Reports and White Papers – Page 22

ARL Academic Law Library Statistics 2008-2009

The Association of Research Libraries has released ARL Academic Law Library Statistics 2008–2009.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has published the ARL Academic Law Library Statistics 2008–2009, which presents data that describe collections, expenditures, personnel, and services in 72 law libraries at ARL member institutions in the US and Canada.

In 2008–2009, the reporting law libraries held a median of 355,922 volumes, spent a total of $213,618,759, and employed 2,057 FTE staff. Expenditures for materials and staff accounted for the bulk of total expenditures, at approximately 47% and 46% respectively. Respondents reported spending a total of $21,860,327 for electronic materials, or an average of approximately 27% of their total materials budgets; this includes a total of $18,940,834 for electronic serials.

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

ARL Statistics 2008-2009

The Association of Research Libraries has released ARL Statistics 2008–2009.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has published the ARL Statistics 2008–2009, the latest in a series of annual publications that describe the collections, staffing, expenditures, and service activities of ARL's member libraries. Of the 124 members in 2008–2009, 114 were university libraries (17 in Canada and 107 in the US); the remaining 10 were public, governmental, and nonprofit research libraries (two in Canada, eight in the US).

ARL libraries are a relatively small subset of libraries in North America, but they account for a large portion of academic library resources in terms of assets, budgets, and the number of users they serve. The total library expenditures of all 124 member libraries in 2008–2009 was slightly more than $4 billion; of that total, roughly $3.1 billion was spent by the 114 university libraries and slightly more than $940 million the 10 nonuniversity libraries.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview | Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography 2010 |

Access to Research and Technical Information in Denmark

The Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation has released Access to Research and Technical Information in Denmark by John Houghton, Alma Swan, and Sheridan Brown.

Here's an excerpt:

The aim of this study is to examine levels of access to and use of research and technical information by knowledge-based SMEs [small and medium sized enterprises] in Denmark. We explore current levels of access and use, whether there are any barriers to access, access difficulties or gaps, and the costs and benefits involved in accessing research findings.

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

Budget Cut Impacts: University of California’s SLASIAC Task Force Interim Report

The University of California’s SLASIAC Library Planning Task Force has released the draft University of California Systemwide Library and Scholarly Information Advisory Committee Library Planning Task Force Interim Report.

Here's an excerpt:

Based on estimates developed by staff, the Task Force anticipates that:

As a result of the combined effects of the obligation to fully fund the retirement system and to absorb a cut of $500 million to $1 billion in State funding, the libraries may experience budget reductions of as much as $52 million, or 21 percent of their current budget base, over the next six years. To put this into perspective, this cut is greater than the total library budget of any single UC campus, and roughly equivalent to the budgets of three of our mid-sized campuses, all AAU members.

As a result of ongoing increases in the prices charged by publishers for scholarly material in both print and digital formats, the libraries will likely lose the equivalent of $17 million in buying power over the same period. This is equivalent to the current library materials budgets of two mid-sized campuses, and means a reduction in the systemwide acquisition rate of about 200,000 items per year.

Existing library facilities will run out of space for new materials over the next 5-7 years (some are already at capacity) even as demand increases for extended hours and services and technologically well-equipped and flexible learning environments in the libraries’ prime campus locations.

Read more about it at "UC Libraries Must Increase Sharing to Weather Cuts."

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview | Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography 2010 |

Managing and Sharing Data: Best Practice for Researchers

The UK Data Archive has released a new edition of Managing and Sharing Data: Best Practice for Researchers.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

To support researchers in producing high quality research data for long-term use, the UK Data Archive has revised and expanded its popular and highly cited Managing and Sharing Data: best practice for researchers, first published in 2009.

The new third edition is 36 pages covering:

why and how to share research data

data management planning and costing

documenting data

formatting data

storing data

ethics and consent issues

data copyright

data management strategies for large investments

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview | Digital Curation and Preservation Bibliography 2010 |

Preserving News in the Digital Environment: Mapping the Newspaper Industry in Transition

The National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program has released Preserving News in the Digital Environment: Mapping the Newspaper Industry in Transition, which was written by a team from the Center for Research Libraries.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

This report provides a vivid glimpse inside the workplaces that produce what – not long ago – we would have called newspapers. As digital news-gathering and production methods proliferate, and as digital avenues for distribution emerge, these workplaces are being transformed in profound ways, with electronic facsimiles and websites (and probably more) overtaking the paper format.

The report is an outgrowth of the Preserving Digital News meeting held at the Library in September 2009, and it features illustrative examples from four American newspapers: The Arizona Republic, Seattle Post-Intelligencer (since 2008, seattlepi.com), Wisconsin State Journal, and The Chicago Tribune. There is additional information pertaining to the work of The New York Times, Investor’s Business Daily, and the Associated Press. Altogether, the report makes it clear that the transition to the digital environment is not a neat, throw-the-switch change.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview | Digital Curation and Preservation Bibliography 2010 |

U.S. Public Libraries and the Use of Web Technologies 2010

The Library Research Service of the Colorado State Library has released U.S. Public Libraries and the Use of Web Technologies 2010.

Here's an excerpt:

Since the first Web Technologies study, public libraries across the United States have made varying degrees of progress in adopting Web 2.0 tools. Using the 2008 results as a baseline, the 2010 study was an opportunity to identify new web technologies and track changes in what libraries are adopting, as well as identify characteristics of those libraries.

In general, the results of the 2010 study reveal that most web technologies are increasing in use on public libraries' websites, with some tools gaining in popularity rather quickly and others appearing to stagnate. For example, libraries' use of social media sites took off while adoption of earlier tools including blogs has slowed, and new options such as SMS reference have not yet had a chance to gain much traction. Regardless of the tool in question, most growth was concentrated in the largest libraries, where adoption of new technologies increased at a faster rate than in smaller libraries.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview | Reviews of Digital Scholarship Publications |

Institutional Repository Project Summary Report Sept 2007-Sept 2010

Cal Poly Library Services has released Institutional Repository Project Summary Report Sept 2007-Sept 2010.

Here's an excerpt:

This final project report to the Provost summarizes the work of the Digital Repository Librarian and Digital Repository Assistant (LAII) during the three-year Provost-funded DigitalCommons@CalPoly service, during Academic Year (AY) 2007-2010. It is based on the subtask and annual reports that have been established during the project. Recommendations for future activities are also included.

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

Maximizing the Impacts of Your Research: A Handbook for Social Scientists

The Social Sciences Project has released Maximizing the Impacts of Your Research: A Handbook for Social Scientists.

Here's an excerpt:

This Handbook remedies this key gap and, we hope, will help researchers achieving a more professional and focused approach to their research from the outset. It provides a large menu of sound and evidence-based advice and guidance on how to ensure that your work achieves its maximum visibility and influence with both academic and external audiences. As with any menu, readers need to pick and choose the elements that are relevant for them. We provide detailed information on what constitutes good practice in expanding the impact of social science research. We also survey a wide range of new developments, new tools and new techniques that can help make sense of a rapidly changing field.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview | Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography 2010 |

Preservation of Digitized Books and Other Digital Content Held by Cultural Heritage Organizations

Portico has released the Preservation of Digitized Books and Other Digital Content Held by Cultural Heritage Organizations.

Here's an excerpt:

In one response to this need to develop models of digital preservation, the NEH and IMLS awarded a grant to Portico, in partnership with Cornell University Library, through the "Advancing Knowledge: The IMLS/NEH Digital Partnership grant program" to develop a practical model for how preservation can be accomplished for digitized books. Through this initiative and other efforts, Portico had the opportunity to discuss digital collections and their long-term preservation with 27 cultural heritage organizations. In addition, Cornell University Library provided significant samples of content to analyze. Out of this research and the extensive experience in preservation at both Portico and Cornell University Library, we developed a model for the preservation of digitized books and other "document like" digital content at cultural heritage organizations.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview | Digital Curation and Preservation Bibliography 2010 |

"JISC CETIS 2011 Informal Horizon Scan"

JISC CETIS has released the "JISC CETIS 2011 Informal Horizon Scan."

Here's an excerpt:

This report outlines some technology trends and issues of interest and relevance to CETIS. It should be seen as a set of un-processed perceptions rather than the product of a formal process; a great deal of ground is not scanned in this paper and it should be understood that no formal prioritisation process was undertaken.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview | Digital Curation and Preservation Bibliography 2010 |

Heading for the Open Road: Costs And Benefits of Transitions in Scholarly Communications

The Research Information Network has released Heading for the Open Road: Costs And Benefits of Transitions in Scholarly Communications (annexes).

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

This new report investigates the drivers, costs and benefits of potential ways to increase access to scholarly journals. It identifies five different routes for achieving that end over the next five years, and compares and evaluates the benefits as well as the costs and risks for the UK.

The report suggests that policymakers who are seeking to promote increases in access should encourage the use of existing subject and institutional repositories, but avoid pushing for reductions in embargo periods, which might put at risk the sustainability of the underlying scholarly publishing system. They should also promote and facilitate a transition to open access publishing (Gold open access) while seeking to ensure that the average level of charges for publication does not exceed c.£2000; that the rate in the UK of open access publication is broadly in step with the rate in the rest of the world; and that total payments to journal publishers from UK universities and their funders do not rise as a consequence.

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

Reinventing Research? Information Practices in the Humanities

The Research Information Network has released Reinventing Research? Information Practices in the Humanities.

Here's an excerpt:

Humanities scholars are often perceived in very traditional terms: spending a lot of time working on their own and collaborating only informally through highly-dispersed networks. Unlike most scientists, they have no long tradition of working in formal, close-knit and collaborative research groups. Humanities scholars have also sometimes been presented as "depth" rather than "breadth" researchers, preferring to spend significant amounts of time with a few items, rather than working across a broader frame. In terms of information sources, text and images held in archives and libraries tend to dominate, with less of an association with new web-based technologies (although this is changing with the increasing visibility of digital humanities).

This report suggests that such perceptions may be out of date. In each of our case studies we found researchers working with new tools and technologies, in increasingly collaborative environments, and both producing and using information resources in diverse ways. There is a richness and variety within humanities information practices which must be recognised and understood if we are to provide the right kind of support for researchers.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview | Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography 2010 |

Duke University Press: Survey of Library E-Book Acquisitions

The Duke University Press has released the Survey of Library E-Book Acquisitions.

Here's an excerpt:

We e-mailed an online survey to all Duke University Press librarian contacts associated with electronic collections. Of these approximately 750 recipients, over 100 followed the link and completed the survey. We posted a different link to the same survey on the Liblicense (Licensing Digital Information: a Resource for Librarians) and ERIL (Electronic Resources in Libraries) e-mail listservs, as well as the Duke University Press Twitter feed, producing over 160 additional responses. This report compiles the results of these efforts, totaling 265 surveys.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview | Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography 2010 |

Ithaka S+R Library Survey 2010: Insights from U.S. Academic Library Directors

Ithaka S+R has released the Ithaka S+R Library Survey 2010: Insights from U.S. Academic Library Directors.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

Ithaka S+R, a not-for-profit strategic consulting and research service for the academic and cultural heritage community, released today its Library Survey 2010: Insights from U.S. Academic Library Directors, offering a strategic analysis on the state of the library to help library leadership plan for the future. Over 200 library administrators from U.S. based four year colleges and institutions weighed in on issues related to the strategies they are pursuing for their libraries, the management of library collections, the development of new digital collections, and the creation of new services to meet changing user needs. . . .

The survey findings indicated that there is a consensus on key strategic issues, including the clear shift away from print to digital journals and the prioritization of teaching and instruction as core library functions. But, some findings suggest broad divergences not only among library directors but also among library directors and faculty members, as made evident through a comparison with data from the Ithaka S+R Faculty Survey 2009.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview | Digital Curation and Preservation Bibliography 2010 |

Yahoo! Research: Who Says What to Whom on Twitter

Yahoo! Research has released Who Says What to Whom on Twitter.

Here's an excerpt:

We study several longstanding questions in media communications research, in the context of the microblogging service Twitter, regarding the production, flow, and consumption of information. To do so, we exploit a recently introduced feature of Twitter—known as Twitter lists—to distinguish between elite users, by which we mean specifically celebrities, bloggers, and representatives of media outlets and other formal organizations, and ordinary users. Based on this classification, we find a striking concentration of attention on Twitter—roughly 50% of tweets consumed are generated by just 20K elite users—where the media produces the most information, but celebrities are the most followed. We also find significant homophily within categories: celebrities listen to celebrities, while bloggers listen to bloggers etc; however, bloggers in general rebroadcast more information than the other categories. Next we re-examine the classical "two-step flow" theory of communications, finding considerable support for it on Twitter, but also some interesting differences. Third, we find that URLs broadcast by different categories of users or containing different types of content exhibit systematically different lifespans. And finally, we examine the attention paid by the different user categories to different news topics.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview | Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography 2010 |

Cloud Computing Toolkit: Guidance for Outsourcing Information Storage to the Cloud

The Archives & Records Association and the Department of Information Studies, Aberystwyth University have released the Cloud Computing Toolkit: Guidance for Outsourcing Information Storage to the Cloud.

Here's an excerpt:

The toolkit covers four main areas that should be considered when an organisation intends to outsource business processes and information storage into a cloud environment and should help develop a consistent cloud computing strategy as well as requirements for the required cloud service. Each of the four main sections proposes questions that should be taken into consideration by the organisation or that should be addressed to the prospective cloud service provider:

Overview of cloud computing – Cloud computing definition, benefits and challenges

Preparing for the cloud – Cloud service selection and risk assessment

Managing the cloud – Information management, compliance, contract and cost

Operating in the cloud – Information security, access and availability

Read more about it at Storing Information in the Cloud: Project Report.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview | Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography 2010 |

Peer Review in Academic Promotion and Publishing: Its Meaning, Locus, and Future

The Center for Studies in Higher Education has released Peer Review in Academic Promotion and Publishing: Its Meaning, Locus, and Future.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

This report includes (1) an overview of the state of peer review in the Academy at large, (2) a set of recommendations for moving forward, (3) a proposed research agenda to examine in depth the effects of academic status-seeking on the entire academic enterprise, (4) proceedings from the workshop on the four topics noted above, and (5) four substantial and broadly conceived background papers on the workshop topics, with associated literature reviews. The document explores, in particular, the tightly intertwined phenomena of peer review in publication and academic promotion, the values and associated costs to the Academy of the current system, experimental forms of peer review in various disciplinary areas, the effects of scholarly practices on the publishing system, and the possibilities and real costs of creating alternative loci for peer review and publishing that link scholarly societies, libraries, institutional repositories, and university presses. We also explore the motivations and ingredients of successful open access resolutions that are directed at peer-reviewed article-length material. In doing so, this report suggests that creating a wider array of institutionally acceptable and cost-effective alternatives to peer reviewing and publishing scholarly work could maintain the quality of academic peer review, support greater research productivity, reduce the explosive growth of low-quality publications, increase the purchasing power of cash-strapped libraries, better support the free flow and preservation of ideas, and relieve the burden on overtaxed faculty of conducting too much peer review.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview | Reviews of Digital Scholarship Publications | Transforming Scholarly Publishing through Open Access: A Bibliography |

New Roles for New Times: Digital Curation for Preservation

Association of Research Libraries has released New Roles for New Times: Digital Curation for Preservation.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

Authored by Tyler Walters and Katherine Skinner, the report looks at how libraries are developing new roles and services in the arena of digital curation for preservation. The authors consider a "promising set of new roles that libraries are currently carving out in the digital arena," describing emerging strategies for libraries and librarians and highlighting collaborative approaches through a series of case studies of key programs and projects. They also provide helpful definitions and offer recommendations for libraries considering how best to make or expand their investments in digital curation. Issues and developments within and across the sciences and humanities are considered.

Publishing Support for Small Print-Based Publishers: Options for ARL Libraries

The Association of Research Libraries has released Publishing Support for Small Print-Based Publishers: Options for ARL Libraries.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

This report is the summary of a project funded by ARL to investigate how research libraries might provide support to print-only publishers in order to ensure long-term digital access to their content. The final report was prepared for ARL by project consultants, October Ivins and Judy Luther.

The project was conducted from 2009 to 2010, and the report to ARL includes identification of the extent and character of journal titles for which support would be necessary, reviews of the capabilities and interest of research library publishing services to support the publishers, and recommendations for actions ARL and member libraries might undertake to address the needs of the editors and publishers of these small print-only titles. Appendices provide talking points for campus outreach, an annotated bibliography, and an overview of the landscape for publishing options.

For more information on the project, please visit http://www.arl.org/sc/models/lib-publishing/pub-support/index.shtml.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview | Reviews of Digital Scholarship Publications |

Digital Research Data: What Researchers Want

The SURFfoundation has released What Researchers Want.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

This publication reviews recent literature describing what researchers want with regard to data storage and access. It was commissioned by SURFfoundation. Fifteen recent sources were studied, covering the Netherlands, the UK, the USA, Australia, and Europe. . . .

The following factors play a role in making storage successful:

Tools and services must be in tune with researchers’ workflows, which are often discipline-specific (and sometimes even project-specific)

Researchers resist top-down and/or mandatory schemes.

Researchers favour a “cafeteria” model in which they can pick and choose from a set of services.

Tools and services must be easy to use.

Researchers must be in control of what happens to their data, who has access to it, and under what conditions. Consequently, they want to be sure that whoever is dealing with their data (data centre, library, etc.) will respect their interests.

Researchers expect tools and services to support their day-to-day work within the research project; long-term/public requirements must be subordinate to that interest.

The benefits of the support must clearly visible – not in three years’ time, but now.

Support must be local, hands-on, and available when needed.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview | Reviews of Digital Scholarship Publications |

Report on the Step Forward iPad Pilot Project

The University of Melbourne's Trinity College has released Report on the Step Forward iPad Pilot Project.

Here's an excerpt:

KEY FINDINGS:

Pilot project staff and August Entry students overwhelmingly recommend iPads for use by other TCFS staff and students: 76.2% of staff and 80% of students

iPads are effective, durable, reliable and achieve their educational aims of going further, faster and with more fun

iPads have advantages for TCFS over other technologies such as netbooks and laptops

iPads are not a replacement for desktop/laptop computers or other educational technologies but are an enhancement

High quality audio-visual equipment in the classroom (such as flat screen TV monitors and document cameras), along with timely IT support, are required to enable full integration and best use of the iPads. Such equipment and support are crucial if the educational aims of iPad use are to be realised rather than thwarted

iPad use reduces printing and paper use

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Sustaining Scholarly Publishing: New Business Models for University Presses

The Association of American University Presses has released Sustaining Scholarly Publishing: New Business Models for University Presses.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

Within the scholarly communications ecosystem, scholarly publishers are a keystone species. University presses—as well as academic societies, research institutions, and other scholarly publishers—strive to fulfill the mission of making public the fruits of scholarly research as effectively as possible within that ecosystem. While that mission has remained constant, in recent years the landscape in which it is carried out has altered dramatically.

"Sustaining Scholarly Publishing" explores many current scholarly publishing experiments and initiatives, defines characteristics of effective business models and the challenges of transitioning from a traditional sales-based model, and presents several recommendations for sustaining high-quality scholarly publishing throughout this time of change. The AAUP report was prepared by the Task Force on Economic Models for Scholarly Publishing, chaired by Lynne Withey, now-retired director of the University of California Press. . . .

Among the report's recommendations:

Active and open sharing of lessons learned by participants in existing digital publishing projects should be an ongoing process.

The support of foundations, libraries, and university administrations in providing funds to work toward the digital future has been, and will remain, crucial.

Open access is a principle to be embraced, if publishing costs can be supported by the larger scholarly enterprise. University presses, and nonprofit publishers generally, should be fully engaged in these discussions.

Proposals and plans for new business models should explicitly address the potential impact of the new model on other parts of a press's programs, as well as explicitly address the requirements, both operational and financial, for making the transition to a new model.

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Cisco Visual Networking Index: Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update, 2010-2015

Cisco has released Cisco Visual Networking Index: Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update, 2010-2015.

Here's an excerpt:

Global mobile data traffic will increase 26-fold between 2010 and 2015. . . .

There will be nearly one mobile device per capita by 2015. . . .

Mobile network connection speeds will increase 10-fold by 2015. . . .

Mobile-connected tablets will generate as much traffic in 2015 as the entire global mobile network in 2010.

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Lasting Change: Sustaining Digital Scholarship and Culture in Canada

The Sustaining Digital Scholarship for Sustainable Culture Group has released Lasting Change: Sustaining Digital Scholarship and Culture in Canada.

Here's an excerpt:

This report reflects the growing concern in the scholarly and cultural communities, and beyond, regarding the sustainability of Canada's digital knowledge and heritage. Canada's digital advantage is only of value if it can be carried into the future. Canadians must meet the challenge of preserving and enhancing scholarly and artistic knowledge production and our culture in a digital environment. This report reviews the current state of knowledge about the sustainability of digital scholarship and related cultural activity in Canada and identifies research opportunities that emerge from consideration of the literature.

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