Research Libraries – Page 47

"The Role of the Library in the Research Enterprise"

Christopher J. Shaffer has published "The Role of the Library in the Research Enterprise" in the latest issue of the Journal of eScience Librarianship.

Here's an excerpt:

Libraries have provided services to researchers for many years. Changes in technology and new publishing models provide opportunities for libraries to be more involved in the research enterprise. Within this article, the author reviews traditional library services, briefly describes the eScience and publishing landscape as it relates to libraries, and explores possible library programs in support of research. Many of the new opportunities require new partnerships, both within the institution and externally.

Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview | Sitemap

Geneva Henry Named University Librarian, Vice Provost for Libraries at George Washington University

Geneva Henry has been named University Librarian, Vice Provost for Libraries at George Washington University.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

Geneva Henry has been named the George Washington University's university librarian and vice provost for libraries. In this role, Ms. Henry will be responsible for planning, directing and overseeing all operations of GW's Estelle and Melvin Gelman, Eckles and Virginia Science and Technology Campus libraries. She will join George Washington July 1. . . .

Ms. Henry currently serves as executive director of digital scholarship services at Rice University in Houston. She has spent more than a decade at Rice, working on developing the library's digital collections from the ground up. Her projects have included data management planning, preservation of digital scholarship resources, geographic information systems (GIS) support and education, multimedia creation and editing, workshops for working with digital technologies and maintenance of the university's electronic theses and dissertations submission system and digital collection.

Prior to her position at Rice, Ms. Henry worked in industry and on government contracts, in areas such as artificial intelligence, medical imaging libraries and digital search technologies. She also worked as a consultant for higher education clients who were working to begin or expand digital library programs.

Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview | Sitemap

Library Copyright Alliance Files Brief in Georgia State University E-Reserves Case

The Library Copyright Alliance has filed a brief in the Cambridge U. Press et al. v. Mark P. Becker et al. e-reserves copyright case that was prepared by the EFF and Jonathan Band.

Here's an excerpt from the EFF announcement:

In the amicus brief filed today, EFF urges the appeals court to see what the district court saw: the vast majority of uses at issue were protected fair uses. Moreover, as a practical matter, the licensing market the publishers say they want to create for e-reserves will never emerge—not least because libraries can't afford to participate in it. Even assuming that libraries could pay such fees, requiring this would thwart the purpose of copyright by undermining the overall market for scholarship. Given libraries' stagnant or shrinking budgets, any new spending for licenses must be reallocated from existing expenditures, and the most likely source of reallocated funds is the budget for collections. An excerpt license requirement thus will harm the market for new scholarly works, as the works assigned for student reading are likely to be more established pieces written by well-known academics. Libraries' total investment in scholarship will be the same but resources will be diverted away from new works to redundant payments for existing ones, in direct contradiction of copyright's purpose of "promot[ing] progress."

Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview | Sitemap

"The Winds of Change: Periodicals Price Survey 2013"

Stephen Bosch and Kittie Henderson have published "The Winds of Change: Periodicals Price Survey 2013" in Library Journal.

Here's an excerpt:

This year, the serials pricing data indicates that prices are increasing at about the same rate as last year. Increases seemed to have plateaued at about 6% for 2013. Data from the merged ISI indexes shows a 6% increase for 2013, unchanged from 2012. EBSCO's MasterFILE Premier and Academic Search Premier show similar results: average prices for titles in MSP increased 5% for 2013, while average prices for titles in ASP increased 6% in 2013, the same increase as for 2012. The Consumer Price Index (CPI), on the other hand, advanced 1.7% for 2012, which means serials inflation continues to far exceed general inflationary pressures and library budget adjustments.

Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview | Sitemap

Perception Analysis of Scholarly E-Books in the Humanities at the Collegiate Level

ACLS Humanities E-Book has released Perception Analysis of Scholarly E-Books in the Humanities at the Collegiate Level.

Here's an excerpt:

At present, there is significant market confusion regarding e-book selections in the academic marketplace, particularly in the humanities. University acquisition librarians, unsure of what the offerings actually are, have found themselves unsure of where to allocate funds, which has resulted in the postponement of e-book purchases. This paper provides a current assessment of the status of e-book offerings in the humanities.

Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview | Sitemap

"Academic Librarians and Research Data Services: Preparation and Attitudes"

Carol Tenopir, Robert J. Sandusky, Suzie Allard, and Ben Birch have published "Academic Librarians and Research Data Services: Preparation and Attitudes" in the latest issue of IFLA Journal.

Here's an excerpt:

Research funding bodies recognize the importance of infrastructure and services to organize and preserve research data, and academic research libraries have been identified as locations in which to base these research data services (RDS). Research data services include data management planning, digital curation (selection, preservation, maintenance, and archiving), and metadata creation and conversion. We report the results of an empirical investigation into the RDS practices of librarians in US and Canadian academic research libraries, establishing a baseline of the engagement of librarians at this early stage of widespread service development. Specifically, this paper examines the opinions of the surveyed librarians regarding their preparedness to provide RDS (background, skills, and education), their attitudes regarding the importance of RDS for their libraries and institutions, and the factors that contribute to or inhibit librarian engagement in RDS.

Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview | Sitemap

"The Copyright Axis of Evil: The Academic Library Must Confront Threats to User Rights"

ACRL has released "The Copyright Axis of Evil: The Academic Library Must Confront Threats to User Rights" as part of the ACRL 2013 Proceedings.

Here's an excerpt:

This paper will define the key copyright developments that will challenge academic libraries over the next two years (2013-15) as they seek to support teaching, learning and research at their institutions. American libraries have benefited in significant ways from the availability of fair use (section 107) and various exceptions (section 108) in the US copyright law. But a new library treaty in development at the World Intellectual Property Organization highlights the expanding influence of global copyright developments on national policies.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview | Sitemap |

Ithaka S+R US Faculty Survey 2012

Ithaka S+R has released the Ithaka S+R US Faculty Survey 2012.

Here's an excerpt:

Major topics covered by the survey include:

Research processes: The processes through which scholars perform their research, focusing principally on the use of research materials in secondary and primary research.

Teaching practices: The pedagogical methods that faculty members are adopting and the ways that they draw on content and support services in their teaching.

Scholarly communications:Formal and informal methods by which scholars communicate with each other, the ways in which the types of materials and information exchanged in these processes are evolving, and needs for various kinds of publishing support services.

The library: How faculty members perceive the roles and value of their institutional library, touching on the roles the library plays in supporting many of the above activities.

Scholarly societies:How faculty members perceive the roles and value of their primary scholarly society, including in supporting both formal and informal communications between scholars.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview | Sitemap |

Report on Research Libraries Readiness for Sustainable Digital Preservation

APARSEN has released the Business Preparedness Report.

Here's an excerpt:

This report presents the results of a European-wide online survey for assessing the preparedness of research libraries (as represented by the members of LIBER) in regard to economically-sustainable digital preservation. The survey investigated the preparedness in accordance to the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Task Force and the results have been mapped to these recommendations to identify Implementation Gaps. The further analyses of these Gaps will allow key stakeholders to intervene in a prioritized way and to facilitate progress of digital preservation to become an economically sustainable practice.

| Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Publications Overview | Sitemap |

Fit for Purpose: Developing Business Cases for New Services in Research Libraries Webinar Recording

DuraSpace has released a recording of its Fit for Purpose: Developing Business Cases for New Services in Research Libraries webinar.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

Mike Furlough, Associate Dean of Research and Scholarly Communications, Penn State and David Minor Chronopolis Program Manager and Director of Digital Preservation Initiatives University of California San Diego Library/SDSC presented "Fit for Purpose: Developing Business Cases for New Services in Research Libraries" to participants in the DuraSpace/ARL/DLF E-Science Institute. In this webinar, the presenters discussed the CLIR/DLF-funded research project Fit for Purpose, which aims to present a structured, disciplined approach for making decisions about creating and maintaining new services in research libraries.

| Digital Curation Resource Guide | Digital Scholarship |

Academic Libraries and Research Data Services: Current Practices and Plans for the Future

ARCL has released Academic Libraries and Research Data Services: Current Practices and Plans for the Future.

Here's an excerpt:

This study surveyed a cross section of academic library members of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) in the United States and Canada to provide a baseline assessment of the current state of and future plans for research data services in academic libraries in these countries.

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

Changing Role of Senior Administrators, SPEC Kit 331

ARL has released the Changing Role of Senior Administrators, SPEC Kit 331.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has published Changing Role of Senior Administrators, SPEC Kit 331, which focuses on the professional, administrative, and management positions that report directly to the library director (or, in some ARL member libraries, the position that serves as the representative to the Association), positions that have not been examined by a SPEC survey since 1984. This SPEC Kit explores the responsibilities of these positions, and the skills, qualifications, and competencies necessary for these administrators to successfully lead a transforming 21st-century research library. The publication looks at whether and how position requirements have changed in the past five years, whether the number of direct reports has changed, whether these administrators have assumed new areas of organizational responsibility, and how they acquire the new skills to fulfill those responsibilities.

| Reviews of Digital Scholarship Publications | Digital Scholarship |

Report of the ARL Joint Task Force on Services to Patrons with Print Disabilities

The Association of Research Libraries has released the Report of the ARL Joint Task Force on Services to Patrons with Print Disabilities.

Here's an excerpt from:

This ARL task force report highlights emerging and promising strategies to better align research libraries with other institutional and related partners in ensuring accessibility to research resources while fully meeting legal requirements. The report addresses the technological, service, and legal factors relating to a variety of information resources with respect to print disability. These factors resonate closely with the existing research library agenda to make scholarly communication more open, to foster independence among its user base by teaching information literacy, to honor and invest in diversity, as well as to focus on the growing trend toward universal design in instruction.

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

UNT Libraries: Open Access Fund Research Report

The University of North Texas Libraries have released the UNT Libraries: Open Access Fund Research Report.

Here's the abstract:

This report discusses Open Access (OA) funds created at universities in order to assist faculty authors with Article Processing Charges (APCs). Building on the research initiatives of the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC), thirty North American universities' OA fund initiatives were reviewed on their sponsors, eligibility, reimbursement criteria, and stipulations related to the fund. In addition, fifteen OA journal funding models and twelve hybrid journal funding models were reviewed on their average APCs and their licensing policies. This report serves as a framework for building upon emerging best practices and outlining possible approaches and considerations for the University of North Texas.

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

Librarians at McGill University Library Adopt Open Access Policy

Librarians at the McGill University Library have adopted an open access policy.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

McGill librarians are granting the McGill University Library a nonexclusive, irrevocable, worldwide license to exercise any and all rights under copyright relating to their scholarly articles, in any medium, and to authorize others to do the same, provided that the works are properly attributed to the authors and not sold for a profit.

Specifically, each librarian grants a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported license for each of his or her scholarly articles.

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

ARL Statistics 2010-2011

The Association of Research Libraries has released ARL Statistics 2010-2011.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

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 126 member libraries in 2010-2011 was slightly more than $4.6 billion; of that total, roughly $3.2 billion was spent by the 115 university libraries and more than $1.3 million by the 11 nonuniversity libraries.

| Scholarly Electronic Publishing Weblog | Digital Scholarship |

"Issue Brief: Massive Open Online Courses: Legal and Policy Issues for Research Libraries"

ARL has released "Issue Brief: Massive Open Online Courses: Legal and Policy Issues for Research Libraries."

Here's an excerpt:

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) raise significant legal and policy questions for research libraries, which are often asked to support the development of MOOC courses. These questions involve information policy concerns that are central to research libraries, including the proper application of fair use, the transition to open access as the default mode of scholarly publishing, and the provision of equal access to learning materials for students with and without disabilities. Where possible, research libraries should engage in conversations around MOOCs and promote their core values. By doing so, they will also promote the continuing vitality of libraries as partners in the educational mission.

| Reviews of Digital Scholarship Publications | Digital Scholarship |

Fit for Purpose: Developing Business Cases for New Services in Research Libraries

The Council on Library and Information Resources has released Fit for Purpose: Developing Business Cases for New Services in Research Libraries.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

Sponsored by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) and the Digital Library Federation (DLF) program, Fit for Purpose presents a set of recommendations that libraries can adopt when developing any new service. The report attends closely to entrepreneurial activities such as library-based publishing and data stewardship because of the uncertainty and complexity of those services. . . .

Fit for Purpose provides a decision-making toolbox created from elements of social entrepreneurship and project management that are consistent with research library environments and values. It addresses organizational readiness and risk tolerance, business case development, piloting new services, and monitoring sustainability through the business planning lifecycle. The team is also conducting several case studies to explore how libraries have conducted business planning to support their new ventures. These will be published at a future date, followed by a concluding report that reassesses the initial recommendations.

| Reviews of Digital Scholarship Publications | Digital Scholarship |

UK Government Allocates £10 Million to Support Open Access

The UK Government has allocated £10 million to support open access in UK research universities.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

The investment will enable a number of research-intensive UK institutions to kick-start the process of developing policies and setting up funds to meet the costs of article processing charges (APCs). This is in line with the recommendations of the Finch report on open access, published in June. . . .

The investment will be made to 30 institutions receiving funding through Research Councils and UK higher education funding councils. It is in addition to the contribution RCUK will be making to institutions to support payment of APCs associated with open access through block funding grants from 1 April 2013 onwards. More details of this will be announced in the autumn.

The UK Funding Councils will launch a consultation this autumn on implementing a requirement that research outputs submitted to any future Research Excellence Framework (REF) should be as widely accessible as possible.

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

Moving Towards an Open Access Future: The Role of Academic Libraries

Sage has released Moving Towards an Open Access Future: The Role of Academic Libraries.

Here's an excerpt:

On 26 April 2012, a group of 14 librarians and other industry experts met together at the British Library to discuss the role of the academic library in an open access (OA) future. The aims of the roundtable were to provide an international perspective on the likely impact of an open access future on librarians, to identify support and skills required for librarians in such a future, and to further current discussion on support for the library community from their institutions, publishers, funders and other parties.

The group discussed a number of key questions, beginning with setting parameters for what the likely shift towards OA might be in different disciplines and different geographic regions, then considering what the impact of such a shift would mean for the academic library community. This report is a summary of that discussion and the opinions of all participants.

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

"Ten Recommendations for Libraries to Get Started with Research Data Management"

The LIBER working group on E-Science has released "Ten Recommendations for Libraries to Get Started with Research Data Management."

Here's an excerpt:

LIBER installed the 'E-Science working group' in 2010 to investigate the role libraries can and should play in the field of E-Science. The group decided to focus on research data as it was felt to be the most urgent element of e-science that is of relevance to the community of (research) libraries. The group has held three workshops, the first during the LIBER conference 2011 in Barcelona, the second during the IDCC 2011 conference in Bristol and the third and last one during the LIBER conference 2012 in Tartu. The results of the first two workshops were used as a basis for compiling recommendations to the LIBER ommunity. The "10 recommendations for libraries to support research data management" (see side bar) were finalized and prioritized during the final workshop at the LIBER-conference in Tartu.

| Digital Curation Resource Guide | Digital Scholarship |

Scholarly Communication Program Case Study: "Relational Communications: Developing Key Connections"

Micah Vandegrift and Gloria Colvin have published "Relational Communications: Developing Key Connections" in the latest issue of College & Research Libraries News.

Here's an excerpt:

Two years ago use of the terms scholarly communication and open access on the Florida State University (FSU) campus was limited primarily to library administrators and a few library and teaching faculty. But, in a relatively short time, we have dramatically increased awareness of these topics on our campus and accomplished many of our goals. Our focus has been on promoting authors' rights, the option to archive publications in open access repositories, and the evolution of scholarly publication in a digital environment, rather than a focus on the serials crisis facing libraries. Looking back over these past two years, the relationships that we developed along the way have been foundational to our success. Here, we discuss development of the FSU program and key steps we took, which we hope are instructive to others in developing a scholarly communication program.

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

"Issue Brief: 21st-Century Collections: Calibration of Investment and Collaborative Action"

The Association of Research Libraries has released "Issue Brief: 21st-Century Collections: Calibration of Investment and Collaborative Action."

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

Carton Rogers, Vice Provost and Director of Libraries at the University of Pennsylvania, chairs the ARL Transforming Research Libraries Steering Committee, which originally requested the issue brief. According to Rogers, this paper provides directors with an excellent overview of emerging and horizon issues and the challenges of building 21st-century collections. "The paper's emphasis on networked resources, teamwork, and cross-institutional collaboration underscores the need for new roles and new competencies for our workforce, which is currently a key focus of the committee's agenda. We encourage discussions of the shared future projected in the report, its implications for library staff, and for the ongoing support of research, teaching, and learning on our campuses."

| Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography 2010 | Digital Scholarship |

Librarians at Miami University Libraries Adopt Open Access Policy

Librarians at the Miami University Libraries have adopted an open access policy.

Here's an excerpt from "Miami University Librarians Pass Open Access Policy":

On Monday, the librarians at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio affirmed their commitment to the principles of Open Access by voting in favor of an Open Access policy. The policy, based on Harvard University's Model Policy, will increase access to librarians' scholarly articles. Librarians will begin depositing their scholarly output in the Scholarly Commons, Miami's institutional repository. Miami University Libraries is the first department on Miami's campus to successfully pass an open access policy. "I am so proud to work at Miami today," said Jen Waller, Interdisciplinary Research Librarian and Chair of the Libraries' Scholarly Communication Working Group. "My colleagues' vote in favor of an open access policy allows the Miami University Libraries to be a leader in Open Access on the Miami campus. Additionally, the adoption of this policy will allow librarians here to gain first hand knowledge of how facets of open access work, which will greatly improve our outreach efforts to faculty on campus."

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

Harvard Library Releases over 12 Million Bibliographic Records under CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication

The Harvard Library has released over 12 million bibliographic records under the CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication license.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

The Harvard Library announced it is making more than 12 million catalog records from Harvard’s 73 libraries publicly available.

The records contain bibliographic information about books, videos, audio recordings, images, manuscripts, maps, and more. The Harvard Library is making these records available in accordance with its Open Metadata Policy and under a Creative Commons 0 (CC0) public domain license. In addition, the Harvard Library announced its open distribution of metadata from its Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) scholarly article repository under a similar CC0 license.

"The Harvard Library is committed to collaboration and open access. We hope this contribution is one of many steps toward sharing the vital cultural knowledge held by libraries with all," said Mary Lee Kennedy, Senior Associate Provost for the Harvard Library.

| Open Access Bibliography: Liberating Scholarly Literature with E-Prints and Open Access Journals: Those wishing to learn more about the open access movement would be well served by turning to Bailey's Open Access Bibliography. . . .This title is a major contribution to the study of the open access movement in general, as well as its emergence in the early twenty-first century. — Mary Aycock, Library Resources and Technical Services 52, no. 3 (2008): 212-213. | Digital Scholarship |