Digital Archivist at College of William & Mary’s Earl Gregg Swem Library

The College of William & Mary's Earl Gregg Swem Library is recruiting a Digital Archivist.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Digital Archivist will serve as the SCRC's [Special Collections Research Center] expert relating to all aspects of digital collections and activities. The position will take a lead role in the creation, maintenance, and stewardship of digital collections in the SCRC and will coordinate the SCRC's archival management system, discovery tools, and online presence via the web and social media. This position will perform other regular archival duties including reference service, outreach activities, and instructional activities with classes visiting the SCRC.

| Digital Scholarship |

Copyright: "Adverse Possession of Orphan Works"

Katherine M. Meeks, has self-archived "Adverse Possession of Orphan Works" in SelectedWorks.

Here's an excerpt:

This paper proposes that Congress could adapt the real property doctrine of adverse possession to clear the muddy rights to these orphan works. Adverse possession is a mechanism for resolving competing claims to land that arise where an owner has failed to assert his rights for many years, allowing a hostile trespasser to assume control of the land as if it were his own. . . Although Congress would need to modify the black letter test before it could be applied to intangible property, the policy rationale behind adverse possession applies with equal or greater force in the orphan works context. Where the holder of a copyright has failed both to exploit his product and to register his whereabouts with the Copyright Office, such that others might seek permission to use his creative expression, his intellectual property rights should not shackle libraries, museums, or other institutions that perceive a scholarly or commercial demand for the work.

| Google Books Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

Digital Initiatives Project Manager at Yale University Library

The Yale University Library is recruiting a Digital Initiatives Project Manager.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Reporting to the Manuscripts and Archives (MSSA) Head of Digital Information Systems while working in close collaboration with Library IT, the Fortunoff Video Archives (FVA) Senior Archivist, the Director of Digitization Initiatives, the Digital Preservation Librarian, and other Library stakeholders, the Digital Initiatives Project Manager will have a dual responsibility: (1) to provide technical support and project management for the ongoing Fortunoff Video Archive mass digitization project; and (2) to provide support for digital repository development to ensure long-term preservation of, and access to, digital audio and video collections.

| Digital Scholarship |

Digital Preservation: SiteStory Released

Herbert van de Sompel has announced the release of SiteStory.

Here's an excerpt:

I am very pleased to announce the open source release of our SiteStory transactional web archiving solution. The solution is compatible with the Memento "Time Travel for the Web" framework and its current implementation can be used to archive Apache web servers.

Read more about it at Memento: Adding Time to the Web.

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

Current News: Twitter Updates for 8/16/12

  • Apple, Publishers File Opposition to Proposed DOJ Settlement, http://t.co/hYEbprHG
  • Google's Pain if It Loses the Book Scanning Case Hint Less Than You Think, http://t.co/imJUJxkf
  • Library Investment Index 2010-2011 Summarizes Relative Size of ARL University Libraries (XLS), http://t.co/hfNG4xZC
  • A Selection of Findings from The Survey of Institutional Digital Repositories, 2012-13 Report, http://t.co/OAeJAuEB

| Digital Scholarship |

Digital Humanities Start-Up Grants

The National Endowment for the Humanities is accepting applications for Digital Humanities Start-Up Grants. The application deadline is September 25, 2012 for projects that begin in May 2013.

Here's an excerpt announcement:

Proposals should be for the planning or initial stages of digital initiatives in any area of the humanities. Digital Humanities Start-Up Grants may involve

  • research that brings new approaches or documents best practices in the study of the digital humanities;
  • planning and developing prototypes of new digital tools for preserving, analyzing, and making accessible digital resources, including libraries' and museums' digital assets;
  • scholarship that focuses on the history, criticism, and philosophy of digital culture and its impact on society;
  • scholarship or studies that examine the philosophical or practical implications and impact of the use of emerging technologies in specific fields or disciplines of the humanities, or in interdisciplinary collaborations involving several fields or disciplines;
  • innovative uses of technology for public programming and education utilizing both traditional and new media; and
  • new digital modes of publication that facilitate the dissemination of humanities scholarship in advanced academic as well as informal or formal educational settings at all academic levels.

| Scholarly Electronic Publishing Weblog | Digital Scholarship |

"Do Bad Things Happen When Works Enter the Public Domain?: Empirical Tests of Copyright Term Extension"

Christopher J. Buccafusco and Paul J. Heald have self-archived "Do Bad Things Happen When Works Enter the Public Domain?: Empirical Tests of Copyright Term Extension" in SSRN.

Here's an excerpt:

The international debate over copyright term extension for existing works turns on the validity of three empirical assertions about what happens to works when they fall into the public domain. Our study of the market for audio books and a related human subjects experiment suggest that all three assertions are suspect. We demonstrate that audio books made from public domain bestsellers (1913-22) are significantly more available than those made from copyrighted bestsellers (1923-32). We also demonstrate that recordings of public domain and copyrighted books are of equal quality.

| Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography 2010 | Digital Scholarship |

Digitization Project Manager at Gilcrease Museum

The Gilcrease Museum is recruiting a Digitization Project Manager.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Gilcrease Museum, operated through The University of Tulsa, seeks a qualified individual that can successfully implement and direct the museum's digitization and electronic cataloguing efforts that will ensure the museum's collection of archival material, fine art and anthropology objects are preserved for future generations and made increasingly accessible to the public. The successful candidate will be responsible for developing and implementing an operations plan for digitizing collection material, establish and maintain a categorization methodology that allows key-word and subject search and retrieval from the digital asset management system, supervise paid and volunteer staff, provide monthly progress reports, and manage the day-to-day operations of the digitization project, and periodically teaches a class for The University of Tulsa's Master's degree course in Museum Science and Management.

| Digital Scholarship |

Minimum Digitization Capture Recommendations (Draft)

The Association for Library Collections and Technical Services Preservation and Reformatting Section has released a draft of its Minimum Digitization Capture Recommendations. The comment period ends on 12/31/2012.

Here's an excerpt:

This document was created as a guideline for libraries digitizing content with the objective of producing a product that will not be re-digitized at a later point. Institutions can feel secure that if an item has been digitized at, or above, these specifications, they can depend on it to continue to be viable in the future. These guidelines only speak to the technical specifications of the digitized content itself and not to the larger issue of digitally preserving said content. In some cases, institutions may want to request a digital copy to preserve themselves further safeguarding materials by preserving them in multiple locations.

| Digital Curation Resource Guide | Digital Scholarship |

Current News: Twitter Updates for 8/15/12

| Digital Scholarship |

University Library Systems Manager—Web & Mobile Based Systems Specialty at City University of New York

The City University of New York is recruiting a University Library Systems Manager—Web & Mobile Based Systems Specialty.

Here's an excerpt from the ad (job id: 6354):

Reporting to the CUNY Director of Library Systems, the University Systems Librarian Web & Mobile Specialty is responsible for assisting in the planning, implementation, and management of systems and software supporting CUNY-wide library services. Installs, configures, maintains, and optimizes commercial and open source application software products and services for library digital projects, programs, and initiatives while ensuring developed solutions fit with existing library systems and IT infrastructures.

| Digital Scholarship |

Aligning National Approaches to Digital Preservation

The Educopia Institute has released Aligning National Approaches to Digital Preservation.

Here's an excerpt:

On May 23-25, 2011, more than 125 delegates from more than 20 countries gathered in Tallinn, Estonia, for the "Aligning National Approaches to Digital Preservation" conference. . . .

This publication contains a collection of peer-reviewed essays that were developed by conference panels and attendees in the months following ANADP. Rather than simply chronicling the event, the volume intends to broaden and deepen its impact by reflecting on the ANADP presentations and conversations and establishing a set of starting points for building a greater alignment across digital preservation initiatives. Above all, it highlights the need for strategic international collaborations to support the preservation of our collective cultural memory.

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

Technical Associate/Digital Repository Developer at Northern Illinois University Libraries

The Northern Illinois University Libraries are recruiting a Technical Associate/Digital Repository Developer.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Responsible for the research, development, and ongoing maintenance of the Fedora Commons digital repository and digital collections websites, running in Drupal with the Islandora module. The Digital Repository Developer works with the Digital Collections Curator to plan and design new websites and uses new web service technologies to improve the user experience in discovering, finding, or acquiring library content.

| Digital Scholarship |

Publisher Plaintiffs Issue Statement on Order in Georgia State University E-Reserves Copyright Case

The publisher plaintiffs have issued a statement on Judge Orinda Evans' order in the Georgia State University e-reserves copyright case.

Here's an excerpt:

The District Court's decision is marred by a number of serious legal errors. The fair use exception cannot be stretched beyond recognition simply because course materials are delivered in a digital format by an educational institution. The ruling excuses copyright violations by GSU and endorses unauthorized copying and distribution of academic works well beyond what the law allows and what universities across the country consider reasonable. The decision devalues academic scholarship by treating such work as 'factual' compilations. . . .

As with the initial decision to bring suit, the decision regarding an appeal will be based on a considered assessment that takes into account the extent to which this ruling, which we believe to be legally vulnerable on multiple grounds, endangers the creation and dissemination of high-quality academic work

Georgia State University has also issued a statement about the order.

| Scholarly Electronic Publishing Weblog | Digital Scholarship |

Current News: Twitter Updates for 8/14/12

| Digital Scholarship |

Web Services Librarian at University of Mississippi Libraries

The University of Mississippi Libraries are recruiting a Web Services Librarian.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Web Services Unit at the University of Mississippi Libraries seeks applicants for the position of Web Services Librarian. This is an entry-level web related position for a service-oriented individual who possesses creativity, curiosity, and a good foundational web skill set. This position reports to the Head of Web Services; working as part of a team to design, develop and maintain all aspects of the University Libraries' web presence and library web applications. The position is a twelve-month, tenure track, assistant professorship.

| Digital Scholarship |

"De-Mystifying the Data Management Requirements of Research Funders"

Dianne Dietrich, Trisha Adamus, Alison Miner, and Gail Steinhart have published "De-Mystifying the Data Management Requirements of Research Funders" in the latest issue of Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship.

Here's an excerpt:

Research libraries have sought to apply their information management expertise to the management of digital research data. This focus has been spurred in part by the policies of two major funding agencies in the United States, which require grant recipients make research outputs, including publications and research data, openly available. As many academic libraries are beginning to offer or are already offering assistance in writing and implementing data management plans, it is important to consider how best to support researchers. Our research examined the current data management requirements of major US funding agencies to better understand data management requirements facing researchers and the implications for libraries offering data management services for researchers.

| Research Data Curation Bibliography | Digital Scholarship |

Systems Librarian—Web, Communications and Interface Design at Carleton University Library

The Carleton University Library is recruiting a Systems Librarian—Web, Communications and Interface Design.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Under the direction of the Head of the Systems Department, the incumbent is responsible for the coordination, continuing development and maintenance of the Library web and overall interface design. Applying a user-focused perspective which incorporates testing and established best practice, the incumbent takes a leading role in the development of information architecture, guidelines and procedures for Library web services and interfaces. This position has a significant role in the planning and implementation of web technologies, digital projects (including support for scholarly communications and digital repositories), and service initiatives that support a diverse population of students, faculty and staff.

| Digital Scholarship |

Wiley Open Access Program Adopts Creative Commons Attribution Licence

Effective immediately, journals in the Wiley Open Access program will use the Creative Commons Attribution Licence for articles.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

Rachel Burley, Vice President and Director, Open Access, commented, "Wiley is committed to meeting the evolving needs of the authors who wish to provide open access to the published articles that convey the results of their research."

Burley continued, "Our announcement today concerns Wiley’s fully open access journals. We are also reviewing the licensing arrangements for our hybrid program OnlineOpen, our open access option for individual articles published in subscription journals. In consultation with our publishing partners, we aim to continue to develop and deliver sustainable open access products providing author choice and high levels of service."

In the first instance, the journals moving to the CC-BY licence are Brain and Behavior, Ecology and Evolution, MicrobiologyOpen, Cancer Medicine, Food Science & Nutrition, Evolutionary Applications, Geoscience Data Journal and EMBO Molecular Medicine.

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

Manager, Digital Library Publication and Access at New York University Libraries

The New York University Libraries are recruiting a Manager, Digital Library Publication and Access.

Here's an excerpt from the ad (posting number: 20093885):

Lead information technology projects to support the publication and use of digital scholarly materials: from DLTS digitization and preservation activities, partnerships with faculty or organizations, or other sources. Principal point of contact for scholars or groups partnering with DLTS in publication or scholarly communication projects. Principal point of contact for special collections / archives. Lead projects to research, develop and deploy software solutions to enable DLTS publication and access services to scale across a broad set of content types and partner requirements. As a member of the Digital Library Management Group, manage projects and contribute to the overall management of the Digital Library Program.

| Digital Scholarship |

Testing Software Tools of Potential Interest for Digital Preservation Activities at the National Library of Australia

The National Library of Australia has released Testing Software Tools of Potential Interest for Digital Preservation Activities at the National Library of Australia.

Here's an excerpt:

Four file format identification tools were tested: File Investigator Engine, Outside-In File ID, FIDO and file/libmagic. This represents a mix of commercial and open source tools. The results were analysed from the point of view of comparing the tools to determine the extent of coverage and the level of agreement between them.

Five metadata extraction tools were tested: File Investigator Engine, Exiftool, MediaInfo, pdfinfo and Apache Tika. The results were analysed in terms of the number and range of metadata items extracted for specific file subsets.

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

Research Data Manager at Columbia University Libraries/Information Services

The Center for Digital Research and Scholarship at the Columbia University Libraries/Information Services is recruiting a Research Data Manager.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Reporting to the Director of the Center for Digital Research and Scholarship (CDRS) (http://cdrs.columbia.edu/), a division of the Columbia University Libraries/Information Services, the Research Data Manager will work closely with the Office of the Executive Vice President for Research, staff within CDRS (particularly the Digital Repository Manager and the Head of the Scholarly Communication Program), data librarians and librarian subject specialists, and others within the Columbia University community on planning, outreach, and policy development to address the data life cycle needs of researchers at Columbia University and its affiliates. S/he will also work closely with the Libraries Digital Program Division staff and the Metadata Librarian on implementation of best practices in data curation, storage, archiving, and preservation.

Ebook Acquisition and Lending Briefing: Public, Academic and Research Libraries

The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals has released Ebook Acquisition and Lending Briefing: Public, Academic and Research Libraries .

Here's an excerpt:

This paper presents some of the legal, strategic and technical problems that arise from the addition of scholarly and trade ebooks to library collections, together with possible solutions. Some of the most common business models are briefly set out. The latest data on ebook usage is also included.

Also of interest: ALA's recent Ebook Business Models for Public Libraries.

| Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography 2010 | Digital Scholarship |

Judge Issues Order in Georgia State University E-Reserves Copyright Case: GSU’s Defense Costs to Be Paid by Plaintiffs

Judge Orinda Evans has issued an order in the Georgia State University e-reserves copyright case that says, in part, that the defendants's attorney's fees and other defense costs will be paid by plaintiffs.

Here's an excerpt from the order:

In this litigation, the Court limited Plaintiffs to claims arising in three semesters in 2009 but did not require Plaintiffs to pursue all claims. When the trial began, Plaintiffs chose to pursue 99 claims out of 126. They then dropped 25 claims (and added one) during the trial. As to the remaining 75 claims, no prima facie case was proven in 26 instances. Digital permissions were unavailable in 33 instances. Neither digital nor hard copy permissions were available in 18 cases. Although the Court does not doubt Plaintiffs' good faith in bringing this suit, and there was no controlling authority governing fair use in a nonprofit educational setting, Plaintiffs' failure to narrow their individual infringement claims significantly increased the cost of defending the suit.

For these reasons, the Court exercises its discretion to award to Defendants their reasonable attorneys' fees. Other costs will also be taxed in favor of Defendants and against Plaintiffs to the extent permitted by statute.

Read more about it at "Judge Denies Publishers' Request for Relief in Georgia State U. E-Reserves Case" and "The Prevailing Party."

| Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography 2010 | Digital Scholarship |

Current News: Twitter Updates for 8/12/12

| Digital Scholarship |