spectrum of accuracy in the responses: some answers were entirely correct (i.e., accurately returned the publisher, date, and URL of the block quote we shared), many were entirely wrong, and some fell somewhere in between. . . .

In total, ChatGPT returned partially or entirely incorrect responses on a hundred and fifty-three occasions, though it only acknowledged an inability to accurately respond to a query seven times. . . .

Our tests found that no publisher—regardless of degree of affiliation with OpenAI—was spared inaccurate representations of its content in ChatGPT.

https://tinyurl.com/3z9dxttv

Data Access Librarian at Johns Hopkins University

We are seeking a Data Access Librarian who will be responsible for the selection, discovery, and access of institutional, open-access, community, and purchased datasets serving Johns Hopkins researchers, faculty, students, and staff. As a member of the Digital Scholarship & Data Services team, the data access librarian promotes data literacy and the discovery and use of relevant datasets through providing individual consultations and developing and delivering workshops, training programs, and research guides. The data access librarian supports and collaborates with colleagues in data services, Academic Liaisons, Hopkins researchers and faculty, the larger academic data librarian and data services community, and especially the new Data Science and AI Institute at Johns Hopkins University.

https://tinyurl.com/2evt8szt

"PLOS Receives $3.3M Grant to Support Open Access Publishing & Business Model Transformation"

PLOS has been awarded a $3.3million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, underscoring its commitment to pioneer a shift away from traditional publishing models. The 3-year funding package from the Gates Foundation will support PLOS’ transition towards APC-free publishing by enabling authors, funded by the foundation, to publish with PLOS without facing APC barriers, and to contribute to open access publishing options for authors who do not have access to funding. This 3-year grant offers support while PLOS is actively working on new publishing models grounded in open science starting with an ongoing research & design project.

The grant will also support improvements to enhance the capture and dissemination of funding metadata and to experiment with the posting of peer reviews alongside preprints during the evaluation process, promoting greater transparency in scholarly communication.

https://tinyurl.com/3a79595s

Data Services Librarian at Texas A&M University

In this role you will curate research data from Texas A&M University, ensuring compliance with university, funding agency, and government requirements. You will provide expert guidance on data curation, management, and preservation, collaborate with faculty and students on research projects, and develop innovative data services to enhance our academic community. This includes cataloging data, assisting with data management plans, applying funding agency and governmental requirements, coordinating with departments to meet data needs, enhancing data quality, and ensuring compliance with privacy and security requirements. Additionally, you will ensure data quality, integrity, and security, maintain standards and protocols for data management, and provide training and support on data planning and best practices.

https://tinyurl.com/mrx4ckzj

Digital Projects Archivist at Northeastern University

Reporting to the Director of the Humanities Center, Boston, and working closely with colleagues in the Digital Scholarship Group, the NULab, NU’s Archives and Special Collections, and the Centers for Digital Scholarship, the Digital Projects Archivist will work across the digital archives projects affiliated with the Humanities Center to develop shared resources and approaches, such as metadata standards and best practices, project documentation, ethics guidelines, community partnership workflows, digitization plans, preservation and sustainability plans, and lab structures. This position will work across and within these digital archives, implementing the shared strategies as possible and facilitating increased collaborations and shared approaches. Some of the Digital Projects Archivist’s work will also be allocated to grant-funded projects. The Digital Projects Archivist will also advise Northeastern faculty who are considering creating digital archives.

https://tinyurl.com/4edmtrc6

Paywall: "Preserving Digital Humanities Projects Using Principles of Digital Longevity"

This chapter reports on a large, global survey undertaken by the Endings Project and introduces the “Endings compliance” toolbox, guiding librarians and archivists in assisting DH scholars to frame their work for cost-effective preservation. The chapter argues that collaboration among technologists, scholars, librarians, and archivists throughout the project lifecycle is essential to address longevity challenges in DH work, particularly for preserving complex web applications. Clear indicators of project completion are necessary, along with contingency plans for potential disruptions. Libraries and archives can avoid the pitfalls of complex software stacks through such collaboration, and by adhering to known preservation principles.

https://tinyurl.com/rta7scyd

"Publishers are Selling Papers to Train AIs — and Making Millions of Dollars"

[Roger] Schonfeld [VP of Ithaka S+R] and his colleagues launched the Generative AI Licensing Agreement Tracker in October. It includes information about licensing deals — confirmed and forthcoming — between technology companies and six major academic publishers, including Wiley, Sage and Taylor & Francis. Schonfeld says that the list documents only public agreements, and that there are probably several others that remain undisclosed. . . .

Some scholars have been apprehensive about deals being made without their knowledge on content they produced. To address this issue, a few publishers have taken steps to involve authors in the process.

https://tinyurl.com/56zwe54p

Metadata Manager [ICPSR] LEO-GLAM at University of Michigan

The Senior Associate Librarian joins ICPSR’s Metadata and Preservation unit to manage and oversee the ICPSR metadata catalog. You will play a key role in shaping the digital library catalog’s metadata records, ensuring high standards of metadata quality, discoverability, interoperability, and re-use. Working with teams across ICPSR, you will develop cataloging and metadata policies, review and update metadata with an eye to quality, optimize metadata workflows, and support discoverability, interoperability, and access to ICPSR’s extensive data collections. You will work collaboratively with the Senior Associate Librarian managing standards enhancement; you will report directly to the Unit Director.

https://tinyurl.com/4vywzbee

India: "One Nation One Subscription: Boon and Bane?"

A single-window purchasing entity, INFLIBNET, has been tasked with negotiating with the top 30 publishers out of a pool of 70+ originally identified publishers. The balance 40+ are expected to be closed in due course. . .

In Phase1, approximately 6,300 institutions and 18 million students will gain access to all the resources of the 30 publishers, at no cost. . . .

There is a budgetary allocation of around US$ 750 million for three years.

https://tinyurl.com/376k2dsa

See also: “Can ONOS Transform Indian Research?“

Vice Provost and Director of the University of Texas Libraries at The University of Texas at Austin

The University of Texas Libraries, with nine campus locations, is one of the greatest libraries worldwide. A member of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), UT Libraries’ collections are the 14th largest among ARL institutions, with more than 24 million total library materials, including physical volumes, electronic resources, and other items, and the UT Libraries have been ranked 14th in the ARL Library Investment Index. UT Libraries’ excellence reflects 140 years of dedication by librarians, staff, faculty, students, and donors to build a top academic research library by assembling distinctive and comprehensive collections, offering exceptional services, and creating dynamic spaces to support and inspire students and scholars.

The next Vice Provost and Director will join UT at a time when the University aspires to become the world’s highest-impact public research university. The University’s strategic plan aims to make UT the best place to learn, grow, and work; prioritize community impact through partnerships; and change the world through transformative learning, research, and experiences for students, faculty, and staff. UT Libraries is a critical contributor to and driver for the success of this plan. Working with colleagues across the University and within UT Libraries, the next VP and Director will extend the extraordinary record of the UT Libraries, championing and advancing the work of the organization and UT writ large.

https://tinyurl.com/4sft4v5x

"Cancelling the ‘Big Deal’ at a Public University: A Discussion of STEM Faculty Perceptions of Cancellation and Post-Cancellation Usage Data "

This article discusses how faculty, staff, and students at the University at Buffalo (UB), a public Carnegie R1 university, were impacted by the cancellation of the Elsevier ScienceDirect Big Deal package. After the cancellation, UB participated in a multi-site study which included interviewing faculty about the effect of the cancellation on their research and teaching. In general, the faculty were supportive of the cancellation. There was frustration expressed with the current structure of the publishing industry, particularly with the exorbitant pricing of journal subscriptions. Later analysis of usage data at UB post-cancellation was conducted; unsurprisingly, the data showed a decrease in usage on the ScienceDirect platform and increase in requests for unavailable articles. Although the cancellation of the ScienceDirect Big Deal package had a direct impact on UB, the initial outcome was not exceedingly harmful and could be addressed through mitigating measures such as the quick fulfilment of requests for unavailable articles.

https://tinyurl.com/4duy8k8f

Artificial Intelligence + Books Collaborative Research Services Coordinator at Northeastern University

Authors Alliance and Northeastern University Library are partnering on a grant funded project to develop a plan for a public-interest book training commons for artificial intelligence. The Project Coordinator, a full-time 12-month position situated at the Centers for Digital Scholarship at the Northeastern University Library, will manage the overall timeline, deliverables, and network of contacts and stakeholders throughout the course of the grant. Responsibilities include handling basic AI research as requested by the project team and stakeholders and maintaining project website and publishing project updates. The Project Coordinator will also manage the project calendar, setting up regular project staff meetings and Project Advisory Board meetings; help plan, organize and run two workshops on both a remote and local level

https://tinyurl.com/2m9xf6xw

“Developing a Public-Interest Training Commons of Books“

"Early Electronic Journals: A Preservation Survey"

In 1994, the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) published a print directory containing information on every electronic journal that could be identified, anywhere in the world. Thirty years later, this study surveys the current availability and preservation status of those 443 journals. While a significant number of these journals are no longer available, the results indicate that independent preservation efforts by individuals and small groups were a major factor in preserving many of the remaining publications.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2024.102989

Dean of Libraries and University Librarian at University of Virginia

Reporting to the Executive Vice President and Provost, Ian Baucom, the Dean of Libraries will direct a library system known internationally for historically significant collections in many disciplines, and including the notable Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library. The Dean will supervise the deployment of digital resources, specialized laboratories and service centers that support research, scholarship, and online publications. They will oversee the strategic development and implementation of policies, programs, and services that enhance the academic and research endeavors of the University community. The Dean of Libraries sits on the Dean’s Council with the deans of the University’s 12 Schools. The Dean is also responsible for the success of Library Advancement and represents the Library serving as a strategic leader in state, regional, and national library leadership discussions. The Dean of Libraries oversees seven library locations and a staff of approximately 225, as well as collections that include more than 5 million print books, 2.9 million E-books, hundreds of thousands of journal subscriptions, and substanial holdings in many other formats. The Dean leads a senior leadership team of dedicated professionals and directs the allocation of a budget of more than $40M.

https://executivesearch.virginia.edu/dean-of-libraries

"Internet Archive Copyright Case Ends without Supreme Court Review "

After more than four years of litigation, a closely watched copyright case over the Internet Archive’s scanning and lending of library books is finally over after Internet Archive officials decided against exercising their last option, an appeal to the Supreme Court. The deadline to file an appeal was December 3.

https://tinyurl.com/6j4ukfmp