Digital Curation Resource Guide

Digital Scholarship has released the Digital Curation Resource Guide.

This resource guide presents over 200 selected English-language websites and documents that are useful in understanding and conducting digital curation. It covers academic programs, discussion lists and groups, glossaries, file formats and guidelines, metadata standards and vocabularies, models, organizations, policies, research data management, serials and blogs, services and vendor software, software and tools, and training. It is available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.

The Digital Curation Resource Guide complements the Digital Curation Bibliography: Preservation and Stewardship of Scholarly Works, which was released in June.

It is also available as an EPUB file (see How to Read EPUB Files).

The Future of Big Data

The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project has released The Future of Big Data.

Here's an excerpt:

Imagine where we might be in 2020. The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project and Elon University's Imagining the Internet Center asked digital stakeholders to weigh two scenarios for 2020, select the one most likely to evolve, and elaborate on the choice. One sketched out a relatively positive future where Big Data are drawn together in ways that will improve social, political, and economic intelligence. The other expressed the view that Big Data could cause more problems than it solves between now and 2020.

Respondents to our query rendered a decidedly split verdict.

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

The Journal of Heredity Joins Growing Number of Journals Mandating Data Archiving

The American Genetic Association has mandated the Joint Data Archiving Policy for the Journal of Heredity. The Joint Data Archiving Policy (JDAP) page lists other journals that mandate data archiving.

| Digital Curation and Preservation Bibliography 2010 | Digital Scholarship |

Managing Research Data in Big Science

Norman Gray, Tobia Carozzi, and Graham Woan have self-archived Managing Research Data in Big Science in arXiv.org.

Here's an excerpt:

The project which led to this report was funded by JISC in 2010-2011 as part of its 'Managing Research Data' programme, to examine the way in which Big Science data is managed, and produce any recommendations which may be appropriate. . . .

This project has explored these differences using as a case-study Gravitational Wave data generated by the LSC [LIGO Scientific Collaboration], and has produced recommendations intended to be useful variously to JISC, the funding council (STFC) and the LSC community.

In Sect. 1 we define what we mean by 'big science', describe the overall data culture there, laying stress on how it necessarily or contingently differs from other disciplines.

In Sect. 2 we discuss the benefits of a formal data-preservation strategy, and the cases for open data and for well-preserved data that follow from that. . . .

In Sect. 3 we briefly discuss the LIGO data management plan, and pull together whatever information is available on the estimation of digital preservation costs.

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

After UK’s RCUK Policy, European Commission Announces Another Major Open Access Policy

Yesterday DigitalKoans reported on the Research Councils UK's new open access policy. Today, the European Commission has announced another major open access policy.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

The European Commission today outlined measures to improve access to scientific information produced in Europe. Broader and more rapid access to scientific papers and data will make it easier for researchers and businesses to build on the findings of public-funded research. This will boost Europe's innovation capacity and give citizens quicker access to the benefits of scientific discoveries. In this way, it will give Europe a better return on its €87 billion annual investment in R&D. The measures complement the Commission's Communication to achieve a European Research Area (ERA), also adopted today.

As a first step, the Commission will make open access to scientific publications a general principle of Horizon 2020, the EU's Research & Innovation funding programme for 2014-2020. As of 2014, all articles produced with funding from Horizon 2020 will have to be accessible:

  • articles will either immediately be made accessible online by the publisher ('Gold' open access)—up-front publication costs can be eligible for reimbursement by the European Commission; or
  • researchers will make their articles available through an open access repository no later than six months (12 months for articles in the fields of social sciences and humanities) after publication ('Green' open access).

The Commission has also recommended that Member States take a similar approach to the results of research funded under their own domestic programmes. The goal is for 60% of European publicly-funded research articles to be available under open access by 2016.

The Commission will also start experimenting with open access to the data collected during publicly funded research (e.g. the numerical results of experiments), taking into account legitimate concerns related to the fundee's commercial interests or to privacy.

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

"Government Response to the Finch Group Report: ‘Accessibility, Sustainability, Excellence: How to Expand Access to Research Publications’"

David Willetts, the UK Minister for Science and Universities, has issued "Government Response to the Finch Group Report: 'Accessibility, Sustainability, Excellence: How to Expand Access to Research Publications'."

Here's an excerpt:

The Government has listened carefully to what publishers, learned societies and the Finch Group collectively have had to say on this issue. We prefer the 'gold' over the 'green' model, especially where the research is taxpayer funded so the Government agrees with the sentiment expressed in the Finch Report. Embargo periods allowed by funding bodies for publishers should be short where publishers have chosen not to take up the preferred option of their receiving an Article Processing Charge (which provides payment in full for immediate publication by the 'gold OA' route). Where APC funds are not available to the publisher or learned society, for the publication of publicly-funded research, then publishers could reasonably insist on a longer more equitable embargo period. This could be up to 12 months for science, technology and engineering publications and longer for publications in those disciplines which require more time to secure payback. Even so, publications with embargo periods longer than two years may find it difficult to argue that they are also serving the public interest.

| Open Access Bibliography: Liberating Scholarly Literature with E-Prints and Open Access Journals | Digital Scholarship |

Research Councils UK Adopts New Open Access Policy

The Research Councils UK has adopted a new open access policy.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

Research Councils UK (RCUK) has today, 16th July 2012, unveiled its new Open Access policy. Informed by the work of the National Working Group on Expanding Access to Published Research Findings, chaired by Professor Dame Janet Finch, the policy at once harmonises and makes significant changes to existing Research Councils' Open Access policies. . . .

The new policy, which will apply to all qualifying publications being submitted for publication from 1 April 2013, states that peer reviewed research papers which result from research that is wholly or partially funded by the Research Councils:

  • must be published in journals which are compliant with Research Council policy on Open Access, and;
  • must include details of the funding that supported the research, and a statement on how the underlying research materials such as data, samples or models can be accessed.

Criteria which journals must fulfill to be compliant with the Research Councils' Open Access policy are detailed within the policy, but include offering a 'pay to publish'; option or allowing deposit in a subject or institutional repository after a mandated maximum embargo period. In addition, the policy mandates use of 'CC-BY', the Creative Commons 'Attribution' license, when an APC is levied. The CC_BY licence allows others to modify, build upon and/or distribute the licensed work (including for commercial purposes) as long as the original author is credited.

The Research Councils will provide block grants to eligible UK Higher Education Institutions, approved independent research organisations and Research Council Institutes to support payment of the Article Processing Charges (APCs) associated with 'pay-to-publish'. In parallel, eligible organisations will be expected to set-up and manage their own publication funds. The Research Councils will work with eligible organisations to discuss the detail of the new approach to funding APCs and to ensure that appropriate and auditable mechanisms are put in place to manage the funds.

Along with HEFCE and other relevant Funding Bodies, we shall monitor these policies actively, both to review their effects and to ensure that our joint objectives on Open Access are being met.

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

"A Study of Faculty Data Curation Behaviors and Attitudes at a Teaching-Centered University"

Jeanine Marie Scaramozzino, Marisa L. Ramírez, and Karen J. McGaughey have published "A Study of Faculty Data Curation Behaviors and Attitudes at a Teaching-Centered University" in the latest issue of College & Research Libraries.

Here's an excerpt:

This paper describes information gathered from a survey distributed to the College of Science and Mathematics faculty at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly), a master's-granting, teaching-centered institution. There was a more than 60 percent response rate to the survey. The survey results provided insight into the science researchers' data curation awareness, behaviors, and attitudes, as well as what needs they exhibited for services and education regarding maintenance and management of data. It is important that professional librarians understand what researchers both inside and outside their own institutions know so that they can collaborate with their university colleagues to examine data curation needs.

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

University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Library and Information Studies Offers Online Introduction to Research Data Management Course

The University of Wisconsin-Madison's School of Library and Information Studies is offering an online Introduction to Research Data Management course taught by Dorothea Salo. The course runs from 9/10/2012-11/30/2012.

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

Research Data Management: "Improving University Research Value: A Case Study"

Kelley O'Reilly, Jeffrey Johnson, and Georgiann Sanborn have published "Improving University Research Value: A Case Study" in SAGE Open.

Here's an excerpt:

This article investigates the current data management practices of university researchers at an Intermountain West land-grant research university in the United States. Key findings suggest that researchers are primarily focused on the collection and housing of research data. However, additional research value exists within the other life cycle stages for research data—specifically in the stages of delivery and maintenance. These stages are where most new demands and requirements exist for data management plans and policies that are conditional for external grant funding; therefore, these findings expose a "gap" in current research practice. These findings should be of interest to academics and practitioners alike as findings highlight key management gaps in the life cycle of research data. This study also suggests a course of action for academic institutions to coalesce campus-wide assets to assist researchers in improving research value.

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

EPUB Version of Digital Curation Bibliography: Preservation and Stewardship of Scholarly Works

Digital Scholarship has released an open access EPUB version of the Digital Curation Bibliography: Preservation and Stewardship of Scholarly Works.

EPUB is the International Digital Publishing Forum's format standard for digital books. EPUB files can be read using free e-book reader software, such as Adobe Digital Editions and the Apple iBooks app (download e-book with Safari) as well as e-book readers, such as the Barnes & Noble Nook readers. See the EPUB Wikipedia page for more details and reader options.

Here's an excerpt from the original announcement of the book:

In a rapidly changing technological environment, the difficult task of ensuring long-term access to digital information is increasingly important. This selective bibliography presents over 650 English-language articles, books, and technical reports that are useful in understanding digital curation and preservation. It covers digital curation and preservation copyright issues, digital formats (e.g., data, media, and e-journals), metadata, models and policies, national and international efforts, projects and institutional implementations, research studies, services, strategies, and digital repository concerns.

Most sources have been published from 2000 through 2011; however, a limited number of key sources published prior to 2000 are also included. The bibliography includes links to freely available versions of included works, such as e-prints and open access articles.

The Digital Curation Bibliography: Preservation and Stewardship of Scholarly Works is available as a paperback (98 pages, $9.95, ISBN 1477497692 and ISBN-13: 9781477497692) and an open access PDF file. All versions of the bibliography are available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.

| Reviews of Digital Scholarship Publications | Digital Scholarship |

TechWatch: Preparing for Data-driven Infrastructure (Draft)

The JISC Observatory has released a draft for public comment of TechWatch: Preparing for Data-driven Infrastructure.

Here's an excerpt :

This report provides an overview of some concepts and approaches as well as tools, and can be used to help organisational planning. Specifically, this report:

  • describes data-centric architectures;
  • gives some examples of how data are already shared between organisations and discusses this from a datacentric perspective;
  • introduces some of the key tools and technologies that can support data-centric architectures as well as some new models of data management, including opportunities to use "cloud" services;
  • concludes with a look at the direction of travel and lists the sources cited in a References section.

| Research Data Curation Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

Open Data Dialogue: Final Report

Research Councils UK has released Open Data Dialogue: Final Report.

Here's an excerpt:

Undertaken on the behalf of the Research Councils UK in partnership with JISC, the Royal Society and Sciencewise-ERC, this public dialogue explored views on open data, data reuse and data management policies within research.

The public dialogue was designed to:

  • Provide insight on the business issues that the dialogue will support, at the research councils and JISC
  • Build on prior work in the area and account for the wider policy framework
  • Engage people meaningfully around this complex area, enabling the public to frame issues and test out any principles emerging across a range of research contexts.

The research comprised a number of elements:

  • an initial literature and policy review of the area
  • two reconvened discussion groups in Swindon and Oldham
  • a workshop involving key stakeholders conducted between the first and second wave of the public dialogues.

Read more about it at Evaluation of Public Dialogue on Open Data: Report to Research Councils UK.

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

Science as an Open Enterprise

The Royal Society has released Science as an Open Enterprise.

Here's an excerpt:

This report analyses the impact of new and emerging technologies that are transforming the conduct and communication of research. The recommendations are designed to improve the conduct of science, respond to changing public expectations and political culture and enable researchers to maximise the impact of their research. They are designed to ensure that reproducibility and self-correction are maintained in an era of massive data volumes. They aim to stimulate the communication and collaboration where these are needed to maximise the value of data-intensive approaches to science. Action is needed to maximise the exploitation of science in business and in public policy. But not all data are of equal interest and importance. Some are rightly confidential for commercial, privacy, safety or security reasons. There are both opportunities and financial costs in the full presentation of data and metadata. The recommendations set out key principles. The main text explores how to judge their application and where accountability should lie.

| Research Data Curation Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

Research Data Management: Review of DCC Tools and Guidance

The REDm-MED Project has released the Review of DCC Tools and Guidance.

Here's an excerpt:

In the course of its work, the REDm-MED Project has used various tools and guidance produced by the DCC, most notably CARDIO and DMP Online, the latter in both its checklist and software forms. The Project team found CARDIO to be promising but in need of further development before being used widely. The process of setting up a DMP Online template was relatively straightforward, but unfortunately there was no opportunity to solicit feedback from researchers on using it in the context of the tool.

| Research Data Curation Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

One Culture. Computationally Intensive Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences: A Report on the Experiences of First Respondents to the Digging Into Data Challenge

The Council on Library and Information Resources. has released One Culture. Computationally Intensive Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences: A Report on the Experiences of First Respondents to the Digging Into Data Challenge.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement, which includes links to additional case studies:

This report culminates two years of work by CLIR staff involving extensive interviews and site visits with scholars engaged in international research collaborations involving computational analysis of large data corpora. These scholars were the first recipients of grants through the Digging into Data program, led by the NEH, who partnered with JISC in the UK, SSHRC in Canada, and the NSF to fund the first eight initiatives. The report introduces the eight projects and discusses the importance of these cases as models for the future of research in the academy.

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

Repositories for Visual Arts Research Data: Kaptur Technical Report

The KAPTUR project has released the Kaptur Technical Report.

Here's an excerpt:

This report is framed around the research question: which technical system is most suitable for managing visual arts research data? . . . .

The Technical Manager selected 17 systems to compare with the user requirement document (Appendix B). Five of the systems had similar scores so these were short-listed. The Technical Manager created an online form into which the Project Officers entered priority scores for each of the user requirements in order to calculate a more accurate score for each of the five short-listed systems (Appendix C) and this resulted in the choice of EPrints as the software for the KAPTUR project.

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

Digital Curation Bibliography: Preservation and Stewardship of Scholarly Works

Digital Scholarship has released the Digital Curation Bibliography: Preservation and Stewardship of Scholarly Works.

In a rapidly changing technological environment, the difficult task of ensuring long-term access to digital information is increasingly important. This selective bibliography presents over 650 English-language articles, books, and technical reports that are useful in understanding digital curation and preservation. It covers digital curation and preservation copyright issues, digital formats (e.g., data, media, and e-journals), metadata, models and policies, national and international efforts, projects and institutional implementations, research studies, services, strategies, and digital repository concerns.

Most sources have been published from 2000 through 2011; however, a limited number of key sources published prior to 2000 are also included. The bibliography includes links to freely available versions of included works, such as e-prints and open access articles.

The Digital Curation Bibliography: Preservation and Stewardship of Scholarly Works is available as a paperback (98 pages, $9.95, ISBN 1477497692 and ISBN-13: 9781477497692) and an open access PDF file. All versions of the bibliography are available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.

| Digital Scholarship's Digital/Print Books | Digital Scholarship |

 Digital Curation Bibliography: Preservation and Stewardship of Scholarly Works cover

Open Annotation Core Data Model

The Open Annotation Collaboration has released the draft "Open Annotation Core Data Model."

Here's an excerpt:

The Open Annotation Core Data Model specifies an interoperable framework for creating associations between related resources, annotations, using a methodology which conforms to the Architecture of the World Wide Web. Open Annotations can easily be shared between platforms, with sufficient richness of expression to satisfy complex requirements while remaining simple enough to also allow for the most common use cases, such as attaching a piece of text to a single web resource.

An Annotation is considered to be a set of connected resources, including a body and target, and conveys that the body is somehow about the target. The full model supports additional functionality, enabling semantic tagging, embedding content, selecting segments of resources, choosing the appropriate representation of a resource and providing styling hints for consuming clients.

See also the draft “Open Annotation Extension Specification.”

| Research Data Curation Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

TACC Launches University of Texas Data Repository with Six Petabytes of Data Storage

The Texas Advanced Computing Center has launched the University of Texas Data Repository.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

The much-anticipated University of Texas Data Repository (UTDR) named “Corral” is available to researchers at all 15 University of Texas System institutions, the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) at The University of Texas at Austin announced today.

The data repository is part of the overall University of Texas Research Cyberinfrastructure (UTRC) project, a $23 million initiative announced in December 2010 to enable world-class research and foster stronger collaborations among researchers in Texas and around the world. The UTRC project ensures that researchers across Texas can effectively use advanced computing capabilities, including high-performance computing for simulation and analysis, high-capacity storage for large digital data collections, and high-bandwidth networking connecting institutions and resources.

As one of the largest online storage systems available to academic researchers in the United States, Corral provides six petabytes of data, which is equal to 50 times the size of the entire collection of DVDs at Netflix. University of Texas System researchers whose data needs outstrip their local capacity are invited to apply for allocations on Corral using the Allocations Request System available through the TACC User Portal.

| Research Data Curation Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

Report on Peer Review of Research Data in Scholarly Communication

The Alliance for Permanent Access to the Records of Science Network has released the Report on Peer Review of Research Data in Scholarly Communication.

Here's an excerpt:

This report documents ideas, attitudes, developments and discussion concerning quality assurance of research data. The focus is on action taken by scientists, e-infrastructure providers and scientific journals. Their measures are documented and categorized. Future fields of research are to be described based on this work.

| Digital Curation and Preservation Bibliography 2010: "If you're looking for a reading list that will keep you busy from now until the end of time, this is your one-stop shop for all things digital preservation." — "Digital Preservation Reading List," Preservation Services at Dartmouth College weblog, February 21, 2012. | Digital Scholarship |

Monash University’s Research Data Management Strategy and Strategic Plan 2012-2015

Monash University has released its Research Data Management Strategy and Strategic Plan 2012-2015.

Here's an excerpt:

The Research Data Management Strategy and Strategic Plan 2012-2015 outlines an extended program of activities to holistically address technology, professional development and cultural change. The strategy takes as its starting point the following statement of intent.

Monash University recognises that research data that is better managed, more discoverable and available for re-use will contribute to increased research impact, enhanced research practice (including collaboration) and improved education outcomes. The University aims to maintain its national leadership role around research data management and to fulfil compliance requirements and community expectations. All members of the Monash University community share responsibility to improve research data management in a coordinated and integrated way. This strategy supports the research, education and professional services strategies developed as part of the Monash Futures program.

| Digital Curation and Preservation Bibliography 2010 | Digital Scholarship |

DuraSpace Gives Automatic DuraCloud Access to Internet2 Members

DuraSpace has given automatic DuraCloud access to Internet2 members.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

DuraSpace and Internet2 announced today at the Spring 2012 Internet2 Member Meeting that Internet2 members now have automatic access to DuraCloud [http://duracloud.org], a trusted service for archiving and managing content in the cloud featuring one-click creation of many copies, in multiple locations with several providers.

DuraCloud is the first Internet2 NET+ community-developed service aimed at meeting the preservation needs of Internet2 members. As the only managed software service that lets organizations archive content across more than one cloud provider, DuraCloud ensures that irreplaceable documents, imagery and videos are always accessible.

Here's a list of higher education Internet2 members.

Read more about it at "Internet2, 16 Major Technology Companies Announce Cloud Service Partnerships to Benefit the Nation's Universities."

| Institutional Repository and ETD Bibliography 2011 | Digital Scholarship |