Columbia University Libraries Adopt Open Access Policy

The Columbia University Libraries have adopted an open access policy.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

Columbia University Libraries is joining a growing movement among universities and research institutions to make scholarly research free and available to the public online. The Libraries is among the first departments at the university to adopt an open access resolution, which calls for faculty and other researchers to post their journal articles in online repositories such as Columbia's Academic Commons. In January, the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory became the first program at Columbia to adopt an open access resolution.

The resolution for the Libraries, which goes into effect on June 1, 2011, will require librarians and other professional staff members to deposit their published scholarly works into Academic Commons or another repository that makes the work publicly available. By posting articles in an open-access repository, authors are able to make their works freely accessible to anyone in the world with an Internet connection and discoverable via Google Scholar and other search tools, thus promoting a wider dissemination of research and information.

"The Libraries at Columbia have championed open access to research,” James G. Neal, Vice President for Information Services and University Librarian, said. "It is appropriate that its professional staff should model this policy and place their works in repositories for wide access and use."

The resolution covers only scholarly journal articles and is not retroactive. There is an opt-out feature built into the resolution, with respect to publishing an article in a journal that insists on exclusivity.  The resolution will also cover Health Sciences Library professional staff.

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

Library Copyright Alliance Statement on Copyright Reform

The Library Copyright Alliance has issued a statement on copyright reform.

Here's an excerpt:

Because of the favorable treatment such activities likely would receive in the courts under sections 107 and 504(c)(2), libraries would support an effort to amend the Copyright Act to benefit libraries only if it offered significant benefits over the status quo. To do so, a proposal must contain at least the following features:

  • The non-commercial use (i.e., reproduction, distribution, public performance, public display, or preparation of a derivative work) by a nonprofit library or archives of a work when it possesses a copy of that work in its collection:
    • would not be subject to statutory damages;
    • would not be subject to actual damages if the use ceases when the library or archives receives an objection from the copyright owner of the work; and
    • would be subject to injunctive relief only to the extent that the use continues after the library or archives receives an objection from the copyright owner of the work.
  • This limitation on remedies would apply to the employees of the library or archives, as well as to a consortium that includes the library or archives.
  • Copyright owner objections would have no effect on a library’s rights under fair use.

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

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 |

OCLC Research Library Partnership to Launch in July 2011

The OCLC Research Library Partnership will launch on 7/1/11.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

The OCLC Research Library Partnership is a new entity that will replace the RLG Partnership on 1 July 2011 and is a locus for OCLC's increased support of the research library community. It is an organization born out of the successful merger of RLG and OCLC in 2006, when expert staff from the two organizations were blended into one team with a combined effort directed toward supporting research libraries and archives. The merger created a venue where affiliated institutions could collectively identify, analyze, prioritize and design scalable solutions to shared information challenges. . . .

OCLC recognizes the valuable contribution that research libraries play in the cooperative and wants to provide a specific venue for engagement around shared issues. This venue is the OCLC Research Library Partnership, and it represents OCLC's renewed commitment to the research library community. OCLC's increased investment in the Partnership enables a significant reduction in the annual Partnership dues, which will, in turn, enable a greater range of institutions to participate in the Partnership in the future.

Read more about it at "Introducing the OCLC Research Library Partnership" and "OCLC Research Library Partnership Frequently Asked Questions."

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

"Prospects for Systemic Change across Academic Libraries"

James G. Neal has published "Prospects for Systemic Change across Academic Libraries" in the latest issue of the EDUCAUSE Review.

Here's an excerpt:

Similarly, we must raise the question of why the overwhelming majority of academic libraries in the United States continue to maintain a full suite of technical services operations. The acquisition, management, cataloging, preservation, and digitization of library resources—the mass-production aspects of library work—should be integrated into a network of regional service agencies. This would enable efficiencies and quality that may not be achievable on the local level. But more important, doing so would release staff resources to be focused more aggressively and productively on working with the user and on partnering in the learning and research work of the campus.

| 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 |

The British Library’s Strategy 2011-2015

The British Library has released The British Library's Strategy 2011-2015.

Here's an excerpt:

Our vision is supported by five key themes which set out the strategic priorities for the Library:

  1. Guarantee access for future generations.
  2. Enable access to everyone who wants to do research.
  3. Support research communities in key areas for social and economic benefit.
  4. Enrich the cultural life of the nation.
  5. Lead and collaborate in growing the world's knowledge base.

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

Europeana Libraries Project Will Add 5 Million Digital Objects to Europeana

Europeana has launched the Europeana Libraries Project.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

Work begins this week to add over 5 million digital objects, ranging from Spanish civil war photographs and handwritten letters from philosopher Immanuel Kant, to Europeana from 19 of Europe's leading research and university libraries.

The project is called Europeana Libraries and it will put many of these treasures online for the first time. It will also add extensive collections from Google Books, theses, dissertations and open-access journal articles to the 15 million items amassed in Europeana to date. Providers include some of Europe's most prestigious universities and research institutes, including the University of Oxford's Bodleian Library, Trinity College Dublin and Lund University.

The assembled objects span centuries of European history. Manuscripts from Serbia date back as far as 1206 and relate to the Ottoman Empire's European territories. Written in Arabic, Ottoman Turkish and Persian, they are being digitised by the University Library of Belgrade. There will also be significant film additions. Footage of talks from 10 Nobel prize winners will be contributed by the University of Vienna and the Wellcome Trust Library in London will add 900 clips from medical science films produced over the past 100 years.

Europeana Libraries is notable not only for the content it will make available online but also because this project brings together national, research and university libraries under one umbrella, to make their materials available via Europeana.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview |

"The Impact of the Supreme Court’s Decision in Costco v. Omega on Libraries"

The Library Copyright Alliance has released "The Impact of the Supreme Court's Decision in Costco v. Omega on Libraries."

Here's an excerpt:

On December 13, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Costco v. Omega in a manner that eliminated none of the uncertainty caused by the lower court's ruling in that case. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit had ruled that the copyright law's "first sale doctrine" did not apply to copies manufactured abroad. This ruling cast doubt on a library's ability to circulate books and other materials manufactured outside of the United States. In a 4 to 4 vote, the Supreme Court affirmed the lower court's judgment "by an equally divided Court." This means that the Ninth Circuit's ruling stands within the Ninth Circuit, but is not a binding precedent on courts in the rest of the country. Libraries must now decide whether to change their purchasing and lending practices in light of the Supreme Court's decision. This memorandum suggests that a combination of defenses, including section 602(a)(3)(C) of the Copyright Act, the Ninth Circuit's Drug Emporium exception, implied license, and fair use, allow libraries throughout the country to continue their existing purchasing and circulation practices with a fair degree of confidence that they will not infringe copyright by doing so.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview |

"Issue Brief: FCC’s Net Neutrality Rules and Implications for Research Libraries"

The Association of Research Libraries has released "Issue Brief: FCC's Net Neutrality Rules and Implications for Research Libraries."

Here's an excerpt:

FCC Votes to Enact "Net Neutrality" Rules: After years of debate and consideration, on December 21, 2010, the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") voted 3-2 in favor of enacting a narrow set of net neutrality rules to regulate the practices of broadband providers. "Net neutrality" is the principle that Internet users should have the right to access and provide content and use services via the Internet as they wish, and that network operators should not be allowed to "discriminate"—slow, block, or charge fees—for Internet traffic based on the source or content of its message. . . .

The wording of the net neutrality rules, advanced by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, appears to reflect an attempt at a compromise between network operators and advocates for strong net neutrality protections—including ARL, ALA, and EDUCAUSE. Ultimately, however, the limited scope of protection in the rules has not fully satisfied the concerns voiced by parties on both sides of the issue and thus has set the stage for further debate over regulation in the courts and in Congress.

| Digital Scholarship |

Partnering to Publish: Innovative Roles for Societies, Institutions, Presses, and Libraries Presentations

ARL has released presentations from its Partnering to Publish: Innovative Roles for Societies, Institutions, Presses, and Libraries meeting.

Here's an excerpt:

The Partnering to Publish seminar, jointly sponsored by the Society for Scholarly Publishing and the Association of Research Libraries on November 10, 2010, provided an occasion to learn about current partnerships between librarians and publishers in an environment where traditional roles are changing and to explore new opportunities for cost-effective and innovative joint ventures.

| Digital Scholarship |

RLUK Wants Serials Price Reductions to Avoid Cuts That Would "Fatally Compromise" Research

Research Libraries UK has issued a press release about needed serials price reductions.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

At its recent conference, RLUK announced it would not support future journal big deals unless they showed real price reductions. With a cut to the teaching grant and research budgets flat at best, RLUK members believe that unless this happens they will be forced to cancel significant numbers of subscriptions which will fatally compromise the UK's capacity for research.

For the past several years JISC Collections have negotiated with the publishers on behalf of UKHE. RLUK is so worried about the current situation that it has instructed JISC Collections to secure contracts which will not only rescind the unreasonable price rises of the last three years, but also offer affordable deals for the future. If reasonable deals cannot be struck RLUK libraries will be forced to provide information resources to their researchers and students in other ways.

"The capacity of UK universities to continue to pay such large year-on-year increases for access to scholarly journals is not infinite," said Professor Michael Arthur, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds and Chair of the Russell Group of Universities. "To ensure the continued vitality of the UK's world-beating research base we need to reassess the costs of electronic access and find a new balance between the value added by publishers and the charges they make. We realise that finding such a balance may not be easy, but if we fail to address the problem now there will be serious long-term consequences for research and teaching in the UK."

"The UK Higher Education sector now spends almost £200m per year on access to journals and databases," explained David Prosser, RLUK's Executive Director. "This is 10% of the total QR funding the sector receives and increases above inflation each year. We understand the value publishers add to the publication process, but publishers must also understand that they cannot continue to increase prices at a time when budgets are so tight. We do not wish to cancel big deals, but we shall have no alternative unless the largest publishers substantially reduce their prices."

"Some RLUK members now pay over £1m a year to access journals from the largest publisher," said Phil Sykes, Chair of RLUK and Librarian at Liverpool University. "With annual journal price inflation running at double the rate of RPI since 2000, it has distorted the acquisition policies of libraries, with an ever-increasing proportion of budgets being spent on electronic big deals. This leads to diminishing funds for monographs, textbooks, and journals from smaller publishers, which cannot but damage scholarship and teaching in UKHE."

| Digital Scholarship |

Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL) Issues Statement on Open Scholarship

The Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL) has issued a statement on open scholarship. CAUL has also established COSI (CAUL Open Scholarship Initiative).

Here's an excerpt:

CAUL and its members seek to facilitate Open Scholarship by:

  • Collaborating with researchers, research institutions and publishers to raise awareness of the principles, practice and benefits of open access publishing.
  • Working with researchers and others to enable appropriate open access to both their published works and their primary research data.
  • Advocating and implementing policies to ensure fair use of copyrighted information for educational and research purposes.
  • Cooperating with the Australian Government to improve access to scholarly information through maximising the amount of information in the public domain or otherwise available without economic restriction through open access to publicly funded research findings and data.
  • Developing infrastructure components, including institutional repositories, that will facilitate open access to scholarly information

| Digital Scholarship |

British Library: 2020 Vision

The British Library has released 2020 Vision.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

2020 Vision is our 10-year vision, following 12 months of extensive and wide-ranging research and consultation. In today’s climate of significant technological change, it highlights what are likely to be the key trends and opportunities over the next decade, and indicates how we will develop as an organisation to increase access to the world’s knowledge base for our users.

Trends in the Finances of UK Higher Education Libraries: 1999-2009

The Research Information Network has released Trends in the Finances of UK Higher Education Libraries: 1999-2009.

Here's an excerpt:

The last decade has been a period of unprecedented change for university libraries. The rapid growth in numbers of students and staff across the higher education sector has been accompanied by the move to a substantially-digital environment, with some fundamental changes in how libraries and their users operate. Further change is on the way, with unpredictable implications for students, academic staff, and for libraries. As they have responded to new developments over the past decade, and changed their operations, most university libraries have seen continued growth in their budgets in real terms. The next few years are going to be much more difficult in financial terms. Libraries therefore face a period in which they will have to cope with continued rapid, perhaps transformational, change, accompanied by reductions in their budgets.

In that context, this briefing paper looks at how the financial position of libraries in the higher education sector has changed over the period between 1999 and 2009 (the latest year for which statistics are available). It is based on an analysis of data collected by SCONUL, and also draws some comparisons with the US. For some twenty years SCONUL has collected annual figures for a wide range of activities and costs amongst its members in UK higher education. SCONUL data are available in annual volumes from academic year 1993-94 onwards.

Value of Academic Libraries: A Comprehensive Research Review and Report

The Association of College and Research Libraries has released the Value of Academic Libraries: A Comprehensive Research Review and Report.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

Developed for ACRL by Megan Oakleaf of the iSchool at Syracuse University, this valuable resource reviews the quantitative and qualitative literature, methodologies and best practices currently in place for demonstrating the value of academic libraries. The full report, along with supplemental materials, is available online at http://www.acrl.ala.org/value/. . . .

The primary objective of this comprehensive review is to provide academic librarians and institutional leaders with a clearer understanding of what research about the performance of academic libraries already exists and where gaps in this research occur. The report additionally identifies the most promising best practices and measures correlated to performance and represents a starting point to assist college, university and community college librarians in gathering evidence to tell the story of their libraries and promote dialogue on the value of the academic library in higher education. . . .

The full report is now available on the ACRL website, along with a separate executive summary for distribution to campus decision makers, a bibliography of sources consulted in the development of the report, a podcast interview with Hinchliffe and Oakleaf and links to additional resources.

University Investment in the Library, Phase II: An International Study of the Library’s Value to the Grants Process

Elsevier has released University Investment in the Library, Phase II: An International Study of the Library's Value to the Grants Process by Carol Tenopir (with other contributors).

Here's an excerpt:

The results demonstrate the value of the library to the institution in improving grant proposal and report writing and in helping to attract grant income. Library e-collections especially play a vital role in all aspects of grants, from proposal writing to final reports. The study across countries also shows how some specific factors within an institution (such as subject focus) or factors within a country (such as sources for grants funding) can influence the ROI for grants income. This report continues the ongoing discussion of ROI and academic libraries.

Futures Thinking for Academic Librarians: Higher Education in 2025

The Association of College and Research Libraries has released Futures Thinking for Academic Librarians: Higher Education in 2025.

Here's an excerpt:

This document presents 26 possible scenarios based on an implications assessment of current trends, which may have an impact on all types of academic and research libraries over the next 15 years. The scenarios represent themes relating to academic culture, demographics, distance education, funding, globalization, infrastructure/facilities, libraries, political climate, publishing industry, societal values, students/learning, and technology. They are organized in a “scenario space” visualization tool, reflecting the expert judgment of ACRL members as to their expectations and perceptions about the probability, impact, speed of change, and threat/opportunity potential of each scenario. Finally, the study draws out implications for academic libraries.

Addressing the Research Data Gap: A Review of Novel Services for Libraries

The Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) has released Addressing the Research Data Gap: A Review of Novel Services for Libraries.

Here's an excerpt:

This document presents the results of a review of novel opportunities for libraries in the area of research data services. The activities were identified through a review of the literature and a scan of projects being undertaken at libraries and other institutions worldwide. For the purpose of this report, research data services have been organized into five distinct areas (although it should be noted that there are significant overlaps between them): awareness and advocacy; support and training; access and discovery; archiving and preservation; and virtual research environments. Each section contains a general description of the area accompanied by a number of examples. The examples are not meant to be comprehensive account of existing projects, but rather to highlight the range of possibilities available.

Library of Congress to Archive All Public Tweets Since March 2006

The Library of Congress has tweeted that it will to archive all public tweets made since March 2006.

Here's an excerpt from the blog announcement:

Have you ever sent out a "tweet" on the popular Twitter social media service? Congratulations: Your 140 characters or less will now be housed in the Library of Congress.

That’s right. Every public tweet, ever, since Twitter’s inception in March 2006, will be archived digitally at the Library of Congress. That’s a LOT of tweets, by the way: Twitter processes more than 50 million tweets every day, with the total numbering in the billions.

We thought it fitting to give the initial heads-up to the Twitter community itself via our own feed @librarycongress. (By the way, out of sheer coincidence, the announcement comes on the same day our own number of feed—followers has surpassed 50,000. I love serendipity!)

We will also be putting out a press release later with even more details and quotes. Expect to see an emphasis on the scholarly and research implications of the acquisition. I'm no Ph.D., but it boggles my mind to think what we might be able to learn about ourselves and the world around us from this wealth of data. And I'm certain we'll learn things that none of us now can even possibly conceive.

The JISC MOSAIC Project: Making Our Scholarly Activity Information Count; Final Report

JISC has released The JISC MOSAIC Project: Making Our Scholarly Activity Information Count; Final Report.

Here's an excerpt:

The project was tasked to investigate the possibilities for exploiting the user activity and resource use data that might currently or potentially be made available through Higher Education systems to benefit libraries, national services and their users. The project generated seven demonstrators, worked with a variety of real library datasets and organised a series of six practitioner and user workshops. In so doing, it gathered a great deal of intelligence about the potential, both possibilities and pitfalls, for individual universities and national services.

Read more about it at Making Our Shared Activity Information Count (MOSAIC).

NDIIPP Podcast: Babak Hamidzadeh Discusses the Library of Congress' Digital Repository

The National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program has released a podcast (MP3 file) of Babak Hamidzadeh discussing the Library of Congress' digital repository.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

Mike Ashenfelder from the Library of Congress talks with Babak Hamidzadeh, Director of Repository Development at the Library of Congress, about the challenges of building an efficient, scalable digital repository. Hamidzadeh describes how the Library's repository works, future plans for the repository and its tools and what will be expected of IT professionals and digital librarians as their roles grow increasingly interdependent.

Research Libraries, Risk and Systemic Change

OCLC Research has released Research Libraries, Risk and Systemic Change.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

This report provides an overview of the most significant risks facing research libraries and suggests strategies to mitigate them.

OCLC Research engaged an organization experienced in conducting risk assessments for corporate, governmental and educational clients to identify the most significant risks facing research libraries in the United States. The data collected was assimilated, ranked and analyzed, which revealed a convergence of perceived risks and yielded a shared perspective on a landscape of challenges facing US research libraries.

The descriptive categorization of these risks included in the report provide research libraries with a common vocabulary for identifying, evaluating and responding to shared challenges. They also help build the foundation to support movement toward cooperative mitigation of critical risks. Based on this foundation, OCLC Research intends to formulate a collaborative action agenda in partnership with the research library community.

Challenges for Academic Libraries in Difficult Economic Times: A Guide for Senior Institutional Managers and Policy Makers

The Research Information Network has released Challenges for Academic Libraries in Difficult Economic Times: A Guide for Senior Institutional Managers and Policy Makers.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

Based upon data gathered in the UK and internationally, and focus groups with senior librarians during late 2009, the guide looks at the financial position of libraries, their strategies for dealing with challenging economic circumstances, and the value of libraries.

After a decade of growth in budgets and services, academic librarians now expect a sustained period of cuts over the next three to five years. The scale of these cuts means librarians are having to reconsider the kinds and levels of service they can provide in support of their universities missions.

This guide shows how librarians are responding to the issues of balancing expenditure between information resources and staffing and how they plan to sustain levels of service, as well as developing new services to meet new needs. It demonstrates that library directors need the support of senior managers across the higher education sector, as well as from publishers and other information providers, to help address the challenges, as well as the opportunities, faced.

Read more about it at the briefing document.

The Future of Research and the Research Library

Denmark's Electronic Research Library has released The Future of Research and the Research Library.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

The report sets up a number of challenges and scenarios for the future of the research library. The libraries must take some strategic future choices. Should the library maintain its traditional role or should it become a knowledge center for research and learning?

For a long time Denmark's Electronic Research Library, DEFF, has wished to make a study of the future library service of researchers and scientists. By engaging The Lime Guild this job was done throughout 2009. The Lime Guild has done several analyses, which have had the purpose to predict future scenarios for the research libraries in relation to the development within the research system and to the future demands of the researchers.

An essential part of conducting this study was to do interviews with interested parties and the main stakeholders in DEFF. This group of people includes both vice-chancellors and deans at universities, library directors of development and also representatives from DEFF's steering committee and liaison group. Also key international experts have contributed generously to the study.