Research Libraries – DigitalKoans

Millions of Digitized Books May Be Destroyed: "Press Conference Statement: Brewster Kahle, Internet Archive"

Here’s what’s at stake in this case: hundreds of libraries contributed millions of books to the Internet Archive for preservation in addition to those books we have purchased. Thousands of donors provided the funds to digitize them.

The publishers are now demanding that those millions of digitized books, not only be made inaccessible, but be destroyed.

This is horrendous. Let me say it again—the publishers are demanding that millions of digitized books be destroyed.

And if they succeed in destroying our books or even making many of them inaccessible, there will be a chilling effect on the hundreds of other libraries that lend digitized books as we do.

This could be the burning of the Library of Alexandria moment—millions of books from our community’s libraries mdash;gone.

http://bit.ly/3JHMjli

Handbook on Comparative E-lending Policies in Europe

This Handbook overhauls current stereotypes about e-lending. The studies and investigations quoted in the Handbook demonstrate that e-lending in libraries is a formidable instrument for promoting e-books.Results may be short of sensational: when promoted by libraries, an individual title may see a 818% growth in e-book sales and 201% growth in print sales.

The number of e-lending transactions, measured in relation to the number of inhabitants, also shows that the market for e-loan transactions is now dramatically low and has to make great strides for the benefit of all actors in the e-book value chain.

The number of e-lending transactions, measured in relation to the number of inhabitants, also shows that the market for e-loan transactions is now dramatically low and has to make great strides for the benefit of all actors in the e-book value chain. It is now from 10 to 100 times lower than the number of book loans and in some cases, like in France, 400 times less.

bit.ly/3JuFwew

Building a Community of Assessment: Final Report of the Research Library Impact Framework Pilot Initiative

The RLIF provides a structure to examine library services, operations, impact, and alignment with institutional mission and goals across four critical areas: Research and Scholarly Life Cycle; Teaching, Learning, and Student Success; Collections; and Physical Space. The full framework includes 185 potential research questions across these critical areas. However, the framework is also meant to be flexible and modular, allowing for modifications and adjustments based on salient issues facing research libraries. In this way, the framework serves as a tool to organize and prioritize research efforts.

bit.ly/3mOhqE0

"Evolution of Research Data Management in Academic Libraries: A Review of the Literature"

The study is qualitative in nature and based on an extensive literature review survey. The analysis of the reviewed literature reveals that the idea of RDM has emerged as a new addition to library research support services. The more recent literature clearly established the pivotal role of libraries and librarians in developing and managing RDM services. However, data sharing practices and the development of RDM services in libraries are more prevalent in developed countries. While these trends are still lacking among researchers and libraries in developing countries.

https://doi.org/10.1177/02666669231157405

"Lack of Sustainability Plans for Preprint Services Risks Their Potential to Improve Science"

Despite successfully building a revenue model that shares the burden between Cornell University, the Simons Foundation and several members and supporters, arXiv’s “funding is still outpaced by [their] growth” – the server hosts over 2 million preprints already and is growing by 10% each year. And while arXiv has been supporting more and more scholars to share and discover preprints, the team behind it has been through significant changes in leadership and is dealing with the urgent need to modernize their 30-year-old technology. As a former Executive Director of arXiv noted, “[arXiv’s success] may not last forever”. Similarly, the recent news that Chan Zuckerberg Initiative has renewed its financial support for the leading preprint servers in biology and medicine, bioRxiv and medRxiv is welcome relief, but this support is temporary, and the team must find a way to continue in the long run.

bit.ly/3y745Ji

Bye, Bye Big Deal: "Indispensable or Unnecessary?: A Data-Driven Appraisal of Post-cancellation Access Rights"

When breaking out of ‘big deals’, some libraries and consortia have found that they can save money by negotiating away post-cancellation access (PCA) to subscribed resources after the subscription concludes. Using subscription data regarding major publisher contracts at several US research libraries, this article reviews options around PCA for libraries and presents a model for assigning a value to PCA content when negotiating a renewal contract.

https://doi.org/10.1629/uksg.601

Paywall: "An Investigation of Gold Open Access Publications of STEM Faculty at a Public University in the United States"

This study investigated Gold Open Access journal publication by science and engineering faculty at the authors’ university from 2013 to 2022. Specifically, did Gold Open Access (OA) by these faculty increase, and did the publication rate vary between disciplines? The authors found that Gold OA publication increased by 176% over the past 10 years, and that an important factor was the Libraries’ creation of an Open Access Publishing Fund in 2017.

https://doi.org/10.1080/0194262X.2023.2175103

"Librarians and Academic Libraries’ Role in Promoting Open Access: What Needs to Change? "

Profound changes due to Open-Access (OA) publications lead to organizational changes in universities and libraries. This study examined Israeli librarians’ perceptions regarding their role and the academic library’s role in promoting OA-publication, including the barriers, challenges, needs and requirements necessary to promote OA publishing. Lack of a budget for OA-agreements and cooperation with university management, and researchers’ unawareness of OA were among the most prominent barriers. Librarians see great importance in their role of advising researchers regarding OA. However, they insisted on a regulated OA-policy at the national and institutional levels, which would strengthen their status as change-leaders of the OA-movement.

https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/shqnv

| Research Data Publication and Citation Bibliography | Research Data Sharing and Reuse Bibliography | Research Data Curation and Management Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

"Library Futures Releases Policy Paper: Digital Ownership for Libraries and the Public"

In response, Library Futures recommends policymakers adopt an approach of digital ownership that extends the current paradigm for print works and allow libraries to both maintain the benefits of print collections and innovate even further toward providing new methods of access, preservation, and education by creating new lending models, equitizing access for underserved communities, and contributing to a more democratic balance. To that end, we have outlined some approaches to solving this issue through structural, community-based, and technical means:

Legal reform: This can include judicial remedies through the courts, legislative action on the part of Congress, or regulatory intervention by an authority such as the Federal Trade Commission.

Collective action: Community intervention can be a powerful way to act concertedly to stand against entities that are prohibiting libraries from exercising their rights, such as boycotts and grassroots action, state legislative initiatives, and the collective use of incentives and accountability measures for publishers.

Library-owned infrastructure: The library community can build its own infrastructure to ensure that it is oriented towards the needs of their users and provides libraries with the choice to own their digital content. This is not without its challenges (practical and resource-wise), but sustainable infrastructure can put control of digital content back into the hands of libraries and users.

Policy Paper

https://www.libraryfutures.net/post/digital-ownership-for-libraries-and-the-public

| Research Data Publication and Citation Bibliography | Research Data Sharing and Reuse Bibliography | Research Data Curation and Management Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

Penn State: "University Libraries Expands Open Access Support via 3 New BTAA [Big 10] Agreements"

The agreements with Wiley, Institute of Physics (IOP) and Microbiology Society cover OA publishing charges for Penn State corresponding authors publishing in these publishers’ journals. Those qualified articles will be immediately open access on the publisher’s platform. These publishers will offer a choice of open access licenses to Penn State authors publishing in their journals. Authors retain copyright in their articles.

The agreements run for three years from Jan. 1, 2023, to Dec. 31, 2025. In general, articles will need to be accepted during the agreements’ timeframe. The agreements also cover subscriptions and read access to Wiley, Institute of Physics (IOP) and Microbiology Society journals. Unlimited open access publishing is included with no additional cost to individual Penn State authors.

bit.ly/3Sjx9Xa

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"Data Management Librarians Role in a Large Interdisciplinary Scientific Grant for PFAS Remediation: Considerations and Recommendations"

This article explores the conflicts, disparities, and inequalities experienced by two librarians when collaborating on a federal grant proposal. The authors discuss concerns related to time and salary expectations and the inequities that can occur during faculty and staff collaborations on research grants. The bureaucratic structure and the job classifications of staff at academic institutions in addition to the contract limitations of non-faculty status librarian positions can hinder successful collaborations. The authors also describe data management needs that may occur when working with interdisciplinary research teams and detail the type of work that is included in writing a data management grant. This article concludes with considerations and recommendations for other data librarians who may undertake similar projects with a focus on ways to create parity between faculty and staff collaborators.

https://doi.org/10.7191/jeslib.616

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"There’s No “I” in Research Data Management: Reshaping RDM Services Toward a Collaborative Multi-Stakeholder Model"

Objective: This article examines a reshaped service model for research data management (RDM) founded on centralized and cohesive collaboration between multiple stakeholders at a large research university in Canada. This initiative, along with a newly formed team dedicated to RDM service provision, is a joint effort by the institution’s Vice-Principal Research and Innovation (VPRI), Library, IT Services, and Research Ethics units.

Methods: This article presents a single case study methodology. The authors reflect on services such as "query the panel" sessions where researchers across all disciplines bring their questions to representatives from the Library, IT, Research Ethics, and VPRI. This case study also highlights the use of Jira’s service desk software as a user management system. The authors also present descriptive statistics representing engagement with this new unit and our services.

Results: Support for RDM requires expertise from multiple domains. With a collaborative approach as a guiding principle and a focus on establishing a small, but agile team comprised of a librarian along with stakeholders from IT and VPRI, it is possible to leverage resources and support for RDM from a broad range of units across an institution.

Conclusions: At many institutions, RDM services are siloed within the library or an adjacent campus unit. New digital technologies have profoundly transformed academic research across all disciplines, necessitating the evolution of corresponding research data-related services. The authors will conclude by outlining specific lessons learned in reshaping digital research infrastructure-related services at their institution.

https://doi.org/10.7191/jeslib.624

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"University of Oregon and Oregon State University Collaborate to Launch Oregon Digital"

The University of Oregon and Oregon State University are proud to announce the launch of Oregon Digital, a cultural heritage repository that brings together more than 500,000 digitized works from both universities, including unique digitized and born-digital collections. This collaborative effort includes historic and modern photographs, manuscripts, publications, and more.

https://library.uoregon.edu/node/7904

| Research Data Publication and Citation Bibliography | Research Data Sharing and Reuse Bibliography | Research Data Curation and Management Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

"Wiley Extends Open Access Agreement with Big Ten Academic Alliance "

Wiley, one of the world’s largest publishers and a global leader in research and education, today announced a three-year extension of its landmark open publishing agreement with the libraries of the Big Ten Academic Alliance, which serve universities across the midwestern and eastern United States.

This landmark agreement is "all open access," with no fees to Big Ten Academic Alliance faculty and researchers for publishing in all journals under the Wiley umbrella, including Hindawi’s gold open access portfolio. The agreement, active as of January 1, 2023, grants 14 participating flagship universities and 17 affiliated campuses access to read and publish in Wiley’s full portfolio of journals. Lead authors at all campuses covered by the agreement can publish their articles as open access, ensuring that their research will be immediately open and available to the public and that they will retain rights in their own work.

bit.ly/3Eaov7G

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University Librarian at Concordia University

The Library holds over 2.2 million titles and welcomes over 2 million visitors annually from Concordia and the public. A leading proponent of Open Educational Resources, the Library features a technology sandbox and visualization studio with an immersive audio system that have well-defined service models to support a broad range of research, teaching, and learning activities. In addition to its collection of print and digital materials, the Library hosts a large range of special collections, including the Karl Polanyi Archive, the Negro Community Centre / Charles H. Este Cultural Centre archives, the Jazz Association of Montreal Fonds, and La Centrale Fonds. The Library is also home to Concordia University Press.

http://bit.ly/3Im3FES

Paywall: "Chatting about ChatGPT: How May AI and GPT Impact Academia and Libraries?"

This paper discusses the history and technology of GPT, including its generative pretrained transformer model, its ability to perform a wide range of language-based tasks and how ChatGPT uses this technology to function as a sophisticated chatbot.

https://doi.org/10.1108/LHTN-01-2023-0009

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University Librarian at Boston University

Boston University (BU) is seeking its next University Librarian to lead and implement a strategic vision for BU Libraries as part of our vibrant academic experience and thriving research community, with a major focus on the renovation of its central campus library, Mugar Memorial Library, a critical component of the BU2030 Strategic Plan. . . . The University today enrolls more than 36,000 students, including over 17,000 undergraduates, and employs more than 4,000 faculty members across 17 schools and colleges offering more than 300 programs of study. Its current annual operating budget is approximately $2.5 billion.

bit.ly/3loQHgl

"How Artificial Intelligence Might Change Academic Library Work: Applying the Competencies Literature and the Theory of the Professions"

As theoretical lenses to guide the analysis the paper draws on both the library and information science (LIS) literature on librarians’ competencies and the notions of jurisdiction and hybrid logics drawn from the sociological theory of the professions. The paper starts by outlining these theories and then reviews the nature of AI and the range of its potential uses in academic libraries. The main focus of the paper is on the application of AI to knowledge discovery. Eleven different potential approaches libraries might adopt to such AI applications are analyzed and their likelihood evaluated. Then it is considered how a range of internal and external factors might influence the adoption of AI.

https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.24635

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"Research Productivity Among Scholarly Communication Librarians"

Introduction: A growing number of academic libraries have specialized their support for scholarly communication by creating new positions or by expanding units with a focus on providing relevant services. This study was undertaken to explore the extent to which librarians with scholarly communication responsibilities produce research and scholarship, their motivations for doing so, the nature of that productivity, and the perceived impact of that activity on their professional responsibilities. Methods: The authors administered a survey of librarians who identified as having their primary job responsibilities in scholarly communication. Results: Almost all study participants produced their own scholarly work. However, a high percentage indicated that they received no relevant training in their library degree programs, and the majority experienced imposter syndrome pertaining to their own scholarship. Although most respondents were motivated to produce research by institutional expectations for promotion and tenure, greater percentages were driven by personal or professional interests. In addition, participants indicated a strong correlation between producing their own scholarship and their ability to effectively carry out their professional responsibilities. Discussion: There may be an emerging convention for scholarly communication librarianship, i.e., one that includes open education services. Findings suggest a need for scholarly communication training to be more prominent in library degree programs. They also point to the utility of making research production a job requirement, regardless of institutional expectations for professional advancement. Conclusion: The authors argue for adjustments in library education curricula and the inclusion of research production in the portfolios of scholarly communication librarians. Future research directions are proposed.

https://doi.org/10.31274/jlsc.15621

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"From Knowledge Curator to Knowledge Creator: Academic Libraries and Open Access Textbook Publishing"

Introduction: Access to learning resources is not always affordable or equitable for students in higher education, and high-cost resources, which are commonly prescribed in course reading lists, create barriers for learning. Incorporating open access textbooks in reading lists responds to these issues. Academic librarians’ expertise in curating, organizing, and disseminating knowledge coupled with a long-held passion for open access means that they are well positioned to drive partnerships with academic colleagues that prioritize the use and creation of open educational resources resulting in resources that are accessible, high quality, flexible, and appropriate to support learning in all modes (online, blended, face-to-face). Description of program/service: At La Trobe University Library, a commitment to openness provided a starting point for rethinking the role of the library as a publisher of open educational resources. The La Trobe eBureau is an Australian academic library publishing initiative designed to produce high-quality, peer-reviewed open textbooks by La Trobe University authors for La Trobe University courses. Situating the library as an open textbook publisher in partnership with academics improves the affordability of course resources, the student online learning experience, and the visibility of academic outputs and, importantly, has impact and value across higher education institutions. Next steps: This article shares reflections and challenges from the perspective of eBureau authors and library staff. The Library will continue to build on the success of eBureau collaborations and look more broadly to enact the future role of academic libraries in sustainable open textbook publishing within La Trobe University and across the higher education sector.

https://doi.org/10.31274/jlsc.14074

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"A Free Toolkit to Foster Open Access Agreements"

In November 2021, with the support of the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP) and cOAlition S, four ‘task and finish’ working groups were established. The authors facilitated and supported these groups. Each group was responsible for producing tools that will enable library consortia and small independent publishers to negotiate transformative agreements, which is to say, agreements that will enable the publisher to fully transition to open access. The first task and finish group developed shared principles for transformative agreements. The second developed a data template to enable smaller independent publishers to reach agreements with library consortia and libraries, while the third developed example licence agreements. These groups recognized that the implementation of a transformative agreement crosses a complex ecosystem of technology, processes, policies, automated functions and manual functions that relate to contract management, article submission and peer review, content hosting and dissemination as well as financial management. For this reason, a fourth group produced a workflow framework that describes the process in all its phases. The members of these four groups were volunteers from stakeholder communities including libraries, library consortia, smaller independent publishers and intermediaries. This article explains why these tools are needed and the process behind their creation. The authors have combined these tools into a freely available toolkit, available under a CC BY licence.

http://doi.org/10.1629/uksg.585

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Dean of the USC Libraries at University of Southern California

President Carol Folt has outlined a bold set of moonshot initiatives that include a dramatic investment in the "Frontiers of Computing" and an expansion of the university’s health science efforts, and the next Dean will ensure the USC Libraries are aligned with these strategic initiatives while continuing to serve the expansive needs of USC’s equally expansive academic community. The Dean must recognize the Libraries’ existing strengths while building on its success, further elevating its national and international profile. With the strong support of the university administration, the next Dean will lead the USC Libraries into an exciting new era, in which traditional resources remain vital while digital technologies are re-defining the role of academic libraries.

bit.ly/3RjL1Ab

UNC-CH "María Estorino Named Vice Provost for University Libraries and University Librarian"

We are excited to share that María R. Estorino has been appointed vice provost for University Libraries and university librarian, effective Jan. 30. She has held this role in an interim capacity since May and will continue to provide collaborative and community-focused leadership on our campus.

Estorino has been a leader in academic libraries for more than 20 years. She joined the University Libraries in 2017 as associate university librarian for special collections and director of the Louis Round Wilson Special Collections Library.

https://www.unc.edu/posts/2023/01/26/maria-estorino/

"cOAlition S Confirms the End of Its Financial Support for Open Access Publishing under Transformative Arrangements after 2024"

Plan S was launched in 2018. At that time, cOAlition S recognised that transformative arrangements would provide a useful means to repurpose funds for journal subscriptions to publication fees, thus supporting legacy publishers in transforming paywalled to Open Access publication models. It was, however, also clear that the transformation would have to be completed at a definite point in time, by the end of 2024 at the latest. We maintain this timeline. We believe that the strategy of providing financial support for these arrangements—endorsed by many cOAlition S members—beyond 2024 would significantly increase the risk that these arrangements will become permanent and perpetuate hybrid Open Access, which cOAlition S has always firmly opposed.

bit.ly/3Y2l8He

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"Faculty Perceptions of Open Access Publishing: Investigating Faculty Publishing Habits to Evaluate Library Collection Alignment"

Introduction: This investigation, originally conceived as a method for informing Albertsons Library on creative solutions to the collections budget shortfall, sought to determine an institution’s faculty perceptions of publishing and/or using open access (OA) materials, as well as to identify future mechanisms that would shift perceptions of OA publishing to a more favorable light, thereby fostering adoption of OA materials in faculty research and teaching. Methods: The study used an anonymous electronic survey of 468 faculty members, with a response rate of nearly 34%. Results and Discussion: Respondents indicated a mixed set of adoption, with equal distribution in willingness to engage with OA journals and publications. Quality of OA publications, combined with concerns for tenure and promotion, holds faculty back from utilizing OA journals and publications in their own research and in the classroom. Conclusion: The data collected through the course of this perceptions survey provide important insight into the perceptions of faculty at this point in time, laying the groundwork for future surveys to evaluate growth in engagement with OA publishing. Though the data provided do not immediately alleviate collections budget constraints at Albertsons Library, the survey contributed to a more holistic understanding of faculty publishing behavior in OA journals.

https://doi.org/10.31274/jlsc.13216

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